Teddy Bear Kisses - Upland Brewing Company

Jeffo

Netherlands

2.78/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Got this one from boatshoes a while back. Thanks for the trade man.

From a bomber into a snifter.

APPEARANCE: Dark brown pour, relatively transparent for the style, makes a two finger, medium-looking, fluffy head with great retention. Black body, easier to see through, with higher levels of active carbonation for the style. Head slowly fades to a ½ finger, huge, thick foam cap that coats the sides of the glass. A good foam cap remains until the end and leaves sheets of lacing down the glass. A phenomenal head, but the body is far too light for the style. Score averages out.

SMELL: Roasted malts with notes of cocoa and coffee. Not quite forthcoming enough for the style. Hints of dark grapes and dates as well, which is a little odd for an RIS.

TASTE: Roasted malts with slight hints of dark chocolate and coffee notes. A little lacking in this department. Quite boozy for the ABV, with a dose of citrus hoppy flavors as well. Spicy, boozy, and slightly bitter finish and into a mild and shorter lived aftertaste. For a brew aged on cocoa nibs, there's not much in terms of cocoa flavor in this one. A bit too much alcohol in the taste profile as well.

PALATE: By far the best part of the beer. Medium body and medium carbonation. Nicely creamy on the palate, goes down smooth with a touch of heat after the swallow and finishes slightly dry on the palate. Good stuff here.

OVERALL: A decent effort. The body definitely needs some beefing up. Far too transparent for a 10% imperial stout. The nose could also use some work, as it lacked enough of the trademark stout aroma we have come to love so much. Other than that, this is a standard imperial stout that satisfies most of the requirements, even if the aging on cocoa nibs could have been a little more obvious and the ABV masked a little better. There was nothing wrong with this bottle, and I'm glad to have had the opportunity. Thanks again for the awesome trade boatshoes.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2011 12:46:47 | More by Jeffo

GRG1313

California

1.78/5  rDev -49.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

I like the few Upland Sours I've had and I jumped to taste this when I saw the bottle being passed around at The Bruery's Clusterfork party.

Poured a nice dark brown/black with nice khaki head and looked pretty nice in the glass.

Nose is red/purple plum chocolatey with some dark black coffee tones and hints of licorice with a bit of an "acidic coffee" tone.

Mouthfeel is a bit thin and, truthfully, hard to judge since the flavors are simply so problematic.

Flavors of burnt black coffee; bitter licorice; burnt charcoal and black rubber. There is a synthetic character to this and I'm almost prepared to conclude that I had a bad bottle.

I wasn't going to post the review, but then, after I wrote the lion's share of this saw other reviews and concluded that "my" bottle was like others. Not really flavor profiles that invite more than a taste of this one.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2011 23:05:35 | More by GRG1313

MbpBugeye

Ohio

2.55/5  rDev -28.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Thanks to Bauermj for this one. I'm excited to try it, this will be my first Upland, I believe.

A- The appearance is tough to score here (but not that it matters anymore what with the new scoring weights *virtual eye-roll*). The body is too thin looking on the pour, it shows lots of red. But the head retention and lacing are superbitastic! But I think Im going to notch it over a 3 since the beer looks nice and black in the glass and that lacing is perfect.

S- The smell is pretty nice, if only a little weak. Cocoa nibs are imparting a more earthy and raw chocolate aroma than what we are used to associating with what we call chocolate. Its almost "barky" as in tree bark or nut shells. Its echoed by chocolate malts, some roasted coffee and oaky smells.

T- Woah, this stuff is pretty messy. Its certainly not tied down at all. More of a scatter shot of flavors ending with big whopping bitterness. Its really not all that bad until mid-palate. Then things go awry. The smooth sweetness with creamy chocolate gets wrecked by jagged flavors of burnt chocolate, some plastic and a chemical bitterness. The bitterness is very unwelcome and lasts way too long into the aftertaste. Its a shame. This beer has potential.

M- Nice, low carbonation, which is a good surprise based on the heady looks of the stuff. Its pretty smooth with a dry finish.

