Epicurean Fig And Coffee - Epic Brewing Company

peabody

Kentucky

3.71/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Pours out dark brown with 1 finger of offwhite suds. Some lacing occurs.
Smell is coffee and malt sugar with a bready hint.
Taste is coffee but the maltyness makes you think of raisin bread and a hearty cup of coffee.
Mouthfeel is a little sticky and the alcohol does come into play in the back of the throat.
The coffee does seem to clean the palate after a bit.
Overall this isn't bad but it has so much coffee the the other ingredients are pushed to the wayside.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2013 01:07:30 | More by peabody

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.99/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

750ml bottle, 2012 edition. A multifaceted collaboration amongst brewer, fig farmer, and barista, according to the Lagunitas-esque label-delineating text.

This beer pours a possibly clear, very, very dark chestnut-tinted black, with prominent mahogany highlights, and two fingers of puffy, loosely bubbly tan head, which leaves a broadly ambitious, random pattern of spectral lace around the glass as it lazily recedes.

It smells of bitter espresso and dark roast coffee, a very slight grainy oatmeal cereal malt essence, dry earthy black fruit, which I suppose must be the figs (something I'm not altogether familiar with), a bit of charred ash, and a mild musty hoppiness. The taste is more bitter, somewhat sour coffee beans, almost well blended with a creamy milkiness, quite un-Fig Newton-like figs, lightly roasted caramel malt, a touch of baker's chocolate, cheap cigar ash, a wee hint of anise, kind of weirdly watery coconut flesh, and an understated sweet simmering booziness.

The bubbles are mostly laid-back, with only a slightly edgy frothiness, the body a generally solid top-end medium weight, and mostly smooth, an inherent creaminess persisting from well before. It finishes on the modulated sweet side, as the bittersweet cocoa, milky coffee, oatmeal mush, and now even weaker Middle East black fruitiness facing up to a drying earthy hoppiness and lingering metallic booziness.

An enjoyable imperial stout, with the geographically proximate 'local' adjunct ingredients providing further agreeable flavours - coffeehouse notes chief among them, as the figs (the other promoted guest star here) not really doing much to stand out or make a splash. In the end, this offering is pretty tasty of its own accord, which mostly justifies the equally questionable larger serving and price tag.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2013 03:38:34 | More by biboergosum

Dope

Massachusetts

3.71/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a very dark brown, not quite black. Big dense and frothy light brown head. Fades slowly with good head retention. Only moderate splotches of lacing are left behind.

S: Well, loads and loads of fresh roasted coffee beans. I can't really get anything beyond that, maybe some creamy oatmeal but it's more or less like sniffing a mug of cold coffee. Not unpleasant but basic.

T: Coffee is still here but thankfully not as overpowering as in the aroma (it's still quite strong, however). Coffee beans up front with smooth and creamy oatmeal. Sweetness fades a bit, leaving more of a bitter coffee in the middle and into the finish. Mild but noticeable coconut in the finish, particularly in the lingering aftertaste. A little bitter coffee along for the ride in the aftertaste as well. Try as I might, I couldn't find any figs in this one.

M: Fairly medium bodied, smooth and creamy. Has a slick, almost oily mouthcoating effect.

O: Not a bad IS, but unfortunately it was better on paper than in execution. Very unbalanced, the coffee dominates heavily here. Oatmeal is barely noticeable unlike most oatmeal stouts. Coconut is only noticeable a little in the finish/aftertaste. No fig to speak of at all. It's just a coffee bomb stout, unfortunately. Having said that, it's not bad, just not nearly as good as it potentially could have. Poor balance of flavors although what is there is tasty enough. I guess I just feel a little let down after seeing the interesting ingredients listed on the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2013 04:43:10 | More by Dope

ngeunit1

California

4.23/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a dark brown-black color with a finger of frothy chocolate colored head. The head fades down at a normal pace leaving behind some lacing.

S - Aroma is a mix of roasted dark chocolate malts, coffee, figs, vanilla, coconut, with a bit of black licorice and molasses.

T - Starts off with a mix of roasted chocolate malts with figs, vanilla, and a bit of black licorice. Through the middle, the roasted coffee comes through with some coconut, oats, and molasses. The finish is a mix of roasted chocolate malts, coffee, fig, vanilla, molasses, oats, and touch of black licorice.

M - Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth and a bit chewy with a sweet and roasty finish.

D - Very drinkable. Nice imperial stout with some good complexity from the added ingredients. Overall nicely balanced.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2012 06:21:37 | More by ngeunit1

Mora2000

Texas

3.78/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to thirdeye11 for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours a dark brown color with a tan head. The aroma is outstanding. I get a ton of coffee, as well as a little bit of chocolate and some dark fruit. The flavor is not as good as the aroma. I get the coffee, chocolate and roasted malt that I expected, but they are all a bit muted. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. An awesome smelling beer whose flavor doesn't live up to the aroma.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 22:55:46 | More by Mora2000

UCLABrewN84

California

3.63/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle pour at Woodshop 7 held at Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Long Beach, CA.

