Baumé - Half Acre Beer Company

RJUGA03

Illinois

3.35/5  rDev -16%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this on tap at Sheffield's in lakeview. I really would be doing this beer a disadvantage to truly rate it because I had a FFF brian brau in the other hand. It was a very good stout and would enjoy another. It was extremely untypical with it's hoppy characteristics. Because of my aforementioned opposing beer I will refrain from calling it too simple.

Serving type: on-tap

03-28-2009 17:53:03 | More by RJUGA03

bristol2120

Illinois

3.88/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served from a 22 oz bottle. Pours a deep, ruby black, with a moderate head that settles down to a light cocoa colored 3'4 inch layer of foam. Aroma is dominated by roasted coffee notes, but these are a bit restrained, and not as overpowering as found in other examples of the style. Coffee also predominates in taste, but there is also the subtlest evidence of some flowery/herbal presence in the background, which I find unusual for a stout, but welcome nonetheless. Mouthfeel is extremely well rounded, and not at all cloying or heavy. Overall, a very interesting take on the style, and in fact, it probably ranks among my favorite stouts.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2011 04:12:44 | More by bristol2120

areich6

Illinois

4.3/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours a very dark brown with about two centimeters of head. Leaves a bit of lacing as the head recedes.

S: Faint roasty malts and a slight bit of hoppiness. Nothing really sticks out with the smell. Pretty standard for a stout.

T: Excellent representation of a plain American Stout. Greaty roasty characteristics coupled with a bit of coffee and a small amount of noticable hoppy bitterness. The Rye is very noticable and adds a unique quality to this beer.

M: Very smooth, drinkable, and creamy. Very pleasant going down the throat.

O: This a fine American Stout. As far as regular non whatever barrel aged stouts go, this is one of the better stouts I've had.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2012 04:23:27 | More by areich6

boothbeer

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Dark Brown, almost black. Light tan head-Very thick with good retention. Nice lacing.

S: Something missing here. Some coffee notes and roasty malts, but kind of a weird aroma.

T: Lots of rye and burnt roasted malt flavors. Some bitterness comes through as well. Really love the roasty finish on this. The flavor of this beer makes up for flaws in the aroma.

M: Decent body, but a little too carbonated.

D: I enjoyed this beer. Very roasty. The smell wasnt great, but the relatively low ABV makes this a drinkable stout. If you like rye flavors in beer, this is a must try!

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2010 02:51:13 | More by boothbeer

CMB2012

Illinois

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

Got my Great Lakes flip top growler filled at the Half Acre Beer Co. on Tuesday 3/8/2011, drunk on 3/10/2011. The brew was served in American pint glasses and enjoyed with my lady friend. First pour is after growler warmed up for 25 minutes in room temperature environment. All subsequent pours got warmer as the growler was left out of the fridge, but recapped each time. This review is from my notes.

A- Pours a mostly dark brown, not quite black. The light that does penetrate shows mahogany highlights around the edges. The carbonation in this fill is right on target, even after three days (gotta love the flip top). I get a nice 2 finger, tan, foamy head that recedes rather quick, but doesn't disappear. A thin 2cm cap remains. All six glasses pour the same.

S- Initial chocolate, followed by roasted malts and coffee, finishes with a bit of that spicy rye kick. Over all the smell of this beer is very well rounded and pleasing to the nose.

T- The taste is very similar to the smell, starting with chocolate up front (also the strongest character), then mostly espresso with some more roasted malt. The rye I do get comes at the end with a somewhat spicy character. What rye is noticeable definitely works, but I would actually like a bit more.

M- Smooth, creamy, medium/full body, with some rough edges from the rye ending. Right on for style.

This is a tasty beer, not terribly complex, but highly drinkable. It's very well made and well balanced, a must try for any fan of Half Acre or American Stouts.

Pairing Notes: This brew was acquired for the intention of a nice little beer dinner with the lady. Only one course and a dessert, we didn't go crazy. For dinner I made a Jambalaya with Zataran's Jambalaya mix and some quality Polish Kielbasa. The semi-spicy character of the seasonings along the smoked sausage brought out much of the roasted gran in the beer. Again, this resulted in chocolate and coffee flavors, the rye being mostly absorbed (Note: the beer was initially reviewed before eating any food for a pure beer flavor judgment). I highly suggest pairing this beer with a fairly spicy food - Mexican, Cajun, BBQ, etc., but not too spicy, just enough to play with. The dessert was the real prize match, though. I picked up two slices of Sour Cherry Pie from Erwin Cafe (on Halstead), along with what appeared to be homemade vanilla ice cream. The ice cream didn't wow me, but the cherry pie, world class on its own, made the beer taste just like a great Italian espresso. Pair this brew with fruit desserts, maybe a fruit tart or your own favorite cherry pie, and be in for delicious treat.

Serving type: growler

03-11-2011 20:16:30 | More by CMB2012

Maction

Illinois

4.2/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured into a pint glass, a very dark brown, almost opaque black color. A centimeter of khaki-colored head appeared, and left random lacing down the side of the glass.

S: Initallially, earthy cocoa and coffee. But more sniffings brought floral hops, and fresh linen.

T: Very interesting battle between dry chocolate and coffee from the rye stout, and floral and citrus from the hops. This beer has a very long finish, which seems to flip between to malts and hops several times.

M: Surprisingly light feel, but not foamy or sparkling. It felt more like ale from an engine.

