Westbrook Mexican Cake Imperial Stout
Happy birthday to us! To celebrate our first year as a brewery we brewed a serious imperial stout and aged it on cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and fresh habanero peppers. This is the first offering in our annual Anniversary series. Here’s to many more!
4.1
755 reviews
Mount Pleasant, United States
Community reviews
Flaska från Drikbeer.
Svart med gyllenbrunt skum.
Doftar choklad och kaffe.
Bra kropp, mycket choklad och kaffe, lite vanilj och tydlig chili. Balanserad.
Growler fill from beer Gonzo. This stated as the 11% 2020 version. Next black colour with a deep tan head. Aroma burnt chocolate, light spice. Taste roasted malt and toffee burnt sugar. Full boozy body.
Tap at Fermentoren, Copenhagen.
Black with light brown head.
Coffee, dark chocolate, dark roasted malts. Medium-high sweetness, noticeably spicy finish where the habanero shines through.
Surprisingly lively carbonation. Oily mouthfeel.
The habanero is well integrated and partly hides the high alcohol content.
Good experience, worth trying!
(Bottle) Black colour with dense, pale brown head. Malty, roasted nose with dark chocolate, cacao, black coffee, liquorice, toffee, vanilla, tamarind and a touch of smoke. Malty, roasted taste with notes of dark chocolate, cacao, black coffee, liquorice, vanilla, hints of tamarind, a mild chilli heat and a balanced cacao bitterness in the finish. Full body, smooth mouthfeel. Quite sweet. Really tasty and well balanced. Lots of flavours, but none of them take over too much. Great beer!
Czarne, oleiste z niską, brązową pianą.
W aromacie gorzka czekolada, cappuccino, kakao, suszone śliwki, marcepan.
W smaku podobnie, tylko dochodzą jeszcze pikantne papryczki, ale fajnie wkomponowane, nie intensywne.
Niskie wysycenie, dużo ciała.
Bardzo dobre piwo.
Bottle, danke Stefan! Black, dark brown cream. Rich chocolate, cinnamon, a hint Chili, ginger. Full body, sweet a bit sticky, lovely prickly carbonation. sweet, nice chili, good balance and very drinkable.
22 oz bottle.
Black pour with a minimal tan head.
Aroma of chocolate cake and cocoa powder.
The flavor is spicy sweet chocolate.
The spicy finish cuts the sweet start nicely.
Smell of mudcake, chocolate, coffee. Black colour, dark brown head. Aroma of mudcake, spices, cold brew, vanilla, some cocoa, chili. Sweet, lightly bitter, lightly hot. Flat carbon, thick palate.
65cl bottle (bottled 13/03/2019) from Etre Gourmet web shop.
F: thin, tanned film, quick gone.
C: black, opaque.
A: rich dark malts, chocolate, coffee, vanilla, chocolate sauce, dark dried fruits, bit spicy, tobacco, umami, mushrooms touch.
T: full malty base, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, spicy, coffee, coffee ice cream, umami, cinnamon, nice chili aftertaste, warming coffee liquor alcohol, very complex and tasty beer, great for the style, fully enjoyed.
Half cbc Covent Garden. Fairly pricey at 9 quid something but a very solid drop. Cocoa, cherry cola and a subtle burn. Very good.
.125l tap. Murky black, big creamy mocha head. Chocolate fudge, mild spicy peppers, liquorice, burnt malt, some lemon, toffee, nougat, some tequila. Toasty bitterness, chocolaty sweetness, mild spicyness. Full bodied, oily slick texture, soft carbonated, long dry sweet spicy finish. Awesome.