D- Man, this beer has a lot going for it. Its just a shame that the flavors are all cattywompus and that the finish tastes like I'm sucking on a battery.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2011 01:38:39 | More by MbpBugeye

SpeedwayJim

New York

1.35/5  rDev -62%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Thanks to Tom (TPatuto) for this one. Poured from a 22oz. bomber into a Southampton oversize snifter.

A: Standard pour yields a .5 finger light mocha head with poor retention. Beer is a dark, almost opaque brown. Lacing is spotty with moderate cling. Beer is a bit on the thin side and too lightly colored for its style. Poor legs too.

S: Nose is an odd combination of cocoa nibs, non-sour spoiled milk, tangerine slices, liquorice, coffee, and some slight hints of milk chocolate. Aromatic, but not pleasant. Rather awkward actually.

T: Opens cocoa nibs, liquorice, heavy cream, and lactose. Sour whole milk towards the middle with a heavy dose of roasted malt bitterness. Some chocolate is present to sweeten the experience but spoiled dark fruit and coffee beans enters towards the end to crush my taste buds. Finish is a terrible combination of roasted malt, chocolate, spoiled milk, and over-ripe dark fruit. Aftertaste is more of the same but with a coffee bean graininess added. Its all I can do to take 2 or 3 sips to review this one.

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Slightly grainy and bubbly in the mouth. Filmy and oily going down with a messy finish and a long, lingering aftertaste. This just serves to prolong and intensify the horrible flavored of this beer.

D: This beer is terrible in almost every respect. Skip it. Please. I drank it and reviewed it so you don't have to. No amount of aging or barrel-aging could possibly save it in my mind. Upland makes some good beers but this is a complete failure. Furthermore, the name makes me think this is just some mean prank by the brewery. Sounds cute to lure you in, then punches you in the mouth with disgustingness.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2011 00:31:39 | More by SpeedwayJim

fear025

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Aroma:The smell is vaguely similar to the inside of a fresh pumpkin when you first cut it open, strange. There's also malt, chocolate, coffee, and a little vanilla.

Appearance:Black and opaque with a coffee colored head. Good head size and retention.

Taste:Bitter dark chocolate on the foretaste. Also milk chocolate, coffee, and malt. Some nice bitterness peaks on the midtaste and lingers long into the aftertaste. The hops are nicely potent.

Mouthfeel:There is some bitter astringency. The body is medium to thick.

Drinkability:This is quite a tasty dark bitter stout. This bottle is pretty fresh, and I'm curious how it fares over time. I suspect that it will mellow it out nicely.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2011 17:22:40 | More by fear025

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

4.35/5  rDev +22.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Surprised at the lower reviews of this one, I quite liked it. Thanks to BigSexy410 for bringing this to a tasting last night at my place.

A: Black with dark brown highlights, nice lacing and tan ring of head.

S: Get a lot of cocoa up front with barley malt and cereal, almost a bran/chocolate muffin kind of smell. Definite hop ester in the nose, very pleasing all with a slight roast.

T: Awesome stout, maybe my favorite chocolate flavored stout I've had. Great RIS bitter roast at back of the palate and milk chocolate sweet front. Some hop bite also, very nice. Excellent sweet roast to bitter ratio. I know its not the biggest taste, but its very good to me.

M: Nice carbonation and medium feel, not a lot of heat which is good.

D: Nice stout, impressive.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2011 01:45:51 | More by Dreadnaught33

IronCitySteve

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a dark brown almost black color with a small tan foam head. There is some spotty lacing.

S: Let this sit for awhile to warm a bit. Some nice aromas of dark chocolate, roasted barley, alcohol and some burnt coffee.

T: The roasted barley hits the palate first and lasts throughout the tasting. The dark chocolate and burnt coffee comes through in the middle and finishes with a slight hot alcohol taste and some bitter hops. Good flavors, just a tad out of balance.

M: Leaves a slightly burnt taste on the palate.

D: A really nice RIS, a little hot alcohol taste, nothing overwhelming, but this is certainly a sipper.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2011 12:33:31 | More by IronCitySteve

KickInTheChalice

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: This pours a near black mahogany color, with walnut edges. A nice coffee colored head fades quickly, leaving a few spots of lace on the glass.

