Here’s what Prairie Artisan Ales has to say about Bomb!…

Bomb! is an imperial stout aged on coffee, chocolate, vanilla beans, and ancho chili peppers. The peppers add just the right amount of heat to complement the intense coffee and chocolate flavors. Bomb! has been named a RateBeer Top 100 Beer in the World for three consecutive years!

I bought this beer about 6 weeks ago at Beer Heaven in South Philly. Unbeknownst to me (until I got to the register), this 12 ounce bottle of beer was selling for a little over $10. I had a bit of sticker shock at first, but then I looked at the label and saw that it had an ABV of 13%. In my mind, this would be a perfect beer for sharing, so I bought a bottle and waited for the right opportunity to crack it open (figuratively speaking of course, i.e. I didn’t actually crack the bottle to open it).

This past Saturday night, a Stout and Porter loving friend of the family stopped by to pick up her boy who was spending the day with my boys. Since she had a little time to kill, I took out a couple glasses and split the beer with her. While she talked all things Broadway musicals with Mrs. G-LO (Limpd, aka Broadway Danny Rose, would have enjoyed this conversation), I took some notes. Here are my thoughts of Prairie Artisan Ale’s Bomb!…

__________________________________________

I was a little worried when I first popped the top because I didn’t hear the usual sound that I get whenever I open a bottle of beer. It should have sounded something like this (though I rarely drop the bottle cap):

The worry continued during the pour because there was little to no foam forming and because I didn’t see many bubbles floating to the surface as I filled our glasses, i.e. it didn’t look like this:

My fear subsided when I stuck my nose in the glass…

Thanks to the deep, dark chocolate and rich coffee notes, I was really getting excited to taste this beer. Man oh man did this smell good! After a minute or two of taking in all of these enticing aromas, I finally went in for a taste…

Bomb! is lightly carbonated with a thick and somewhat syrupy mouthfeel. The first taste is very much like a Bomb! in that it bombards your palate with intense chocolate and coffee flavors. And if all that weren’t enough, after a few seconds of those intense flavors, you’re hit with a second wave of deliciousness in the form of a big, boozy kick. And if all THAT weren’t enough, those vanilla and chili pepper flavors that are mentioned on the label show up and hit you on the back end with yet ANOTHER layer of flavor. To say that this beer is intense and flavorful would be a serious understatement.

In case you couldn’t tell, I really liked this beer (and so did our friend!) and am happy to report that this was well worth every penny that I paid for it. And by the way, it went really well with a Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter Sandwich Cookie.

There is only one word to describe this Craft Beer / Cookie pairing combination, and that word is: DECADENT!