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I’ve been on a microbrewery tour of St. Louis with my friend Joe all day today. It’s been a long day, and in fact, I’ve racked up nine new beers today alone, so why not go for an even 10. We stopped at 4 Hands Brewing near downtown, the International Tap House in Soulard, and Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. near downtown. We finally headed back to Joe’s house and we decided to play a little pool and finish the evening with one more beer. I couldn’t think of any better beer to finish the day off with than “Happy Ending” from SweetWater. Joe brought this back with him from a recent trip south and highly recommended I try it.
Location: Poured from the bottle into a pint glass, at my friend Joe’s house in St. Louis, MO.
Numbers: 9% ABV, 51 IBUs, ~ 280 Calories
Ingredients: Grains: 2 Row, Roasted Barley, Black, 70/80, Chocolate; Hops: Centennial, Williamette; Dry Hopping: Cascade and Simcoe
Appearance & Aroma: It was very black in color and almost nothing shone through it when held up to the light. It had a quarter inch thick tan head on it, and the aroma was full of sweet roasted malts, cocoa, and coffee like smells with some piney hop aroma in the background.
Taste & Feel: The body was full and the mouthfeel was very smooth and velvety. The flavors up front were sweet and roasty with hints of dark chocolate. The flavor evolved through the middle, with more coffee-like flavors coming through. It finished with some roasty sweetness behind a coffee-like bitterness. In the aftertaste, some citrusy hop bitterness joined the flavors.
Food Pairing: This is a big beer, and it had plenty of dark cocoa and coffee flavors. It could certainly be enjoyed all on its own and would be plenty flavorful. I might pair it with something a little lighter, such as angel food cake, to bring out the sweetness a bit, or even vanilla ice cream and make a float out of it.
Overall Impression: I thought it was a very solid imperial stout, with plenty of roasty flavors and hints of dark cocoa and coffee. It reminded me a bit of my homebrew Russian Imperial Stout, which I’ve won a few awards with. Overall, I thought this was a pretty good beer, and a very happy ending to a great beer tasting day.
My Rating: 
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