Wake Up Dead - Left Hand Brewing Company

superspak

Michigan

3.58/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled 6/30/2011(1 year from today). Pours crystal clear very dark brown color with a small khaki head with good retention that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Some decent spotty lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of cocoa, caramel, biscuit, toast, roasted malt, molasses, nuttiness, coffee, herbal, pine, and light dark fruits. Some pretty nice and balanced aromas with good strength. Taste of chocolate, caramel, toast, toffee, roasted malt, coffee, biscuit, nuttiness, herbal, and pine. Fair amount of pine bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of chocolate, roasted malt, caramel, toast, herbal, and pine on the finish for a good bit. Decent balance of flavors; but it is not as roasty as most in the style, and is slightly cloying. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a creamy and fairly slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with only a warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a pretty good imperial stout. Fairly balanced flavors with decent complexity; and quite smooth to sip on.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2012 04:26:45 | More by superspak

LXIXME

New Mexico

3.6/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a little above the glass gives this clear dark brown to black colored beer a medium to big light brown head the falls into a nice lacing that lasts and lasts.

Dark roasted malts soaked in bourbon and blended with dark fruits aroma.

Dark roasted mocha malts, a light bourbon style alcohol, with dark fruits taste.

A light dryish aftertaste with lingering light alcohol on this full bodied beer.

A pretty decent imperial stout with a slight milkiness to it.

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2012 23:32:10 | More by LXIXME

stampfler07

Georgia

3.9/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- Bomber, pours a very dark brown with a substantial amount of frothy brown head that lingers and leaves some light lacing

S- Sweet notes, raisin, light cocoa

T- Sweet cocoa flavor initially, light raisin, dark roasted malt, finish is warming and slightly sweet without the overly strong alcohol feel of a 10.2%

M- Light carbonation, heavy body, nice warming aspect

O- Pretty solid overall, nice imperial stout

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2012 02:46:28 | More by stampfler07

Spider889

Ohio

4.35/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served on nitro at the brewpub on 9/25/11.

Arrives with an awesomely thick creamy head.

Smells sweet - chocolate with a hint of bourbon-soaked vanilla bean.

The taste is full on semi-sweet chocolate and malty goodness.

Overall Left Hand sure knows how to do a beer on nitro... actually, this was the first time I had ever tried the base Wake Up Dead beer, and I like this better than the barrel-aged version. Very good.

Serving type: nitro-tap

06-10-2012 22:29:27 | More by Spider889

biglite351

Pennsylvania

2.9/5  rDev -24.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Orange around the edges with a creamy tan head

S - Very mild raisin malt and an earthy soil like smell

T - Much deeper than the scent. Dark fruit, licorice and malt. Bitter

hit in the finish

M - Good coating but only a mild tingle on the tongue

O - Not bad but nothing special

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2012 11:16:58 | More by biglite351

thydarkprevails

Illinois

4.05/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bomber bottled 3/13/12 poured into a duvel tulip. Pours a midnight brown/black with a thin tan head that shrinks down with nice lacing. Aroma is coffee, chocolate, raisin, vanilla, and oak. Taste is toasted barley, bitter chocolate, coffee, plums, raisins, cherry, vanilla, and cream. Medium mouthfeel and a tad over carbonated. Really good.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2012 22:41:20 | More by thydarkprevails

scruffwhor

Illinois

3.8/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Color is black and the two+ finger head is a medium brown. Great film of foam and nice lace stickage.

Coffee aroma with some mocha, dark chocolates and maybe some herbal black licorice.

Thin palate, but has some good flavor. Coffee, chocolate, super roasted malts, maybe some black licorice. A nice warm finish. Good sipper, but a palate that's on the thinner side.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2012 00:48:07 | More by scruffwhor

mjpolzin

Wisconsin

3.83/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A nice, drinkable Imperial Stout....no more, no less. It isn't up to par with some of my favorite Imperial Stouts and it doesn't pack the punch that some of my favorites do either. What this beer might be is a good introductory IS for someone looking to get into strong, dark beers. With the ABV being 10.2, you can't mess around because it will hit you sooner or later but the alcohol seems to be fairly well hidden and the beer goes down very easy-almost too watery for me. This might make it very pleasing though to newbies. All of the normal tastes of an Imperial Stout are there-roasted malts, chocolate, liquorice, dried fruits, but they just aren't as prominent and the booziness isn't very overwhelming.

