ABV: 11.2%

Big Bad Baptist | Batch #44 Charming Beard

Who says you can’t get a good beer in Utah? We think Utah is crafting some exceptional beer.

Epic Brewing’s Big Bad Baptist Imperial Stout pours sexy black, with a quick thinning wafer-tan head. Held to your nose, scents picked up range from cocoa, oak and dark roasted coffee. Imagine walking through the perfume section of a high-end department store and picking up a small cup of barrel-aged coffee beans to reset your olfactory senses. BBB tastes like a cowboy version of a cup of joe; not enough sugar to off-set the bitter java flavor and still has a hint of whisky and dust in the cup from the night before. We mean this is a good way. Although often underrated because it is usually available, there is a reason this is the top ranked beer from Utah on Beer Advocate.

(Chris) “Honestly, our first BBB, Sylvia took three sips and conveniently decided to take our toddler for a stroll. This left me with the particularly daunting task of finishing one of these bad boys – all alone. Some might think this is the craft beer equivalent of throwing a teenager in a closet with a carton of cigarettes. I am here to tell you, I made it out alive.”

(Sylvia) “Hey now, let me tell you though, my first sip reminded of an ashtray. There is a lot of burnt coffee going on there. Little did I know, just like those evil, bitter hops from the IPAs (that I now completely adore), I would come to love black coffee and chocolate stouts.”

Although each BBB season’s release uses a different dark roast coffee, this particular batch was brewed with Charming Beard, a Salt Lake City based coffee company. This version is completely coffee forward, whereas earlier versions were dominantly whiskey. You really never know what you’re going to get, so if you find one you love, run back a buy several before they are gone.

With their recent 2013 expansion into the Colorado area, which provided increased capacity to support growing national demand, the brewery is committed to its founding principle of small batch brewing. Having in the neighborhood of 40 beers, Epic Brewing does have a beer for everyone.

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