Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Coffee Monster

Shopping for nutritious refreshments for this Thanksgiving Holiday, I came upon Terrapin's Monster Beer Tour at Sam's Blue Light. I procured two 4-packs - Wake 'N' Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout and Big Hoppy Monster - both beers packed with flavor but not excessive on Alcohol (7.5 and 8 ABV, respectively). After enjoying half a pint of the happy Hoppy Monster (a big, overhopped red ale), I poured some of the stout in that glass, only to watch the thick creamy stuff drop to the bottom of the glass like a rock.

The resulting blend is remarkable: complicated, flavorful (to say the least) and a bit nervous. It retains the stout's strong alcohol, big malts, and adds the monster's bitter, immensly enjoyable hops bite. Not an easy alliance, but it does hang together, in the end, especially if you go easy on the stout.

Both good beers, but I think I'll hang on to a couple of bottles each, give them some time to see what happens. They both feel a bit fresh. I noticed the same thing with the Brooklyn Chocolate Stout. Good beer, but give it 10+ months and it turns into a great beer ...

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