If I am looking for really strong nightcap to knock my socks off, this beer is not it. If I am looking for a solid Imperial Stout for someone who is newer to this genre than this will do just fine.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2012 04:01:35 | More by mjpolzin

DavidST

Texas

3.55/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22oz bottle into a snifter, bottled on 8/8/11. This pours a little less thick that some imperial stouts, the poured color is pitch black with a short lived mocha head. The smells are of dark roasted malts, molasses, alcohol. The feel is thicker than expected. The taste is a little disappointing, molasses, some dark roasted malts, but more molasses than anything else and I prefer the dark bitter espresso taste of my favorite stouts.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2012 03:16:28 | More by DavidST

DavoleBomb

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a snifter.

4.5 A: Black color. Two fingers of light brown frothy/creamy head. Retention is better than average with the last 1/4 inch being particularly stubborn. Plentiful, mountainscape lacing is left.

3.5 S: Moderate roastiness. Chocolate cake batter, molasses, a good bit of caramel, and coffee underneath. Booze is exceedingly well hidden. I can't detect a thing. Well balanced with well integrated flavors, but it's just not impressing me like I thought it would.

3.5 T: Like the nose, this is full of chocolate, cake batter, and caramel. Molasses right behind along with light coffee and a minor dark fruitiness.

4.5 M: Heavier medium body with a silky, slickness to it. Good moderate carbonation. Nice here.

4.0 D: Solid imperial. Good, complementary flavors with a great mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2012 01:16:35 | More by DavoleBomb

yuenglingfan101

Indiana

4.53/5  rDev +18%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

poured into pint glass. Another one of my favorite breweries. Nice beer overall. Dark color not much head. Taste ok and chocolatey went down pretty smooth but not the best. Very strong beer not to be taken lightly. Serious beer drinkers will love this imperial stout

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2012 15:54:42 | More by yuenglingfan101

wages

Missouri

3.83/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Appearance - 3.5/5 - black as night with no head whatsoever.

smell - 5/5 - its got a chocolate aroma along with some hop undertone.

Taste - 4/5 - seems like it focuses on chocolate malt. tasty and malty sweet.

Mouthfeel - 2.5/5 - full bodied but seems low on carbonation. Kind of thick on the tongue.

Overall - 3/5 - an enjoyable beer but I think the one I had may have not fully fermented or else there is just to much residual sweetness for me.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2012 12:43:25 | More by wages

Daktyls

Massachusetts

3.68/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a pitch black color with minimal head that quickly dissipates to a fine lacing.

S: Scents of black licorice is present from afar but also contains notes of cocoa and a slightly floral hoppiness, everything else is well masked by the licorice.

T: Licorice sweetness almost dominates the taste with hints of cocoa and again, floral hops in the background, but not a whole lot else going on.

M: Medium, high amount of carbonation, with a very thick, oily feeling.

O: Overall, not bad, an interesting take on Imperial Stouts, certainly worth a try. Not being a licorice fan, I was hesitant to try this, but it worked well.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2012 23:42:39 | More by Daktyls

mountdew1

New Hampshire

3.5/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into an imperial pint glass. Color was a very very dark brown that was almost black, with a light brown 1 finger head. After 5-10 minutes a thin layer was left that clung well to the sides. Aroma was slightly sweet, just a hint of milk chocolate and some roasted grains. Very slightly bitter up front on the tip of the tongue, mellowed out to a sweet almost milk stout, but finished up bitter and slightly burnt. Felt great in the mouth, coated very nicely. The finish to the flavor really dragged the beer down overall. The ABV seemed to hit a bit faster than expected.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2012 22:33:07 | More by mountdew1

YouSkeete

Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Deep brown with a lighter mocha-tan colored head. Thick molasses, coffee, malt, sugared plums and dates and smoke all present themselves in the nose. Really great aroma. Boozy, sour molasses and bready coffee malts on the initial sip. Bittersweet chocolate, dark sugared fruits (plums, cherries dates) and alcohol through into the finish, which is quite bitter and dry. Lots of strong, boozy aftertastes that linger for a very long time. Mouthfeel remains bitter and dry. Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation. Lots of flatter tastes and alcohol flavor than i was expecting. A big fan of Left Hand brews, and an even bigger stout fan, AND the true greatness of it's aroma, it hurts to say that this really wasn't very good overall.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2012 23:29:14 | More by YouSkeete

wvsabbath

West Virginia

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

Serving Type - 22 oz bottle

Appearance - Dark black, traces of tan. Nice 1/2 thick head with plenty of lacing.

Smell - Sweet chocolate malts, coffee, dark fruits, cocoa, added sugars and molasses.

Taste - Sweet malts and a chocolate and coffee mix at first sip. Theres a backbone of vanilla and some carmal that is present near the finish. Alcohol is mild and not overwhelming. Dark fruits like rasin and plum come out but not very dominate.

