Who will reign caffeine supreme between Half Acre Beer and Bellwoods Brewery?
Starting with the latter first, A Stout with Coffee from Bellwoods has a real big coffee aroma to it that is real nice. There is a creaminess to it as well that works really well. Thirdly, there is a bit of honey sweetness as well so you get a bit of an iced latte effect. The only downside here is that this is really thin to me. At 5% this is closer to being a brown ale than a stout.
Big Hugs pours with a lovely espresso head. There is less coffee on the nose and double the ABV of the Bellwoods beer. There is a creaminess to this as well but punctuated by an anise like sharpness. I have to admit that I like the black can as well. It fits with both coffee and imperial stout. This is a simple beer. Not getting layers of flavors. Would not label as a coffee beer actually and that is why, the winner is Bellwoods.