10W-40 Imperial Stout Brewed with Coffee, Chocolate & Vanilla

Review Date 2/8/2020    By John Staradumsky

I remember my early craft beer drinking days. Stout was such a wonderful style, thick and rich and full bodied, I often compared it to crude oil. “Thick as crude oil” I would say, “like a quart of 10W-40”. Not that I had ever sipped from a can of 10W-40, mind you. But hey, they looked alike, and that promoted the mental comparison.

Today, though, I really can take a sip of 10W-40: Hi-Wire 10W-40 Imperial Stout. This is the second version of this beer that I’ve tried (there are numerous variants), but the original in the series. The brewery says:

10W-40 is an imperial stout brewed with coffee from Dynamite Roasting Co., chocolate from French Broad Chocolates and vanilla.

Hi-Wire 10W-40 Imperial Stout has an alcohol content of 8% by volume with 20 IBUs. I paid $12.99 for a 4-pack of pint cans at Bullock’s in Woodstock, Georgia.

Hi-Wire 10W-40 Imperial Stout pours to a jet-black color with a light creamy tan head and a thick roasty nose laced with fluffy notes of vanilla. Taking a sip, the beer is full in body, harsh nigh burnt roasty with dark bittersweet chocolate, black coffee, and marshmallow notes. It finishes very (charcoal) roasty indeed and doesn’t seem as strong as it is.

Just a wonderful beer to be sure, and with all the variants out there, I’ll be on ther lookout for more of them. I would buy this one again and would love to see the straight up unadulterated imperial stout released, too.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 

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