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This stout pours like most with a leathery brown color and settles nothing but black, solid black, the head grows up from the pour with strength to about 3/4 inch high and is cocoa brown, thick spongy foam and tightly frothed, settles slowly and lace sticks well in thin sheets of the same color all over eventually giving way to lots of strings.

Smell is deep, slightly rich and creamy with a good sense of sweet chocolate and darker malts with a hint of coffee.

Taste is a complex richness of chewy dark malts, favorable sweetness in the chocolate areas, quite solid and full, with a bit of molasses, nice moderate bitterness blended in from hops, note of dried fruits and one nice thickly sticking finish of chocolatey/coffeeish dryness that lingers long. Mega yummy!

Feel is full and creamy smooth and makes for one amazingly easy drinkable Imperial Stout. Warms ya up; very good stuff, Yum!

Served In: Goblet

Old Review
22 oz bomber I got in a trade with hopsleeroy, thanks a lot! Served up in an imperial pint.

A: Pours a super black in color that the name implies. The pour appears to be somewhat thick. When held to the light, the color holds, allowing no light to penetrate. About a finger of light brown head slowly bubbles up from the depths of this one. Head slowly diminishes leaving a pretty thick ring with a small circle of foam resting in the center of the glass. Lace is slowly slides down the glass and notches it. Nice looking stout.

S: Smell is a bit hops forward. There is a lot of earthy/herbal hops smells coming out along with just a touch of citrus aromas. A sweet caramel rests in the background with roasted malty goodness. Touch of chocolate, cream and coffee aromas as well.

T: Taste is not as hops heavy as the nose. Lots of smooth caramel and chocolate flavors accompany the nice roasted malts. The caramel and chocolate has such a creamy flavor to it that it stands out as an impressive quality. There is just a nice presence of milky cream as well. The coffee flavors are slight but present. The beer is sweet but not too crazy, it has been nicely cut by the earthy hops presence that adds just a touch of bitterness which mixes well with the coffee and chocolate flavors. There are not any crazy flavors in here but the balance is damn good.

M: Mouthfeel is full and chewy. This one rests gently on the palate and lets the creamy feel bring out these great flavors. ABV is very nicely hidden, and it kind of takes away a bit IMO. I like my RIS's to have a touch of heat to them, but still this is quite solid. Aftertaste is only of some creamy caramel and chocolate.

D: For an RIS, this goes down so easy. Its heavy on the palate or in the stomach, and the lack of ABV heat makes this one dangerously close to a chugger. Just so easy to drink. I know that this beer is not crazy dynamic by playing with crazy flavors, but it is simple and almost perfectly balance. I have been wanting to try this one for quite some time and it sure did not disappoint. Awesome brew.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 01-20-2009 04:48:00

Served In: Pint Glass

22oz Bomber

I was waiting to drink this on a cold night and here it is. Poured Big Bear Black into a snifter. Now this stuff looks tasty. A big creamy tan head sits on top of the opaque black body. Not one glimmer of light shows through this beer. The head leaves sticky, moderate lacing.

The smell is packed full of dark flavors. Lots of molasses up front. The more you take in the more everything else comes out. Brown sugar, dark malt, rum soaked raisins, and chocolate This smells like dessert in a glass. I even get a hint of cream.

Wow!! This stuff is huge on flavor without being overpowering. The flavor profile changes throughout the entire drink. Every inch of your mouth gets hit with something different. I try and figure out how it's all layered but it's too difficult for me so I'll just give you the flavors I'm getting. I'm getting every flavor that's in the scent. The molasses is more subdued than in the nose but there is a nice addition of roasted malt and faintly bitter coffee. Finishes with a hint of vanilla. I can't even tell there is any alcohol in the here. Very very good.

The mouthfeel is on the heavier side of medium. In my opinion it could be a little thicker and heavier but not by much. The tastes explode all over the inside of my mouth. As it warms there is a barely perceivable alcohol warming in the throat.

The drinkability for such a big beer is exceptional. The alcohol is so well hidden I could easily see it catching up on people if they didn't know it was there. I took off slightly for mouthfeel because it is a little lighter than I'd like but that actually adds to the drinkability.

