We turn to the dark side of the award-winning Colorado-based WeldWerks Brewing Co. as we document and explore the different iterations of Achromatic in this new series of batch reviews, Don’t Panic, It’s Achromatic! Achromatic is a popular stout staple of WeldWerks, with different dessert-inspired versions being released occasionally.
For this first volume, we will be covering three variants: Mexican Achromatic, Peanut Butter Cup Achromatic, and Cookies & Cream Achromatic. If you are not a fan of these sweet pastry beers, we think it is best you do not bother yourself with this feature. However, if the Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory wet dreams continue to haunt you every night, then it is our pleasure to walk you through this liquid dessert wonderland.
WeldWerks, like many other successful businesses, started in a garage. The co-founder and head brewer Neil Fisher started homebrewing in 2009. In the 2014 Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines festival, Neil bagged two medals from the prestigious brewing competition. This paved the way for Neil to team up with now-CEO and co-founder, Colin Jones. Eleven months later, the first beers were poured at WeldWerks Brewing in Greely, Colorado. In the 2019 GABF two entries by Weldwerks, Extra Extra Juicy Bits and Itsy Bits won gold in the Juicy or Hazy Imperial IPA and silver in the Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale categories, respectively.
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“Mexican Achromatic” Imperial Stout (12.2% ABV)
As the name suggests, this iteration was inspired by the traditional Mexican hot cocoa– a beverage that traces its origins back to the Mayans, Aztecs, and the Spanish in Mexico. Mexican Achromatic was brewed with roasted cacao nibs, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla beans.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer (30A) with the Imperial Stout (20C) as the base style in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
TASTING NOTES
Opaque dark brown almost black with a thin brown head akin to espresso. The nose opens up with rich chocolate, plum, and gingerbread. Others noted tobacco, cherries, anise, cacao, and muscovado. The palate suggests a semi-syrupy, medium-full-bodied, moderately low carbonated beer.
Like the nose, the flavor profile is also a mouthful. Cacao maltiness melds with plum tartness and is backed by notable muscovado, dark chocolate, and coffee. Sweetness is pronounced in this beer. Licorice, vanilla, and cinnamon are also noted. Muscovado, plums, tobacco, and grapes linger in the aftertaste.
THE VERDICT
Very good. The sweetness does not overpower the other characters of the beer and gives way to an interesting muscovado-coffee-dark fruit interplay. We would love to have a wee bit of peppery heat in the future versions of this one.
“Peanut Butter Cup Achromatic” Imperial Stout (11.3% ABV)
The second Achromatic in this line-up is an imperial stout brewed with peanut flour, cacao nibs, milk chocolate, and hundreds of pounds of peanut butter cups.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer (30A) with the Imperial Stout (20C) as the base style in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
TASTING NOTES
Dark brown almost black. The head flats out. Chocolate-flavored oatmeal topped with chocolate wafers, peanut butter, malty cacao, and raisins for the nose. This Imperial Stout is medium-full-bodied with a moderate level of sweetness. Carbonation is a notch below medium. The flavor profile mirrors the aroma, but with supportive roasty bitterness. Finally, this beer leaves the palate slightly dry with malty cacao and oatmeal characters.
THE VERDICT
Peanut Butter Cup Achromatic is the least sweet of the three. The malty, nutty, and oaty characters really contribute to the complexity of this beer. Impressive.
“Cookies & Cream Achromatic” Imperial Stout (9.6% ABV)
The third and last in this series is the Cookies & Cream iteration of Achromatic, an Imperial Stout brewed with tons of chocolate malt, lactose, oreo cookies, cacao nibs, and a touch of vanilla beans.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer (30A) with the Imperial Stout (20C) as the base style in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
TASTING NOTES
In a similar fashion, the Cookies & Cream Achromatic pours a dark brown beer and is almost black. A foamy brown head initially formed, but flats out immediately. The nose opens up with Oreo crust and complementing descriptors of caramel and chocolate. We also noted a smoky impression (not the Islay peated kind). Interestingly, we also noted a similar character (although more pronounced) in The Veil’s Hornswoggler (Double Stuffed Oreo & Cinnamon). So yes, we are inclined to think that the Oreo cookies contributed to this aroma.
This is probably the thickest and fullest in body of all the three Achromatics in this review. It is actually very close to syrup in terms of consistency. Not just that, this Oreo-themed stout is also the sweetest. Oreo cookies, chocolate mudpie, light smokiness, and cola undertones are the best descriptors we have for the flavor. Light fruity lychees and a dark, roasty, and malty backbone support. This Imperial Stout leaves the palate sticky and dry: maple syrup with roasty-toasty bitterness. After drinking this beer, you will definitely crave for a glass of water.
THE VERDICT
Our verdict: a very sweet beer for people that love thick, sugary dark beers.
SUMMARY
Pastry stouts are not for everyone. There, we finally said it! Whether we like it or not, these liquid desserts offer something new to the craft beer spectrum and are here to stay. These Achromatic variants from WeldWerks showed that these adjunct-driven beers have virtually unlimited creative potential. Some themes may resonate with you, while some may not. So next time you see a triple marshmallow ice cream chocolate wafer peanut butter gummy bear Imperial Stout from the Colorado-based squad– Don’t Panic, It’s (most likely) Achromatic!
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