Smell: The aroma is quite light. Dark roasted barley, dark chocolate,

Taste: Dark roasted malt gives off a nearly burnt flavor. Some dark chocolate and espresso add some bitterness, with molasses and raisins adding some sweetness. The finish is sweet, but with a little coffee as well.

Mouthfeel: This has a medium to full body, with a slightly sticky yet still dry feel. Light to medium carbonation.

Drinkability: Overall I thought this was good, not great. Although that might be an unfair comparison given what it was going up against.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2011 21:16:22 | More by KickInTheChalice

nasty31

Indiana

3.05/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A- Pint Glass, Pours a hazy brown, no completely black in appearance, Little creamy head with very little cling.

S- Smells of roasted barley, tad bit of chocolate notes, alcohol smell if very present.

M- Smooth going down but not a big RIS

T- Lots or roasted barley up front with and aftertaste of bitter chocolate and citrusy hops. Very bitter

D- This is a very bitter RIS not my cup of tea might be better after a year or so but fresh does not impress me.

02/12/11

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2011 04:24:19 | More by nasty31

kirok1999

Ohio

3.9/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A slightly transparent black with a nice head and a bit of lace on the glass. It has great legs and clings to the snifter.
It has a roasty smell with some mild milk chocolate and coffee. The smell and taste match very well. It's smooth, creamy and slightly thick. I would buy this on a regular basis if it was available here.
Overall a really well done stout.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2011 01:54:06 | More by kirok1999

youradhere

Arkansas

3.58/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours black possessing ruddy edges and with a soft, weak, tan head that disappears quickly. Smell is a little subdued but consists of chocolate and coffee, with some anise twang. Smells nice, but much like other imperial stouts. Cocoa flavors, licorice, coffee, roast malt, black berry, vanilla with a residual bitterness. Mouthfeel is a bit light, but still good for the style. Drinkability is pretty good, as this bottle won't last long!

Oh ya, bottled on Sep. 2010

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2011 04:45:33 | More by youradhere

blackie

Virginia

3.63/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

a: unibroue tulip, pours a murky brown in color, essentially black, with a nice mocha head showing average retention

s: solid roasted barley nose - lots of dark chocolate notes, roast char, slightly sweet under, some citrus rind hops, more dark cocoa, sweet alcohol after warming

m: lightly carbonated, body rides the line between medium and full

t: big on the barley roast, burnt grain and bittersweet chocolate, smoky coffee notes after the swallow, full citrus pith hop flavor and a full bitterness, a little piney in the finish with very heavy char, decent flavor set but nothing out of the ordinary, fairly unbalanced towards the harsh char

d: drinks well enough for the elevated abv, it's a passable ris if without anything to set it apart from the pack

bottle from dirtylou paired with some basketball (in)action

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2011 03:45:04 | More by blackie

zeff80

Missouri

4/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a one-finger, tan head of foam. It had good head retention and left some sudsy trails of lace.

S - It smelled of chocolate and mild coffee notes. Some toffee and caramel, too.

T - It tasted of chocolate, coffee and burnt molasses. Carmal and toffee flavors are faint.

M - It was crisp, sharp and smooth. A medium to full bodied ale with a dry finish.

D - This is a good RIS. The coffee flavors are not as strong as I hoped.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2011 16:04:09 | More by zeff80

JamesS

Indiana

4.13/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours an excellent deep midnight black with excellent head and lacing. Very nice deep malty scent, good roasted grains, nice slight coffee aroma, and fantastic chocoloate tones. Very nice flavor as well, with a huge deep malty kick and slight roasted grains under a huge semi-bitter chocolate taste. Goes down quite smooth for such a high ABV brew, although there is a bit of alcohol heat in the finish.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2011 20:52:08 | More by JamesS

gamanley

Connecticut

1.8/5  rDev -49.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

Teddy Bear Kisses pours a deep black with a brown head. The color isn't the darkest I've seen for an imperial stout. There is some nice lacing going on down the glass. There is a lot of chocolate in the aroma, some vanilla, mollasses and a healthy does of alcohol as well. My initial response to the taste is "ugh." The smell had me thinking this would be a pleasant beer, but the actual flavors... Lots of alcohol in the initial taste. There is a really strong off-flavor. It's a slightly burnt rubbery flavor mixed with rubbing alcohol that sticks around in the after taste. Gross. I'm not getting much of anything from the cocoa nibs, but these off-flavors mask everything else. The mouthfeel is full, but the carbonation is a bit high. This is one of the worst imperial stouts that I've had. A few sips in and I think this is going down the drain.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2011 01:21:38 | More by gamanley

