Half Acre Big Hugs Imperial Stout
This beer is a thug. Big and chock full of tender embrace.
A specialty brew. Grab it when you see it. 10% ABV.
A specialty brew. Grab it when you see it. 10% ABV.
3.8
253 reviews
Chicago, United States
Community reviews
Black pour with a thick foamy light tan head. Big espresso nose with lots of dark roast and a little semisweet earthy tone. Dark flavor that’s big and roasty with tones of cold brew and cocoa malts. A touch earthy and dark malty.
Draught at Mikkeller SF. Black color, beige head. Bitter taste with roasted malts, coffee, nuts, chocolate, licorice, dark fruits and toast. Bitter finish with roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, toast, licorice, dark fruits and nuts. Excellent imperial stout.
Draft. Blackish beer with a light brown head. Caramel and light chocolate aroma with light coffee. caramel and light chocolate flavor with burnt sugar. Medium bodied. caramel and burnt sugar linger with light coffee and light chocolate.
Cloudy black pour with a one finger, creamy tan head. Aroma is roast, nuts, chocolate, coffee, burnt sugar, caramel and toasted oatmeal.Flavor is deep chocolate, roasted nuts, toasty cereal, deep caramel, light floral and earthy hops. Medium to heavy body, light to medium, sparse carbonation. Good stuff, not great.
16 ounce can into snifter, canned on 11/20/2018. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger dense and rocky tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice dense spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, molasses, dark fruit, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Minimal booze in the aromas as it warms. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt, coffee, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, molasses, dark fruit, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light herbal, grassy, peppery hop; and roast/char bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, toasted biscuit, dark/brown bread/crust, licorice, molasses, dark fruit, light smoke/char, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, coffee, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great roast/hop bitter/sweet balance; and no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roast bitterness. Medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and lightly slick/sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 10% after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic coffee imperial stout. All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, coffee, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/drying finish. Amazingly rich malts and moderate fruity/nutty coffee complexity; with solid earthy hops against sweetness, and mild fruity yeast. Was expecting a bit more coffee intensity, but there is an adequate amount. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding style example as expected.
Can shared at Lucky Bamboo share. Pours a deep brown to black with a finger of beige foam that lingers. Lots of roasted cacao nib in the nose with vanilla and coffee notes. Slick and oily palate with lactose slimy sweetness. More roasted malt, some vanilla sweetness as well. Lingering coffee and roasted malt on the finish.
Pours dark black, rich coffee aroma, taste is less heavy on the coffee, lots of malts, medium mouthfeel, gets bumped up one notch because of the psychedelic can, can
Ten year canned version Ten Years of Hugs .... black pour with a thin beige head and spots of lacing .... aroma of coffee, fresh roasted malts, chocolate, cocoa and vanilla ... taste is of chocolate, roasted malts, fresh coffee, caramel and vanilla as well as dusty cocoa ... has an off sweetness to it flavor wise lactose like .... dry and lightly bitter on the back end .... slick and oily ... finish is of coffee, bitter dry hops, vanilla and chocolate with roasted malts .... big beer and pretty solid but the aroma is stronger than the taste
Can. Poured a deep brown with an averaged sized head. Vanilla, roast , chocolate, and some lighter dark fruits,
16 ounces tall can at home, gift from trade with Jonathan a while ago Canned 11/16/2017. Aroma: big nose of coffee, some nuts, light vanilla, some chocolate and roasted malt. App: dark burgundy almost black, medium mocha head but not much retention, nice persistent lacing though. Taste and palate: medium to full body, some coffee in mouth but much less present, it's s even a tad tasteless and watery but good bitterness at the finish to help recover from this let down taste. Overall: well done. Especially liked the nose and palate of this one. The taste is unfortunately a bit of a let down. Would've liked more punch in the taste
Anyhow, this is easy to drink despite it's abv that doesn't show that much. Good.
on tap scura non molta schiuma vaniglia ciocciolato cacao morbida luppolatura contenuta alcol abbastanza nascosto
3/20/18: $5.50 Pint canned 11/16/17 purchased at Lincoln Square location poured into snifter. Pitch black pour, minimal thin tan brown head. Cocoa and coffee aroma. Taste somewhat sweet, chocolate and vanilla with a hint of coffee. Firm mouth feel, carbonation holds. Overall good offering.
