Coal Stoker's Blackberry - Mt. Pleasant Brewing Company

Yetiman420

Ohio

3.1/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Unibroue tulip glass.

Pours a medium brown color that appears a solid dark brown in the glass with a 1/2 finger light tan head. Golden brown hues when held up to the light.

Aroma is stale with a hint of berry. This beer was picked up at reputable bottle shop in Grand Rapids about a month ago.

Flavor is an improvement over the aroma. Thin and watery with a pleasant syrupy sweet berry flavor. If you drank this with your eyes closed, you'd be surprised it was black. Not much malt backbone.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2009 00:54:41 | More by Yetiman420

Slay40

Michigan

3/5  rDev -2.6%

05-10-2013 21:24:40 | More by Slay40

downeyj4

Michigan

3.61/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This one is interesting. It's got a cool amber purple brownish color. It has a good tan head. You can smell the blackberry in the nose. The flavor profile is quite complex, which may not be right for everyone. It starts off sweet with the blackberry taste, then it finished a little tart, and it has an aftertaste of roasted malts similar to a brown ale. I'm not a huge fan of blackberries, but I enjoyed this one.

Serving type: on-tap

04-30-2013 04:44:42 | More by downeyj4

MallyOMight

Michigan

2.75/5  rDev -10.7%

04-02-2013 00:33:13 | More by MallyOMight

BlissJunkie

Michigan

3.25/5  rDev +5.5%

01-14-2013 18:49:06 | More by BlissJunkie

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev +29.9%

11-08-2012 17:05:27 | More by t0rin0

Gtg642

Michigan

3.25/5  rDev +5.5%

09-24-2012 23:32:05 | More by Gtg642

Kerrie

Michigan

3/5  rDev -2.6%

08-25-2012 03:55:58 | More by Kerrie

snowbeard

3.75/5  rDev +21.8%

08-09-2012 21:46:16 | More by snowbeard

amishbooze

Michigan

3/5  rDev -2.6%

07-10-2012 23:47:09 | More by amishbooze

Zaphog

Michigan

3.25/5  rDev +5.5%

06-04-2012 01:45:47 | More by Zaphog

ploobs

Illinois

1/5  rDev -67.5%

04-07-2012 18:56:38 | More by ploobs

zoso1967

Michigan

2.9/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Coal Stokers Blackberry Ale pours a strange purple hued amber color. It is a bit cloudy and carries a purplish looking head. The head has average retention and average lacing abilities as well.

The aroma is super fruity with a big dose of fermented berries. The fruit does maintain some pleasant sweetness that mixes well with the bready sweetness of the malt.

The flavor is much different than I had expected. It has a noticeably tart character that plays well off of the berries, but does not play so well with the malt character of the beer. It strikes me as an odd collision with a really strange and unappealing flavor in the finish. As the beer warms it becomes clear that the odd flavor clash might be the result of what tastes like roasted malt.

This beer carries a medium body and has a fairly invigorating amount of carbonation. The finish is pretty dry with some tart, fruity notes left after swallowing.

I am not very impressed with this brew at all. The aroma is pretty nice, but the flavor is confusing and just falls flat with me. It is an interesting brew, but not one I would ever pick up again.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2012 23:54:24 | More by zoso1967

StoutHunter

Michigan

2.4/5  rDev -22.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

I picked up a bottle of Mt. Pleasant's Coal Stoker's Blackberry Ale a couple weeks ago for $1.69 at The Lager Mill. I have had this beer before, but I don't really remember much about it, so I thought I should pick up a bottle and give it a proper review, so let's see how it goes. No visible bottling date but I think its from the middle of 2011. Poured from a short 12oz brown bottle into a imperial pint glass.

A- The label is the same old one that is on most of this brewery's bottles, the only difference is that it has a dark purple background. It poured a dark brown ruby red color that looked plum colored when held to the light and it had a big three and a half fingers worth of fluffy off white head that died down to a thin layer that stayed till the end and left a lot of patchy lacing. This beer has a nice color and nice big head.

S- The aroma of this beer isn't that strong. It starts off with some lightly toasted malts that have a medium amount of sweetness and impart a grainy and brown bread like aroma, all in all the malts smell a little stale. Next comes the blackberry's which are also a little sweet and smell somewhat natural, I also pick up some grassy hops towards the end. Not the best smelling beer, but not the worst either, something about it makes it smell stale.