Urbancaver

Ohio

4.08/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours pitch black with a bit of frothy tan head. Looks very pretty.
Smells strongly of dark chocolate goodness. Not too sweet.. like a 70-80% Dark Chocolate bar. Tastes a bit bitter and dry but very chocolatey with some roasted malts coming through. Bitter on the tongue but very clean on my palette. Improved as it warmed... very nice

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2011 17:47:38 | More by Urbancaver

kfsv034

Florida

3.63/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Rolandolopez for this one

A - pours a mud brown color with very little head. Slight lacing and a ring or foam around the edges of the glass.

S - Burnt roasty malt, chocolate, bourbon alcohol, slight vanilla and coffee smell.

T - Burnt acrid flavors, chocolate, definite alcohol presences.

M - Thin mouthfeel. residuals left in my mouth.

D - its ok not my favorite

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2011 03:01:16 | More by kfsv034

GoGriz

Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Uhhhh....am I drinking the same beer that other reviewers have had? I mean, it isn't mindblowingly awesome but it isn't bad. In fact it is perfectly drinkable and pleasant. I myself tend to like a slightly sweeter RIS and this one has more of a bitter chocolate flavor to it as many have said. Also notes of roasted malt are present but not overly so. That being said, I still like it. Nose is muted. Everything is slightly better than average actually but not phenomenal.

It drinks like a RIS and is not nearly as bad as some of the reviews read IMHO. If you are on the fence, give it a shot.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2011 02:11:56 | More by GoGriz

BarrytheBear

Wisconsin

1.65/5  rDev -53.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

22 oz bottle

Dark brown into a snifter with a short lived half inch tan head

Equal blend of milk and dark chocolates, coffee, and plastic. Who ordered the Saran Wrap?

Whoa, SWEET Jesus. This is messy. It's thin and way too sweet. Imperial Stout....uh, no way. A pummeling sickly dark fruit experience coupled with an odd cooked cabbage bitterness. Cocoa nibs really do add anything assistance to a beer in serious need of some sort of overhaul or resuscitation. Flatlining, here... won't somebody help please? What's most disconcerting is that the aftertaste sticks around forever and just begs for some sort remediation. Yuck.

Burned again by the Upland flame.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2011 02:34:48 | More by BarrytheBear

burnheartsMKE

Wisconsin

4.33/5  rDev +22%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

When I was a kid my favorite book, The Chocolate Touch, was about a kid, John Midas, who loved chocolate so much he was granted/cursed with the wish of turning anything that touched his lips into his favorite treat. Toothpaste, peas, meatloaf and onions instantly lost their lackluster and became that intoxicating flavor so deeply revered. I believe it ended with him kissing his grandmother and, well, you get the idea.

There's a reason why conquering armies win over the admiration of their captive's children with bits of chocolate, it fucking rules! So then, why shouldn't we as consenting adults add our favorite childhood flavor (and let's admit right here that that love never died) to our favorite beverage? We shouldn't!

Upland did it right. They present us with an Imperial Stout that is neither cloying nor deficient of that righteous bean. There is no John Midas touch here. Instead, it is kissed lightly, without being aggressive or greedy. There is a wink at a Turkish coffee sweetness and a bitter hop counterbalance. It is a little boozy at 10.2%, but that hotness waits around the corner until your hand warms the last couple sips. I am very happy that I have another bottle waiting in the cellar.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2011 06:08:40 | More by burnheartsMKE

jrallen34

Illinois

2.9/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Bottle poured into my Darkness glass...A dark brown, just not yet turned black. A nice big creamy mocha head of at least three fingers, good retention and great lacing. Way to start!...The aroma is so strong! Burnt cocoa nibs and alcohol, this is just charred and not good at all...The taste is even worse, charred, burnt destroyed cocoa nibs. Bitter bakers chocolate, so bitter I can't even drink this. As it warms its slightly better, but not much.

