Sticky Fat - Half Acre Beer Company

wschmit

Illinois

3.73/5  rDev -7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Growler into a Goose Island Nonic.

A: Pitch black, Guinness-like color with a mocha-tan, cascading, stout-like head--around two fingers' worth. Fine, sticky bubbles leaving a nice lacing as the head slowly settles down to a finger's worth. Head thinning out dramatically as I drink, but still good lacing.

S: I can smell the hops from a foot away. The hopping is a bit confused, though, and slightly acrid, or maybe grassy. Some coffee notes as well. Interesting, but a bit overwhelming, I think.

T: Good, up-front Cascade taste, followed by not-too-thick, not-too-thin coffee flavor. Not overwhelmingly bitter, actually. The dominant lingering flavor is toasted malt and coffee/espresso.

M: A bit of hoppy resin, almost a nitro-tap feel to the carbonation, and a good bit of chew to the body. It certainly coats the whole tongue.

D: One or two of these, tops. It's a confusing beer--nose says pale ale, but the feel says milk stout. I think it's an enjoyable experience, but one or two at most, then I'd have to move on.

This beer is hard to rate to style. I don't have much experience yet with the Black IPA/Cascadian Dark style, but I believe it falls squarely into that category. I like this a lot, but it's not sessionable, by my standards.

I do love Half Acre, and this throws me for a bit of a loop, given how much I love Daisy Cutter, and how summery and light Gossamer is. An interesting experiment, nonetheless.

Serving type: growler

09-17-2010 17:00:11 | More by wschmit

HuskyinPDX

Washington

3.53/5  rDev -12%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

Bottle opened on 2.21.13

A - Pours brown with a one inch medium tan head with good retention.

S - Hoppy grass, malts, sweet brown sugar.

T - Roasted and burnt malt, some coffee, much of the hops are lost here.

D - Decent carbonation with a medium body.

O - Smells hoppy, tastes malty and burnt.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2013 04:29:30 | More by HuskyinPDX

birdsellam

Indiana

3.75/5  rDev -6.5%

02-11-2013 18:03:41 | More by birdsellam

rlee1390

Indiana

3.9/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Received as an extra in a trade

A-Dark in the glass, two finger tan head with some lacing.

S-Roasted notes, some coffee, tad bit of smoke along with earthy hops.

T-Starts with roasted malt, coffee, tad bit of chocolate, earthy hops. Ends with mild bitterness.

M-Medium bodied, some carbonation and creamy.

O-A good beer, fresh I imagine it would be much better, as a tad more hops would make this great.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2013 00:12:12 | More by rlee1390

siege06nd

Virginia

3.6/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Big thanks to bertram for the hookup...thanks, Jason!

A. Nothing surprising here, other than how good this looks. Pitch black in color with a hefty finger of cream colored head that never settles below a half finger. Lacing is thick and consistent with the head lingering nicely. This is fantastic looking.

S. MMmmm...very nice. Lots of chocolate, coffee, and cocoa roast notes. Touch of smokiness on the back end. Hops make themselves known with a lemony, pine note that cuts through the sweet roastiness. Hops are just a bit one-note, but still good. I like this. Smells very much like a dry stout.

T. In a word...muddled. Kind of the inverse of the nose, with most of the sweet, chocolate and coffee notes fading to the background in favor of some ash and hops. Bright, lemony hop notes erupt out of the mid and are tempered by the ashy dryness of the malts. Not bad.

M. It's a tad watery, though at 6.5% I don't suppose I should expect a thicker brew. Medium to high carbonation, but the individual qualities at play here (roasted malt with bright hops) never really mesh together, instead each takes a turn poking its head out until resolving into an awkwardly abrupt, carbed, watery finish.

O. Solid attempt at the style that is certainly above average. Look and nose were spot on but the flavor profile didn't quite come together as nicely as I would like. Still, I'm glad to have tried it. Thanks, Jason!

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2012 23:50:50 | More by siege06nd

Chisfinest84

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -6.5%

10-30-2012 19:06:02 | More by Chisfinest84

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev -0.2%

10-10-2012 02:32:56 | More by t0rin0

eorwar

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +6%

10-02-2012 18:30:11 | More by eorwar

ystazi

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -12.7%

10-02-2012 17:15:26 | More by ystazi

312HopBomb

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

22 oz bottle served in a New Glarus ale glass

Pours a deep, dark brown capped by a great clumpy head that recedes very slowly. Beautiful lacing.

Smells of sweet, dark roasted malt with caramel and an awesome perfumey citrus hop note.

The roast is prominent backed by tangy yeast and a tart, piney bitter finish. Nice complex layer of flavors. An Over ale malt profile that is roasted darker and I love Over ale. The grapefruit hop taste is delicious.

Medium smooth mouthfeel is slightly creamy and refreshing.

