Westbrook Mexican Cake 2013
Westbrook Mexican Cake is an American Double/Imperial Stout. This is the 2013 vintage. From the bottle: Way back in 2011, we brewed our 1st anniversary beer – a serious imperial stout and aged it on cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and fresh habanero peppers. It was so delicious we decided to bring it back once each year. ¡Salud! The bottle also says “Best consumed fresh. Do not age or cellar!”, so thanks to Lee we are having this at 14 days old. Given the ingredient list I can’t help but compare this to Cigar City Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout which might be unfair, but…
Oh my god, this beer smells fantastic, honestly I kind of just want to sit here smelling the beer all night. The aroma is roasty and sweet, kind of like the crisp caramelized sugar on BBQ (in a good way!) The flavor is of rich/sweet dark chocolate, a little vanilla and hints of chicory. The finish is dry and spicy, in fact the habanero heat really adds up, I found my chest and gut burning a bit from the heat of them. The mouth-feel wants to be really thick, but it doesn’t quite get there. This was a huge “want” for me that I had been eager to try for a long time, I am pleased to say that build up did not lead to disappointment. Just a half a notch below Huna, but still great in it’s own way. Once again big thanks to Lee for making this happen for me!