This is really bad, big avoid unless you like burnt cocoa.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2011 02:46:18 | More by jrallen34

RunForYourBeer

Indiana

4.03/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Bottled September of 09. I'm a bit unsure about the date.

A: Pours black with a tan head that quickly dissipates.

S: Strong on chocolate with hints of roasty coffee and brown sugar sweetness.

T: Starts out with chocolate and dark fruits and finishes with some roasty coffee and light alcohol warming.

M: Full with low carbonation.

D: High abv hurts this one.

Really enjoyed this beer. It has the basic elements of an RIS with some added chocolate. One of my favorites of the Upland beers I've had.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2011 05:35:09 | More by RunForYourBeer

Bmoyer0301

Pennsylvania

2.4/5  rDev -32.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Smell:

Roasted malts, and cocoa powder are the main event here. Some ashy undertones followed by chocolate and raisins. As I left my mug warm up a bit there are lots of dark fruits shining through and some rum-esq aromas. In the middle I am pulling out some light roasted coffee maybe a iced coffee smell with some heavy cream. I am liking the faint sweetness that rounds out the roasty bitterness. The hops are bright and noticeable throughout all the aromas going on, pretty sharp and earthy smelling. Not overly charred and cloyingly sweet so far so good.

Taste:

Right off the start I am noticing something that remind me of burnt toast that has a fair amount of bitterness to it. This really has a reminiscent of Bell's Batch 10,000 which was a little over the top for me. There is a fair amount of chocolate and burnt ashy notes going on that are kind of like smoking a cigar. The mouth feel this is really thin for being a imperial stout... almost too thin and I would really like some more body. Also there is a weird red wine flavor going on that makes the finish sharp and tangy. Also, I wanted to call attention to the hops because they are certainly there and add a sharp mossy earth flavor that kind of fight the sweetness. A very dry long finish that leaves a lingering taste that I am not very sure of.

Drinkability:

I don't know what to think about this one. Is this really a imperial stout or is it a black strong ale? I am not sure if this is a bad bottle or if this what they all came out like because when you check out other peoples reviews they are really up and down. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to give this a try but also very glad that I didn't trade for it. This one is just a little off for me and I don't think I will be trying to search it out again. If you come across it, hell give it a shot maybe your bottle will be better than mine and for $7 it's not that hard of a loss if you don't like it.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2011 18:02:12 | More by Bmoyer0301

alpinebryant

Connecticut

4.15/5  rDev +16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Brewed Sept. 10
Pours a dark chocolate with a light tan head that within a few minutes ran to the edges.

The aroma on this is fantastic, strong milk chocolate cocoa flavors overflowing from tulip along with a nice rich roasted aroma.
Taste is also very nice . Good caramelized sugar presence; a slightly milk stout mouthfeel, rich and light milk chocolate flavors, rich dark malt flavors. All in all, I liked all of the flavors in here. Some people said that as it warmed some of the more astringent qualities came out. In any case, I agree a little bit with that statement, but this is still a nice stout that I am definitely enjoying. There is a light mouthfeel for the style and a light carbonation level. I have no idea where the 10.2% is, because it tastes like it could go down extremely smoothly.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2010 00:36:01 | More by alpinebryant

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.45/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Thanks to Azurelimits for sharing this bottle. Served in a tulip.

Pours black with a single-finger tan head. This quickly recedes into a thin collar around the edges, though no lacing remains on the glass. The nose brings quite a bit of dark chocolate as well as some roast. A bit of a creamy, milky character in the nose as well. The taste brings some more chocolate and a lot of roast. The feel is quite dry with a roasted finish. It's also a bit harsh with some bitter astringencies there a well. Oddly, this actually gets less appealing as it warms and I didn't particularly wish to finish my pour.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2010 00:20:19 | More by Thorpe429