Overall Big Bear Black Stout is an outstanding beer from Bear Republic. This is the perfect beer to drink on those upcoming cold winter nights and my fridge is going to be loaded up with bombers. Wow!!! Very impressive!

Reviewed: 11/1/06

Served In: Snifter

Pours an inky black. Nice pillowy two finger beige head, good retention, with excellent lacing. Impressive -- if this was a bit more viscous looking, wow.

Aroma of toasted/burnt malts, stong coffee, molasses, licorice and grains.

Taste confirms the nose. Caramel, hints of dark chocolate and dark fruits as well. Nice hop taste- nicely balanced. Very tasty.

Mouthfeel is full, creamy, slick. Carbonation is good. Nice light dryness in the aftertaste, but not chalky.

This is very good, and an easy drinker at that-- for an RIS, thats something. I could very easily have a few of these, as this is a very good representation of the style. This is now one of my faves... this will be my "go to" when I want to have several RIS'.
Highly Recommended!!

Served In: Pint Glass

How many small black bears are there? While you count I'm runnin! Pours a midnight black color with some viscosity to it. A soft and bubbly head with ok retention but limited lacing. The head did hide to the edge of the glass but did remain through the tasting.

The nose is malt oriented. There is a nice chocolate note with a more generic malt backing. Some minor sweet caramel and toffee notes with a light roast character. Some almost lactic notes, more along the lines of a oatmeal aroma than milk or sour. Some noticeable hops, but still limited. Some coiny notes but light. Some yeast notes but also light.

The taste is similar. The chocolate comes out a bit more and really lingers into the finish. Some astringency but light. This is a bit off set buy the creamy oatmeal like taste/feel. The malt is limited somewhat. There isn't any of the caramel and toffee notes that was in the nose. Some light fusel notes but ok. The hops come out more with a earthy and resiny taste that linger into the finish. Some sudsy and metallic notes but light.

The body is moderate and would like a bit more depth for a 8+ beer. Some creamy notes up front and astringent notes on the back end. Carbonation is a bit light but ok. Overall a good beer with some minor problems but very nice to drink.

Served In: Bottle

I'll start off by saying I've had this bottle sitting for WAY too long. A beer with this kinda ABV shouldn't sit. I've had it in the past and it's always been awesome. Lets see how it is now.

Pours a deep black with a finger or so of medium brown foam. The foam slowly settles and leaves a decent layer of sticky lace on the walls of the glass.

Thick and rich chocolate up front. Roasted malt with more deep caramel and a touch of toffee. Hint of burnt malt bitterness is quickly overtaken by more smooth chocolate. Wow. Aroma is great. Maybe a hint of cocoa powder at the very end. Hint of fruity hops still somehow manage to come through after all this time. Wow.

Body is still thick with a bit roasted and chocolate malt flavor. Roasted malt goodness at the front with a smooth medium bodied chocolate that comes across next. Silky as it slides across the tongue. Deep toffee and caramel. Hint of burnt malt for a second with a touch of bitterness. Flavor coats the tongue and sticks around for a good while with a great chocolate flavor.

Very surprised that this beer has held up so well after so many years. Wow. Awesome brew that's flavorful and still easy to drink. Yum.

Served In: Snifter

Review from 01/12/07

A - Pours a near black body with a little bit of dark garnet poking through. Small streams of bubbles can be seen on the sides of the glass. Cocoa colored head started at a little less than a finger, and is now a film over the surface, a dollop in the middle of the glass and a ring around the edge of the glass.

S - Roasted malts and a touch of vanilla. A little bit of soy sauce poking out. Cocoa and light coffee.

T - Cocoa and lightly toasted malts. Hints of vanilla. Almost no coffee taste that I smelled on this one. No real layering, just the cocoa and toasted malts.

M - Full bodied with a bit thinner finish. Slightly overcarbonated.

D - This is an ok Imperial Stout. While it isn't close to the upper eschelon, it is by no means bad.

Served In: Pint Glass