Wicked Weed "German Chocolate Cake" Imperial Stout

This is the fourth and final beer from the Wicked Weed guilty pleasures pack. The first two were very good, and the last one had its issues, but it was still worth trying out. This one has been saved till last because it specifically calls out coconut. Coconut is one of those things that I can tolerate in certain amounts, but it's certainly not something I'm going to seek out. However, when used in a beer, it may be just the thing.

If anything, this is more black than its sisters. It also seemed to come out a lot more syrupy from the can. The khaki tan head is very thick and takes a while to go down to a thin and uneven covering across the top of the beer with a very, very thick ring around the sides of the glass. The aroma includes the aforementioned coconut and the chocolate on the label atop a roasted malt. I seriously did not expect the coconut to be as forward as it is in the nose. We shall see how this plays out.

At the first sip, my fears may have been misguided. The coconut is there, but it's mixed in with the chocolate very well, and a sweetness pervades the beer as a glaze across the solid earth and smoky malt. I feel like I was prepared for this to go south very quickly, and it is subverting my expectations. I am quite pleased that it is. I will say that the coconut seems to hang on too long after the drink is gone. But that may work in its favor in a gulp.

Tip-in is mild carbonation sizzle around a coconut-wrapped ball of earth and dark chocolate. The middle is solid, fulfilling, and pleasing all around with its syrupy smoothness, light sweetness, light bitterness, smoke, and indistinct chocolate haze. The finish is a wave of chocolate bitterness as the coconut and chocolate assert themselves before the coconut once again stays too long for the trail off.

Bottom Line: If I liked coconut more, I would give this a higher score.

2.75/5