T- The taste of this beer is quite different then the aroma. It starts of with the malts which have a low amount of sweetness but don't really impart that much flavor just a faint grainy and malty taste which is pretty thin and would be better if it retained some of those toasted aspects it had in the aroma. Next comes the blackberry's which stick out, but they aren't that recognizable, it shows up as a sweet berry jam flavor that is somewhat tart, it doesn't have that taste hat automatically makes you think blackberry's. The finish is sweet with a grainy and berry like aftertaste. I wasn't too impressed with the flavor of this beer, it didn't do anything for me.

M- Somewhat smooth, a little tart, on the light side of being medium bodied it and had a high amount of carbonation that was a little too prickly. The mouthfeel on this beer was just ok, it was nothing special.

Overall I thought that this was a slightly below average beer and a pretty forgettable Fruit beer. The flavors and aromas just seemed out of whack, the malts didn't have enough flavor and the blackberry's weren't that discernible. This beer wasn't that drinkable, it went down somewhat smooth, but it didn't have enough flavor to hold my attention. What I liked most about this beer was the appearance, it looked pretty nice and unique and had some pretty impressive head retention. What I liked least about this beer was pretty much everything else, the aromas and flavors weren't that great and the mouthfeel wasn't that good either, there is a lot to fix with this beer. I won't be buying this beer again, it wasn't a memorable fruit beer and it really didn't work for me. I don't recommend this beer, there is just too much wrong with it. This was a pretty unimpressive beer, nothing about it really stuck out besides the flavors that shouldn't stick out, like the unwanted tartness. I find this brewery to be pretty hit or miss and this beer turned out to be a miss, it needed a better malt base and it needed a better and more natural blackberry flavor, I won't be buying this beer again.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2012 04:49:08 | More by StoutHunter

twkirkby

Michigan

2/5  rDev -35.1%

12-18-2011 20:11:42 | More by twkirkby

Another6Pack

Michigan

4/5  rDev +29.9%

11-22-2011 01:37:50 | More by Another6Pack

BrewerB

California

2.75/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Grabbed this on a trip to the Great Lakes region back in May 2011.

Pouring into a Goose Island pint glass. Formed a massive light tan, root beer float-like head. We're talking 5+ fingers with about 6X as much foam as liquid, volume-wise. Dark, clear copper.

Very sweet/fruity nose. As for distinguishing the blackberry, hard to say…but it's either blueberry or blackberry. Difficult to decipher much beyond the fruit.

Tart and fruity in the flavor. The blackberry is there. Not much in the malt department nor anything else beyond the fruit.

Medium-light bodied with a moderate-high level of carbonation. Feels thin.

Well this beer certainly nails down the fruit component but lacks anything else. Great to sample from a new brewery but not something I'd seek out again.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2011 03:33:34 | More by BrewerB

prototypic

Ohio

3.4/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Coal Stokers Blackberry Ale is a darker brown color that does feature traces of purple. Go figure. A light tan head caps it and also looks a little purple. It stands about a finger or so tall and hangs around for quite a while. Lacing was moderate and sticky.

The nose is average. It isn’t very strong. It definitely smells sweet and fruity. Berry notes are quite prominent. Smells like a host of berries, rather than just blackberry. It smells a tad malty. Cocoa scented chocolate malts and roasted malts are in the mix. That about wraps it up. Alcohol is masked very well, although it’s not very strong. Smells okay.

The flavor is a tad better than the nose. The malt base is more flavorful than expected. It is a mix of roasted and chocolate malts. The chocolate variety definitely tastes like cocoa. The base is complemented by a nice berry flavor. It’s not overly strong though and works well. It definitely adds a sweet element to the flavor. It’s not bad. There are some earthy and grainy notes on the tail. Alcohol is buried. Finishes malty and fruity.

The body is light medium and has a decent feel. Carbonation is somewhat restrained. It’s not bad and goes down rather easily. The berry flavor grows somewhat tiresome by the end of the bottle. A 12 oz. serving size was a great call.

