Beer Stats

• Packaging: 12 oz. Can
• BJCP Style: American Imperial Stout
• ABV: 8.8%
• Hops Variety: Unknown (Any number of hops varieties can be used)
• Malts Variety: Unknown (Typically pale, dark malts)
• Brewery:  Wild Leap Brew Co. – LaGrange, GA
• Beer Connoisseur Rating: None

LUDB Tasting Notes

• Bitterness Level: None*
• Drinkability:
  • Would I buy it again? Yes
  • Would I stock it? Yes

Appearance:  Dark, black and clear. Produces a fluffy, tan head with moderate.

Aroma:  Toffee, caramel and coffee notes.

Flavor & Aftertaste:  Sweet malt backbone with caramel, cocoa and coffee flavors. Very low bitterness.

Palate:  Thick bodied, smooth and creamy with low carbonation.  Short, mouth-coating finish with bitterness barely detectable.

Balance & Drinkability:  Malt forward.  Well-crafted desirable stout.

Commentary

Coffee stouts have become all the rage in recent years. There are not any true standards, thus they lend themselves to a range of coffee strength, bitterness and adjunct flavors. Reviewers will give you a variety of opinions. Founders Breakfast Stout, for example, is a fantastic stout with a lot of complexity. Wild Leap Solid Ground falls on the simple, yet well-crafted side.

Solid Ground is dark, smooth and creamy.  It’s quite an enjoyable sip, demonstrating solid roasted malt flavors including toffee and a hint of cocoa.  Wild Leap does a great job of infusing the coffee flavor (Columbian) without it becoming overwhelming; but providing some bitterness for balance. It’s a nice change of pace from many coffee stouts; but, if you are someone looking for more bitterness for additional balance to the highly sweet malts, then you may be disappointed. This is an extremely drinkable stout, one you can sit and drink a couple of on a cold winter evening without feeling filled-up/bloated. Be forewarned, if you snuggle up next to a cozy fireplace on a cold winter night, the 8.8% ABV have you lights out in short order.  I do recommend Solid Ground for someone looking for a sweet, coffee forward stout with low bitterness. If you prefer something with more bitterness, you may want to go with something like Terrapin Wake-n-Bake.  

Thanks for reading, until next time…Let Us Drink Beer!

*Bitterness Scale: None, Restrained, Moderate, Aggressive, & Excessive