Coastal Empire Beer Co. Midnight In The Garden

Coastal Empire Beer Co. Midnight In The Garden is an American Double/Imperial Stout. No ABV on the label, bottle provided for review.

The beer pours with an expected dark color and a huge dark tan head that settles down to a thin coating on top of the beer. Super big chocolate on the nose, it’s like putting your nose in a glass of rich chocolate cake. Apart from a touch of dark fruits there is not a lot of complexity to the aroma, but what is there is outstanding. The taste is a good bit more complex with some sweet chocolate taking over my palate at first. The dark fruits from the aroma creep into the taste, more specifically with a cherry flavor that finish on the sour side. Add to the mix some incredibly strong alcohol heat and a little char and you have it. The carbonation seems a bit low, even for a big stout like this, but it given the intense sweetness of this beer it works for me. (That thin head was 100% gone after 10 minutes)

If big, boozy and sweet is what you are looking for in a stout, you’re going to want to try this. I have to say I am looking forward to trying the red wine barrel aged version of this as well… maybe we’ll save that for a podcast!