Coal Stokers Blackberry Ale is a decent beer from Mt. Pleasant Brewing Company. The blackberry element isn’t overly done. It works pretty well with the malty base. It gets a little tiresome, but isn’t bad. I’m not all that into fruit beers, but this isn’t a bad one. You could definitely do worse.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2011 02:52:42 | More by prototypic

ommegoose

Illinois

2.9/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Odd murky purplish color. But the cream colored head holds pretty well, and leaves a sheet down the side of the glass. I did leave some sediment in the bottle, which I would imagine is best for this beer.

Overwhelming aroma of blackberry. It's not particularly appetizing.

At first it's pretty hard to find the beer elements in this one. It has a really strong blackberry flavor. The taste is less cloying than the aroma though. Malt flavors are rather muddled, and there's only a slight leafy hop in the back end. Fortunately the sweetness is not overwhelming, and there's a mild tartness for balance.

The feel is pretty good. The beer is soft on the tongue and the carbonation is right.

If this was still the drinkability score, it wouldn't be high. I'm having a hard time finishing one. Not a beer I'd be too excited to have again, and I'm usually pretty okay with fruit beers most of the time.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2011 05:37:38 | More by ommegoose

mactrail

California

3.25/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Sweet and nasty at first sip, but it seems to improve after a few drinks. The problem is the sugar is immediately attacked by the hops and the resulting bitter/sweet combination takes some getting used to. Very pretty in the glass with the dark amber color. Well carbonated and a nice mouthful. Some fruit in the nose. Some tartness finally in the aftertaste, but the result is more like the "mixed fruit" jelly in the little packs at the diner.

It seems to be hard to resist the urge to make a fruit or pumpkin beer sweet. But ultra dry turns out way too acidic. For a couple of really good fruit beers, if you're in Michigan, check out Paw Paw Brewing in the town of the same name west of Kalamazoo.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2011 02:42:12 | More by mactrail

jordanmills

Texas

1.35/5  rDev -56.2%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Wow this one was a real stinker. It poured purplish red with a slimy head that clung to the glass like poison. It smelled... no, reeked of berry syrup and sugar and possibly adjunct, but I couldn't tell over the syrup. It tasted overwhelmingly of berry syrup with a hint of malt and an afterthought of water. The aftertaste clung worse than cough syrup. This is the closest I've come to pouring one in the sink in years. I pray that I just got a bad bottle, maybe improperly stored, but I don't think I'll have the intestinal fortitude to try another one.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2011 01:31:34 | More by jordanmills

schmidtn

Michigan

3.48/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This is a berry beer.
Dark copper color and large bubbles in the head.

Berry smell, light hops aroma make it through as well.

Nice berry taste with a balanced malt aftertaste
Maltness gives a nice mouthfeel. The fruit acid lends an astringent quality that finishes clean.

Nice balance for a berry beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2011 01:23:00 | More by schmidtn

stoutman

Michigan

2.83/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

This beer poured quite reddish with just a tiny head. It was very sour with dry bitterness. Blackberry notes were not as strong as I would have liked. The blackberry "flavor" was almost a sour disappointment. Sour berry flavor with a sweet sour finish. Medium bodied with good carbonation. Just lacking in flavor and aroma.
It fell short of my expectations.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2010 03:00:11 | More by stoutman

Trasher

Michigan

4.35/5  rDev +41.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Tried this beer on draft and in bottle. The draft was a much better beer than in the bottle. People who like a fruit flavor in thier beer may like this dark blackberry beer. The bottle seemed a bit over carbonated. Could be some secondary fermentation working in there so I'd recommend keeping in the fridge as much as possible.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2010 20:26:13 | More by Trasher

jpmclaug

South Carolina

1.55/5  rDev -49.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

Bottle poured into a pint glass. I'm hoping this is better than the IPA from the same brewery.

A - Dark Dark purple colored body with a small white head.

S - Sweet artificial berry aroma. Similar to what I'd expect to smell from some Juicy Juice.

T - Maybe a hint of artificial blackberry taste up front with a disgusting metallic taste in the finish. A bit of a grape like flavor in the end as well? This is just awful.

M - light to medium with a good amount of carbonation

D - Nasty stuff. I'm pouring the rest of this out. The after taste is awful. I am not sure if this is really even a beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2010 22:20:54 | More by jpmclaug