On a nitro tap. Dark beer with a great nitro foam beige head that coated the glass. Muted nitro roast grain nose. Nice roasted grain and burnt toast flavors with some burnt coffee, chocolate and a long bitter finish.
On tap at Brass Tap in Greenfield. Black pour. Vanilla, chocolate, caramel nose. Led by the barrel. Taste is bourbon, sweet malts, some chocolate some roast. Barrel is a touch rough. Definite alcohol presence. The blend is good, with the barrel roughness. Finishes sweetly bourbon-y with some chocolate fighting through for balance. Solid & tasty. 15.5
Aroma - roast, chocolate, coffee, and alcohol.
Appearance - the body is black. The head is minimal, maybe gets to a maximum of 1/8" and beige in color. The head almost immediately disappears into a partial ring. There is a little fun in the center.
Taste - has rich roast, alcohol, coffee, some vanilla, and some chocolate.
Palate - body is full, texture medium to thick, carbonation is average, the finish is slightly astringent with roast.
16 oz. can pours an opaque dark brown with smallish tan head and some lacing. Not much to smell. Aroma includes coffee, currants, and some roasted grains. Taste is slightly sweet with a chalky dry finish. Body is less than full, with a creamy mouthfeel and low carbonation. Perhaps I expected too much of this one, but I was slightly disappointed. If it were thicker and had more complex or unusual flavors I'd return to this.
16 ounce can. Pours black with an average tan head. Aroma of chocolate, coffee, and malt. Taste is chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, caramel, and vanilla. Nice.
Tap @ Tørst. Pours pitch black with small beige head. Aroma of Brown sugar, rainsins, black currant, some coffee. Taste is coffee, licorice, black berries, roasted malts. Full body, oily texture, flat carbonation.
22oz bottle pours a muddy brown black with some cloudy, grey head. Nose has malt, molasses, marzipan, some wet coffee bean, mild cocoa pod. Flavor is chewy with grains and malt and toast, cola, coffee bean. Finishes creamy.
Earlier Rating: 11/27/2011 Total Score: 4
22oz bottle scored via the BA Gang Bang BIF. Pours an oily, opaque black with a thin beige head. Big malty aroma, coffee, a little vanilla, toasted bread, licorice, chocolate. I find the nose to be very inviting. Flavor has some sweet coffee, cola, vanilla beans, malty, light chocolate, cake icing. Full bodied, sweet finish. Sweet but also tasty.
Share thanks to mrsquash. Light vegetal coffee aroma. Soft coffee. Taste is bell pepper and ground dirt. Meh.
Pitch black in color. Aroma is of mild roast and chocolate. Flavor is light roast with a green (chili) flavor. Somewhat thin body.
On tap @ Uppers and Downers festival - 2016. Pour is brown/black with a small beige head. Aroma and flavor of vanilla, coffee, fudge, roasted malt, tobacco, and sweet chocolate.
Bottle. Pours black. The the palate is a bit light for a imperial stout. The taste is big coffee. Roasty malt and a bit of raisin and chocolate.
Draft from release. Pours dark brown with small tan head. Aroma of roasted malts and coffee. Taste of coffee and dark chocolate.
On tap at CBC 2016, red session. Pours black with beige head. Roasted, coffee, milk chocolate, vanilla, some dried fruit notes. Quite sweet, some bitterness. Dry finish. Full bodied.
CBC 2016 Red session. Black body with a small beige head. Aroma is roasty with fresh coffee, smoke, cocoa. Taste is semisweet chocolate, dark fruit, coffee and walnut. Strong roasty finish with a smooth coffee aftertaste.
Draft at Bru Craft. Opaque black pour with soft camel foam that left slipping lace. Unexpected sweet shiny sugar candy taste up front. Beneath it are some inexact notes of coffee, chocolate and vanilla bean. Burnt marshmallows. Hints of blackberries and peat. 10% ABV is well hidden. Finishes smooth enough. Not your normal Stout.
Sample @ Copenhagen Beer Celebration 2016 Red session 20160514. Roasted malty with coffee, coffee beans and chocolate. The finish is dry and roasted with coffee.
Sample at CBC 2016. Smell of chocolate, toasted sugar and caramel. Similar taste. Sweet and toasted. Light-medium body.
On tap at Copenhagen Beer Celebration 2016. Black with a light beige head. Aroma is chocolate, vanilla, maltesers. Full bodied, lightly creamy mouthfeel, slightly sweet on the palate. Taste is chocolate, vanilla, chocolate mini-wheats.