2011 vintage.

Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, coffee, and some slight fruity aromas. Taste is pretty much the same with a medium amount of roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer but I think it smells better than it tastes.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2012 00:41:25 | More by UCLABrewN84

dgilks

Australia

3.48/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Inky black with a creamy, tan head. Fair head retention and great lacing.

Smoky, slightly ashy, mildly phenolic aroma. There is a touch of sweetness too but this is all about the burnt, acrid roast. I'm not convinced barbequeing the figs was the best idea.

More "green", ashy roast. Mild fig notes that need to be sought out. Hints of coffee but nothing massive. More roast and a touch of alcohol.

Medium body with moderate carbonation. Good on the whole though it seems a touch fizzy for the flavour combination.

This beer is odd. The incredible ashiness is a little bit too much but I can taste the fig and coffee. A little more sweetness would probably help.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2012 10:17:44 | More by dgilks

Patrickbrusil

Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

It's monday afternoon at 1:13 and my roommates and I just finished a 750ml of this procured at the HF shop.

My big impression of this is that the mouthfeel is thin. I'll just put that out there. However, it's only 8% so not really unexpected.

The coffee is certainly dominate and I think the wet roast process the beans wet through aid to making the coffee flavor stick out more. It's mellow but shines.

A nice sweetness from the figs and the toasted coconut is hard to pick up for me.

Overall I enjoyed this but don't need to have it again. If you see it then try it - almost a more complex breakfast stout.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2012 17:18:00 | More by Patrickbrusil

lacqueredmouse

Australia

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a lovely dark, opaque black-brown colour, crispy at the edges, with a fine, slightly creamy tan head. Lacing is superb. The body is surprisingly light, however, and doesn't seem as thick as the style or the ABV would suggest. But overall, a very good looking brew.

Nose is redolent with big complex coffee aromas, giving characters from the husky, to the chocolatey, to the burnt. There's a lovely sweetness to it, but also a freshness—it reminds us of how fruity as well as how deep and dusky coffee can be. Yes, the coffee dominates, but there's a complexity to it even in its one-dimensionality.

Taste is smooth and light, with coffee bite on the front giving a crisp, oddly bright dark bitterness, that falls off into a soft, mellow chocolate finish. There's no harshness or residual bitterness on the finish, and the smoother characters from the added booze and possibly the coconut conditioning to much to make the ending a caress rather than a punch.

Feel is smooth enough, although I figured it would be a little heavier than it is.

Overall, a really nice brew from Epic, who have a tough record to continue when it comes to "really nice brews".

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 06:28:53 | More by lacqueredmouse

tbeckett

Ontario (Canada)

3.88/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle from Beer Deluxe. From notes.

A - Poured black with one finger of light brown head. Minimal lace and a film of retention.

S - HUGE coffee on the nose. Tons and tons of fresh coffee. Maybe a slight hint of fruits and roasted malt as well, but the majority of the nose is coffee.

T - Coffee is once again dominant. Fruits which I'm gonna guess are fig. Some smooth chocolate and a roasted element as well.

M - Light carbonation, full body and a sweet finish. Smooth stuff.

O/D - A neat, rich stout. Pretty solid for a coffee stout. Not sure if it's worth the price tag, but it's a tasty drop.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2012 22:44:03 | More by tbeckett

Gushue3

Massachusetts

3.35/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Picked up at the Hill Farmstead bottle shop. Poured into pint glass

A pours dark brown from the bottle and is black/dark brown in the glass. The head is very big, about 2-3 fingers, and brown tan in color. Big time retention and clsone lacing is left when it comes down.

S coffee roast and beans. Somewhat sweet.

T Bitter coffee roast and some green earthy hops. Taste is pretty dominated by the coffee and not really much else. Im looking hard for ither flavors and fant fome up with much.

M very smooth and easy to drink. Thinner feel for a stout of this size and very little carbonation

O not great but not bad. Taste was coffee dominant and missed other elements.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2012 01:40:53 | More by Gushue3

mulder1010

Australia

3.15/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

750 ML poured into a GD snifter
Thanks to Spicelab for sourcing this
Shared with Mr Kennedy

A-- Poured a light black and settled midnight black. Two finger light brown head that settled down to a nice looking film. Good lacing left when the head settled to film. No visible carbonation.

S-- Coffee and lots of coffee. Underneath the coffee got tones of dark fruits, roasted fig and brown sugar. Once it warmed up got a bit of nail polish remover, nothing to offset the drinking of this though.

T-- Supposed to be an imperial oatmeal stout but get tons of coffee, roast malts, and fig. Coffee is slightly green.

M-- Coffee feel is either green or instant coffee. Not the greatest feel to it. A little bit of nail polish feel at times. Oatmeal comes through in the mid and back palate. Needs a more substantial feel though.

O-- Not bad, not great. Not the greatest coffee used in this so is a bit harsh at times and overwhelms the figs and oatmeal. Hides the 8% well.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2012 12:12:49 | More by mulder1010