D: Between the lighter mouthfeel and interesting finish, I could easily see myself putting down a couple of pints of this in an evening.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2009 15:32:01 | More by Maction

BacklitAvenger

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance - Dark brown on the pour but completely black in the glass even when it's only a third or half full. Dirty blonde head tops the thing off, fading quickly and leaving rather sparse spots of foam down the sides of the glass. Held to the light it is opaque with small mahogeny highlights at the bottom of my glass.

Smell - Roasted malt and fruity ester notes predominate. Coffee-ish tones come through as well.

Taste - Bittersweet chocolate and soft black malts to begin. Mid sip there's those fruity esters again, followed by a spicy/bready rye flavor. Sweetness comes through here and there, but the finish is dry and bitter, finishing with full-force roast bitterness and hop bitterness together. Good, but just not a standout.

Mouthfeel - Moderately thick, with a prickly carbonation. Carbonation is medium low but properly offsets the slick mouthfeel.

Drinkability - The bitter finish and the slick/thick mouthfeel consipre with the alcohol in the top/middle of the range for stouts makes this less than sessionable. Not a bad brew by any means, rather tasty in fact, and local, the brewery being about three blocks from my house. But this is not as thirst-quenching/inducing as some drier stouts.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2009 22:05:51 | More by BacklitAvenger

zrbeer1579

Illinois

4.04/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Appearance: Black with half finger creamy mocha head.

Aroma: Roasted, burnt, and chocolate malts. A tiny touch of hops.

Taste: Roasted, burnt, dark chocolate malts. Little rye and a tiny hint of its spiciness. Little pine and floral. Some caramel as well.

Mouthfeel: Unfortunately a bit lacking. It is a little thin. Some malts and hops bitterness. Carbonation fits. Smooth. Roasted dark chocolate aftertaste.

Overall: I like the flavors, but it could use some more rye. Wish it was thicker, too. I would have this again.

Serving type: on-tap

03-01-2013 21:03:11 | More by zrbeer1579

mecummins

Illinois

4.24/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A- poured a dark rich solid brown color. 2 1/2 finger dark tan head with wonderful lacing creeping up the sides of the glass. Settles to a thick film for most of the drink.

S- the rye malts dominate this aroma. Under it is a lightly bitter notes of milk chocolate and espresso. There is a peppery quality and maybe a hint if earth.

T- again, the rye dominates the taste. The chewy, slightly peppery flavor of rye hits you first and lingers. A bit of the milk choloate creeps through. I could detect a roasted grain note. I didn't get any coffee flavor at all. There's an almost smokey note there as well. Very mild hops on the tail, but the rye flavor really over takes any subtle nuances.

M- the mouthfeel was creamier & smoother than expected. Not a whole lot if carbonation. The finish was moderate & dry.

O- a nicely done rye stout (if you don't like the flavor it scent if rye, why drink a rye stout after all?). I would have like a bit more layering of flavors, but overall a very solid beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 19:55:57 | More by mecummins

Hamsteroceros

Illinois

2.93/5  rDev -26.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

22 oz bottle poured into SN tulip.

A- Poured nice and black with a dark crema-colored head. So far, so good.

S- Your standard stout aromas are there: coffee, a little chocolate, roasted malt, slightly bready. I expected more rye character, though. The hops did little for me nose-wise as well.

T- Basically tastes like an odd stout. It is almost as if the rye takes it one direction and the hops are pulling in another. I find myself hoping that the next sip will be better but it just isn't happening.

M- Kinda thin, IMO. There is a nice bit of bite at the end of each sip, though. There just isn't any creaminess or richness to it. It drinks more like a runny porter.

O- "Dry-hopped rye stout?" I said(!) "Sign me up!" I came to this beer with no hyped-up expectations; only curiosity and a love of each individual component that Half Acre brought together in this beer. The flavors just didn't work together for me, unfortunately. Perhaps I'll try it again down the road.

Serving type: bottle

06-04-2011 18:31:23 | More by Hamsteroceros

curtiswvu

Illinois

4.47/5  rDev +12%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

This is a really good Rye Stout. For me it is low enought in ABV to even session (I rarely ever dip below 6%).

Poured into an imperial pint glass.

A. Nice mohagany brown with a black middle that you can not see through. Wonderful rye brown head of about two fingers, with great big bubbles.

T. Delcious, biscut cookies, coffee grounds, the rye shines in a great way at the finish. Man this would make a wonderful holiday time stout. Just enough bitter on the finish to make it rock.

M. Perfect full body, everything I want in a stout. Alcohol is well hid.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2011 15:45:48 | More by curtiswvu

1noa

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22oz bomber into a pint glass. Pours rich and dark out of the bottle to little head, settling on a nice caramel lace. The smokey aroma blends nicely with a hint of coffee. This stout drinks very smooth and is balanced across the palate. Cellar if you like, but definitely drink now.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2011 03:23:01 | More by 1noa

jogadubwise

Illinois

4.05/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours very dark brown, almost black. Two fingers of fluffy, dry looking tan head that sticks to the glass nicely. Looks like a cola in the glass. Can't wait to taste this.

Smell: Toasted malt and a lot of coffee, with some sweetness coming in the background.

Taste: Black coffee, malt. The finish screams RYE. Very dry at the end, but not unpleasantly.

Mouthfeel: Thinner than I expected. Could do with some added body, to be honest.

Drinkability: Can't imagine having more than one of these, though the 22oz bomber will disappear no problem.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2010 02:50:05 | More by jogadubwise