Maker: Aloha Plenty/Iron Fist/Stone, California, USA
Style: Imperial stout with cocoa and mint flavoring added.
Vintage: 2012
ABV: 9.6%
Thanks to Rhiannon for this bottle.
Appearance: Black coffee with a lacy beige head.
Nose: Dark roasted malt, dark chocolate, faint herbal note.
On the palate: Full bodied and sweet. Like a Shamrock Shake upon initial entry. Some bitterness does surface later and on subsequent sips. Very dark chocolate, Espresso with a shot of peppermint schnapps.
Finish: Long, bitter and slightly sweet. The mint is in the background but still present.
Parting words: I wasn’t so sure what this beer was going to be like, but my doubts were unfounded. It’s delicious. The cocoa dovetails with the Stout-ness perfectly even to the point where I don’t think I would notice it if I didn’t already know it was there. The mint is noticeable but subtle, especially as the beer sits in the glass. I would have preferred a little more mint, but that’s a quibble. I also don’t know if adding cocoa was really needed but it didn’t hurt.
I received this beer as a gift from my cousin, so I’m not sure how much it sold for, but I’ve been able to find it online for $3 for a 12 oz. bottle. That’s not cheap, but since this is more of a novelty than a go-to brew, I wouldn’t mind paying that for a bottle or two. Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout is recommended.
I was curious about this one but never had a chance to try it. Stone is beyond a solid brewer, so if anyone could pull something like this off, it would be them. Sounds tasty!
It was indeed. I was impressed. It takes a lot of skill to pull off something like that, but they clearly did.