Zwart bier met amper een Mokka schuimkraag. Ruikt zweemzoete, met een heel pikante afdronk
Both my tasting and my rating of this renowned South Carolinian "whale" imperial stout is long overdue... having now sampled two bottles of the 2019 vintage of this anniversary brew from Westbrook Brewing, I feel confident enough to weigh in on this heavy hitter. Poured from the bottle shared around a firepit, this beer featured a nice cascading effect to the khaki head atop a jet black body. Although I'm generally not one for pepper infused beers, I do very much like this one, as the pepper heat is subtle and not excessively spicy, and the habanero flavor is clean finishing without any green vegetal notes to it. That being said, there's still enough of a pepper burn that you feel the need to quench the fire with another sip. Any discomfort with the spice is more than made up for by the phenomenal dark chocolate flavor both in the aroma and the taste, which also masks any booziness from the strong ABV. Mouthfeel is deliciously smooth like molten milk chocolate. Overall I would put this on par with Great Divide's Mexican Chocolate Yeti, although I personally slightly prefer the latter which doesn't have any spicy pepper additions. I've heard some rumors that the level of pepper heat varies from year to year with this brew, so I may have to pick up another vintage to compare. Although I wouldn't consider this a personal favorite imperial stout, this is consistently one of the highest ranked beers from SC for a reason!
Outstanding chocolate (a hybrid between dark and milk) and cacao nose and mouth. Chilli in a suitable dose, perceptible but not a scary monster they are. Full, round, little roast. A decent one.
Color negro, opaca. Un dedo de espuma marrón con buena retención. Aroma a malta tostada, café chocolate negro, canela y notas de guindilla. Gusto en la misma línea del aroma, añadiría vainilla y avena, bastante láctea y el chili habanero lo tiene bastante pronunciado. Cuerpo oleoso. Una maravilla de Imperial Stout, la edición anterior tenía la canela mucho más marcada y en esta el habanero manda, obligado su elaboración anual.
Pours a pitch-black coloration with a small, creamy, mocha-colored head. Smells of roasted, caramel malt and dark chocolate,with lighter notes of cinnamon and vanilla and coffee, as well as just a hint of chilies and licorice. Taste is a perfect balance of roasted, caramel malt, dark chocolate and chili heat, with lighter notes of cinnamon, vanilla and coffee, as well as just a hint of licorice, tobacco and earthy, herbal hops. Finishes with a medium bitterness and some chocolate and coffee lingering in the aftertaste, as well as a good chili heat lingering on the tongue long after the swallow. Full mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.
I love a good mexican chocolate Stout and after many recent disappointments this is finally a great example of the style, which is heavily dominated by the chocolate and chili heat, backed up by roasted malts and bitter, earthy/herbal hops, with the cinnamon and vanilla contributing to the overall flavor profile but remaining firmly in background, just as it should be. Nothing ruins a mexican chocolate Stout like overdone cinnamon and vanilla. There are also further notes of coffee, licorice and tobacco here adding depth and complexity to this and integrating into the excellent overall flavor balance very nicely. While this may be just a tad lacking in aroma and mouthfeel, it more than makes up for that with a sublime flavor profile and perfect balance of roasted/bitter, sweet and spicy notes, making for an incredibly enjoyable drinking experience. This wipes the floor with the Evil Twin collab hard.
65,5cl Bottle @ Saveur-Biere, Fretin, France.
Black colour with a thin tan head.
Aroma is roasted malt, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon.
Taste is roasted malt, dark chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, chili.
Medium to full body, average to low carbonation.
03-01-2020 @mas_ibus Torrelavega
Una cerveza Imperial Stout envejecida con semillas de cacao, vainilla, canela y pimientos habaneros frescos. Aroma a malta tostada, notas herbáceas con un final especiado y de canela. Sabor de chocolate, malta, notas de hierbas y final especiado seco.
Cocoa on the finish, cinnamon as well with habanero throughout... very nice!!!
