gift of the gods, yeah those ones
In spite of, well, everything, there’s nothing like a stout to calm your nerves. And sometimes it’s nice to have a stronger one than normal, one with a little more oomph. If it happens to have a cool label too, so much the better. It was both the label and the name that pulled my hand right to Abduction in Be Hoppy’s fridge; pink rainbow unicorns can’t be ignored and above the name? Double fudge barrel aged. Fall on your knees, this is now your god. Lo, it has descended from the heavens. I would call the aliens on the lest hand side of the can Simpsonsesque, although that’s probably only because of the cyclops look. The two-eyed one on the right reminds me more of Toejam and Earl. I wonder of the people at Pipeworks have those influences in their pasts. They are from Chicago, so it’s certainly possible.

It’s promising in the pour, looking thick and sleek, and oh my god it’s as chocolately and liquory as you would ever want in a beer. I tasted even before sniffing, and there’s a good layer of graham cracker in the aroma, but the same notes of the flavor are present. Every piece of the style description comes out, with a slightly bitter stout entrance, a long cocoa road and a sweet bourbon tail-end. It develops kind of a tang as you drink and leaves a syrupy coating on the glass. At some point, the wood of the barrels starts making an appearance and you think the whole can might have been a bad bet to make. Eyes bigger than your stomach, as it were. It’s delicious, but definitely heavy. It’s a little strong in alcohol and in nature to be an accompanying drink, to a dessert or anything else, but it’s certainly a course of its own.

Supplier: Be Hoppy
Price: €13.95