We've got a special one today folks. If you read Monday's post you know I headed down to Mt. Carmel and came home with a growler of this beauty. This is the latest in Mt. Carmel's Snapshot Series, their limited run brewery exclusive beers. Prior beers in the series included Hopton Golden Ale, Barrel Aged Drifter, and Squirrel Bite Imperial Brown Ale. I knew I had something cool in store for all you blog readers when my buddy Alex and I came home with this growler. At the same time though, it's downright mean of me as the vast majority of you will never have a chance to try this tasty beer brewed with coffee from Cincinnati's La Terza Artisan Coffee Roasterie. But I did get to try it, and isn't that really what's important? To the beer!
Third Shift pours a deep silky black that is completely opaque. It's capped by a thin brown head that recedes fairly quickly but leaves nice lacing.
The aromas on this beer are mostly of dark malt with hefty additions of roast espresso. There are also some slight but intriguing vanilla notes here.
Third Shift is a seriously big bodied, bold, smooth, creamy beer. I was impressed after my first sip and it only got better from there. Malty dark chocolate sweetness mixes beautifully with the dark bitter coffee notes. this beer is quite rich but also very round and balanced. A decent hop presence adds some earthy bitterness and makes for an intense and complex yet very drinkable stout. There's also a nice creamy sweetness to the beer. Those slight vanilla notes from the aroma also return here and add a bit more complexity and add to the overall enjoyment.
It took me to my second glass to realize something. I had been drinking an imperial stout that checks in somewhere around 10% ABV and hadn't once taken note of any real alcohol warming or booziness. This beer is dangerously drinkable. It's a good thing Alex and I were splitting the growler or I might've found myself passed out on the couch.
Mt. Carmel's Imperial Coffe Stout is an outstanding beer. One of the best coffee beers I've ever had. I even enjoyed it more than the much heralded Espresso Oak Aged Yeti I had last week. Everything in this beer is expertly crafted and put together.
The other thing that I love about this beer is that it's an example of something that, in my opinion we don't see enough of from Cincinnati beers: Big, experimental, bold beers. For example, Moerlein brews great beer, but all of them are pretty standard styles. I want to see big crazy beers coming out of Cincinnati's craft breweries.
This beer is just that and Mt. Carmel knocked it out of the park. I already can't wait to see what Mt. Carmel comes up with for their next for their Snapshot Series. If you can, hurry over to Mt. Carmel's Taproom to try Third Shift. It won't last long.
HD
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