26 October 2019. At Struise Shop, Bruges. Shared with Anke, cheers to Bart!
Pours hazy black with a slowly thinning, frothy, beige head. Intense aroma of cake, biscuit, plum, cream, chocolate praliné, mocha, soy sauce, macadamia. Taste is medium malty sweet, thick chocolatey character, cake-like & biscuity, filled with dark fruits (fig, raisin), vaguely caramelly, bitterness building with nutty & mocha notes; soft umami edges into the dry, earthy & peppery hoppy finish, more bittersweet coffee, chocolate & cake, nicely heating chili & warming Irish coffee-like alcohol. Full body, oily texture, soft carbonation. Utterly impressive!
Black. Aroma is fine bitter chocolate cocoa and vanilla some lactic sugars as well. However more syrupy than uncanny sweet. Faint jalapenos. Taste is sweet malty at first with a balanced hoppy bitterness following that. Some spicyness follows. In the finish an amating bow of vanilla and cinnamon with spicyness later. Very well balanced. Absolutely flawless. Only more of everything could make it better :) Or maybe more complexity.
It’s good to see a couple people picked up on the hot spice of this beer. Most didn’t. I like that aspect of it, it makes it stand out and it suits me. The body is solid, it’s easy drinking, has a cool velvety smoothness to it.
Pours thick black with one finger, dark tan head. Aroma is cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon and roast. Taste is dark chocolate, cinnamon and brown sugar, moving to vanilla, roast and pepper heat. Finish is chocolate, vanilla, pepper and cinnamon. Very good stout.
Noire, petite mousse.
Nez : fruits secs, malts rôtis, vanille, cannelle, épices.
Bouche : douce et pimentée à la fois, vanille, chocolat, réglisse, fruits secs, cannelle en arrière-bouche.
Hard mais accessible car très goûteuse, un peu sucrée, et ce jusqu'à la fin de cette dégustation entre amis. Super !!!
65.5cl fles. Helder donker bruin van kleur, fijne romige bruine schuimkraag. De geur is cacao en chocolade. Smaak is zoet, cacao, chocolade, peper en vanille. Vol body, veel koolzuur.
Beautiful Imperial Stout. Flavour is huge in chocolate, coffee, vanilla, spices, cinnamon, slight chilli and a huge backbone of dark roasted malt. As it warmed up, the flavour profile opened up even more to some caramel and other awesome flavours. Sad to see the bottle finish
Bottle. Moderate to heavy dark chocolate and dark bread for the malt, no noticeable hops, light dough for the yeast, with vanilla, cinnamon and cola in the background. Head is small, frothy, light brown, with some thick slippery lacing and is mostly diminishing. Color is very dark brown. Flavor starts moderately to heavily sweet and lightly acidic, then finishes moderately sweet and lightly bitter. Palate is medium to full, creamy verging on syrupy, with a soft carbonation and a sharp spicy feel. This is my kind of spiced Imperial Stout, perfect amount of heat with a smooth Stout.
Piwo nieprzejrzyście czarne z lekką beżową pianą. W aromacie czuć w pierwszej kolejności przyprawowość: papryczki, cynamon, poza tym gorzka czekolada, kawa, lekka wanilia. W smaku piwo jest całkiem wytrawne, czuć lekką kwaskowość. Wyraźnie czuć pieczenie na języku od papryczek. Alkohol jest bardzo fajnie ukryty. Bardzo dobre piwo.
Tap at csakajo. Pitch black colour, lightbrown head with good retention. Nose is roasted malts, plum, light chili. Taste is also light sourness, low bitternes, medium sweetness. Lingering chili and chocolate cookie aftertase.
Half growler. Jet black with a darkish tan, creamy foam on top. Nose of dark chocolate brownie, vanilla, and hints of earthy roasted pepper and cinnamon. Rich flavors of the same mix. In later sips, the long aftertaste has cured tobacco and soy tones blended in with the rest. Pleasant, heavy mouthfeel with smooth medium carbonation. An excellent pure chocolate dessert brew that's balanced by the slight earthy pepper and spice notes, as well as a mild capsaicin tingle.