Mouthfeel - Thick, coats tounge with malts and a little fruitness. Palette gets some vanilla and chocolate. Tounge is left a little bittered. Aftertaste is malty, sour and coffee bittered.

OVerall - Decent, not overly flavorfull or that alcohol crush that makes it feel like a big beer. Mild and smooth, good flavors, just nothing special, but worth a drink.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2012 04:09:48 | More by wvsabbath

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.6/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours pitch black out of a 22 ounce bomber, from Longmont CO, I literally like every beer I've had from Left Hand. Thick tan head forms nicely with a pitch black body glancing back at me. Aroma has dark fruit, coffee roasts, with vanilla bean creaminess. Flavor is great big roast, big dark malt character with more vanilla slipping in to the fun...That's when things get out of control with big alcohol and chocolate notes burping up a booze background at 10.2% abv I see why? Mouthfeel is full bodied with mellow carbonation slick oily texture that lasts throughout each sip, kind of hard to get through. Overall A beer that is worth it's credibility as a big stout in the bottle from Left Hand, I'm not sorry I tried it.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2012 02:10:11 | More by WVbeergeek

scottfrie

California

3.1/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Thanks to Mr Clean for sharing! Snifter.

A: Pours a dark woody brown with almost no lace or head. A minimal collar is present.
S: I get notes of coffee, dark fruits and some ambiguous roasted and sweet notes. Smells like a stout.
T: Rich chocolate, wood, caramel, roast, and hint of toasted coconut. I get a flavors of chocolate in the finish and tobacco in the aftertaste.
M: A tad thinner than it should me with a medium body and medium-low carbonation.
O: I thought this was a strange stout. It reminded me of a stout mixed with a barleywine. Not my favorite.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2012 18:49:34 | More by scottfrie

LtCracker20

Connecticut

3.83/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- Pours an almost black body with reddish hues around the edges. A 2-finger khaki head doesn't stay around too long. Very little lacing, more like sparce spiderwebbing.

S- Dark fruits, brown sugar, molasses, more raisins, and slight milk chocolate.

T- Nice raisin and mollases flavors up front, more brown sugar, and bitter chocolate in the flavor.

MF- Two-fold feel to this one, its not too full bodied on the palate, and even less when you swallow, as in, it seems to feel watery going down.

O- Not bad, not great, but pretty good. Great beer to try and would pick up if I saw again.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2012 05:05:24 | More by LtCracker20

Darkmagus82

Montana

4.03/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Served in a 10 oz chalice glass

Appearance –Served a deep dark black color with a very small brown head. The brew looks sticky just from the way it seems to cling to the glass when swirled. The head faded fast and gave way a decent lacing.

Smell – Roasted coffee and malt notes are the heaviest. There is also a nice presence of chocolate and nuttiness.

Taste – Just as the nose forebode, roasted malt and coffee are the most prevent flavors. The two together persist throughout the taste. More toward the middle some sweeter notes come into play; a little bit of vanilla and a bittersweet chocolate flavor mixed with some darker fruit flavors of prune and raisin. These flavors along with the coffee and roasted malt are met with some nuttiness more toward the end of the taste. Finally at the very end, a warming alcohol flavor comes to the tongue. Not too strong – it’s just enough to warm without overpowering any of the other flavors.

Mouthfeel – Nice and creamy with a lower level of carbonation. The beer coats the palette with a nice smoothness; allowing the dark roasty flavors to really permeate the tongue.

Overall - A rather nice imperial stout. A nice warming brew with a good roasty, but balanced taste as well as very pleasing mouthfeel.

Serving type: on-tap

03-14-2012 23:53:16 | More by Darkmagus82

ChimRichels

Wisconsin

4.13/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Very aggressive pour yields about half a finger of beige head that recedes to a thin bubbly ring. Body is black, no surprise there. Further inspection shows that not even trace amounts of light at the very edges of the glass can yield anything other than absolute pitch black.

S - Smells of cocoa and maybe some rich dried fruits. Smells rather light, almost like a milk stout. Some charred wood is there if I dig for it, along with some bread.

T - Quite unlike what I was expecting from the nose. The earthy flavors of coffee and charred bread come through most prominently with the chocolate providing some richness. aftertaste has the dark fruit sweetness I picked up in the nose. hop notes indiscernible.

M - Smooth and viscous as I would expect from a 10.2% brew. carbonation is mild, a little prickly on the finish.