I like this new improved version. Half Acre hits one out of the park.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2012 03:46:02 | More by 312HopBomb

jegross2

Illinois

3.58/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Reviewing the Sticky Fat from Half Acre Brewing Company our of Chicago, Illinois. This is a wet-hopped black IPA.
Score: 86

Bottle is from late September 2012 release. Served in a Half Acre tulip and enjoyed on 09/26/12.

Appearance: Pours three-plus titanic fingers of foamy head that settles to a thin, foggy layer with a thick clump of head in the center. The beer is a deep brown, almost black color with a thin brown halo outlining the beer. Below average lacing, good retention. 4/5

Smell: Huge doses of piney hops and citrus upfront, then a light roastiness, milk chocolate and a hint of mint. Nice blend of contrasting flavors. 4/5

Taste: Nowhere near as well incorporated as the nose tricked you into believing. Has a distinct "roasted hops" flavor that I am not particularly enjoying. The taste i all about the chocolate malt and citrus flavors. Frankly, the flavor profile feels like someone filled up a bucket with oil and water, shook it, and said "voila." Some bitter grapefruit too. 3.25/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-minus bodied, lightish carbonation with a zesty hop kick on the tongue. Very malty, slightly roasty. 3/5

Overall: A huge letdown given the well-incorporated nose. This beer is a great example of why people are "bearish" on the style (sorry, I could not resist the pun).

Recommendation: Skip this one.

Pairings: Chocolate-covered espresso beans.

Cost: $8.99 for a 22 oz (bomber) bottle.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2012 03:05:51 | More by jegross2

AndreaAle

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +18.5%

09-26-2012 03:41:46 | More by AndreaAle

Holland

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: black to brown color with a thin tan head that leaves some lacing on the sides of the glass.

S: smells of citrus, pine, and slightly spicy hops with a hint of roastiness

T: same kind of thing as the smell but with more emphasis on the roasted flavors

M: really interesting, soft feel, but with a good amount of carbonation on a medium body.

O: solid beer, but black IPAs still aren't my thing. $7 or something like that at the brewery, I think

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 00:00:22 | More by Holland

BeerOps

Illinois

4/5  rDev -0.2%

09-23-2012 22:30:20 | More by BeerOps

Treebs

Illinois

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

22 oz. bottle served in a Midnight Sun chub.

A: Pours a solid black color with dark brown edges where the light hits. A one finger height of tan head forms on the pour and recedes to a bubble ring. Sticky splotches of lace are left down the glass.

S: Big hoppy notes are present up front. Citrus flesh and green piney notes are both present. Some of the darker flavors then start to come out. Roasted malts, milk chocolate and some toasted coffee bean. Great combinations of flavors going on.

T: The hops are there in a raw state with some semi bitter pine and just mild citrus, but the roasted malt flavors with the light chocolate take over pretty quickly. The finish is fairly clean like an IPA, save for a touch of dry, roasted malt notes.

M: Medium bodied with a solid, medium carbonation. The finish is slightly dry and clean.

O: This beer really straddled the line between IPA and full on black ale. It had a great hop presence, but it was really kept in line by the solid roasted malt presence. A must try for any "Black IPA" fans.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2012 19:06:16 | More by Treebs

thinwhiteduke

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +6%

08-31-2012 00:46:32 | More by thinwhiteduke

wfcubsfan

Illinois

4/5  rDev -0.2%

06-10-2012 23:29:14 | More by wfcubsfan

MarkFy

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +6%

06-07-2012 19:27:51 | More by MarkFy

ILLEGALSMILEs

Illinois

4/5  rDev -0.2%

02-07-2012 19:28:00 | More by ILLEGALSMILEs

hilgart1

Illinois

4/5  rDev -0.2%

01-27-2012 01:46:29 | More by hilgart1

whartontallboy

New York

3.5/5  rDev -12.7%

12-23-2011 02:50:56 | More by whartontallboy

rtepiak

Poland

4.03/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

i'm not the man when is comes to love an ipa for its dryness... Wait. I'll take that back. I think there is a place for minerality and dryness and hop astringency. I think the american black in that case is one dry beer incorporating all of those. This i think sort of contradicts the palate in most cases. I would have this with ceviche. Or all that korean pickled loveliness. Pour is like a porter. More head retention. Nose of pineapple savory. Palate is dry as hell. Front and back of palate. Chalk, toast, and presume. A touch of separation with the abv but i guess it may be my personal preference. So dry its thin. Still bready. Malty hints. Nice from. Oh. Grilled calamari. Right there.

Serving type: on-tap

12-02-2011 06:25:14 | More by rtepiak

spycow

Illinois

4/5  rDev -0.2%

12-01-2011 04:32:44 | More by spycow

mbiang

Indiana

5/5  rDev +24.7%

11-22-2011 02:33:54 | More by mbiang

davidbowers13

Illinois

5/5  rDev +24.7%

11-17-2011 13:24:10 | More by davidbowers13