O - A damn tasty impy stout. I would get this again if my local shop would consider putting this on its shelves again.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2012 00:49:37 | More by ChimRichels

neckbracesub

Indiana

3.25/5  rDev -15.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

From a 22 oz. bottle and poured into a pint glass. Left Hand certainly made a terrific first impression when I brought their now-legendary Milk Stout into my home a year or so ago, and now I have found their version of an Imperial Stout.

Wake Up Dead has a slightly different aroma than some of the great Imperials that I have grown to love, and this is also true with the taste. Although it goes down fairly nicely, there is something keeping Wake Up Dead from tearing into the ranks of the best Imperial Stouts out there. I can’t really pin down exactly what factors into the pungency here, but there seems to be notes of cherry or some kind of berry fruit, and that gives off a slightly disappointing finish.

This is still a decent Imperial Stout, though, and especially at the incredibly low price I purchased it for.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2012 23:34:56 | More by neckbracesub

BillHilly

Washington

4.03/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured at 55 degrees into a Duvel tulip...bottled on 10/26/10.

A: Nice lacing, got better after breathing, etching shows nice yeast activation. Dark brown in color.

S: Bourbon, vanilla, slight coffee

T: Dark malts, slight bourbon and some residual yeast.

M: Solid carbonation, not too thick and easy drinking.

O: I was worried about this after seeing some bad reviews...my bottle date, at this duration, is solid...not a bad brew.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2012 02:33:20 | More by BillHilly

StoutHunter

Michigan

3.33/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I picked up a bottle of Left Hand's Wake Up Dead last week for $6.99 at The Lager Mill. The store had just got this in and the label art caught my attention so since this is one of my favorite styles I thought I should give it a try, so lets see how it goes. No visible bottling date. Poured from a brown 24oz bottle into a snifter.

A- I really like the label on this beer, it looks awesome and it's really eye catching, the name is also pretty cool. It poured a slight dark brown color that turned ruby red when held to the light and it had a finger and a half worth of tan head that died down to a thin layer that stayed till the end and left some lacing. The color is pretty light for an Imperial Stout that makes this beer pretty average looking.

S- The aroma of this beer is pretty light. It starts out with some some sweet malts that smell like they have a medium roast to them and they impart some caramel, coffee, and a slight butterscotch aroma with a little bit of cocoa powder. After that comes some sweet dark fruits that are pretty noticeable then comes some slightly earthy hops and a slight bit of alcohol. The aroma seems to be pretty average, there just isn't enough roasty aromas, for an Imperial Stout.

T- That seems to be pretty similar to the aroma but thankfully, it is a little more robust. It starts out with loads of dark roasted malts that have a high amount of medium sweetness that impart some roasty malt flavors and it had a pretty big cocoa powder flavor to it that seemed to take the place of the coffee that I picked up in the aroma. After that comes a pretty heavy dark fruit flavor with plums, prunes, and raisins sticking out the most. It had a sweet finish with a lower amount of bitterness with a roasty and dark fruit aftertaste, with the alcohol hardy showing up. The flavor was ok and with the heavy dark fruit aspect was a little different from most Imperial Stouts.

M- Smooth, a little dry, full bodied, and it had a lower amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel was ok, but I would have liked a little more carbonation.

Overall I liked this beer and I thought it was good but when compared to other Imperial Stouts it seems to be just slightly above average. It had good drinkability, it was smooth for the style and the alcohol was hidden nicely, I think I could take out the whole bottle but I am glad I am splitting this with my brother. What I liked most about this beer was the flavor, it had good balance between roasted malts and dark fruits and the alcohol wasn't that noticeable. What I liked least about this beer was the appearance and the lack of carbonation, it was just too light for the style and it needs a little more carbonation to it. I don't think I would buy this beer again, but it was a pretty good value for what it was, and I would only recommend this to people that like a big dark fruit aspect to their Imperial Stouts. This beer was ok for what it was but as a whole I thought it was pretty middle of road and it couldn't hold it's own against some of the best in the style. Left Hand is a pretty solid brewery but this beer fell short of being a great beer, but I still wouldn't mind trying the barrel aged version. In the end I could take or leave this beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2012 05:33:03 | More by StoutHunter

yesferro

Mississippi

3.73/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Finally decided to open this 2010 bottle, expectations were high!
Pours a very dar brownish red, not quite the normal tar black from most imp stouts. Very nice and consistent head, minimal smell, dried fruits if anything.
Flavorwise I got thrown for a loop, hops and tobacco flavors, this is a stout? I liked it, but I'm a hophead, my husband who prefers robust stouts called this a dissapointment. To me it was an enjoyable, yet mislabelled brew.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2012 13:27:24 | More by yesferro