We bought a lot of Prairie beers this week. With the release of the latest batches of Coffee Noir, Pirate Noir, and Pirate Bomb! I’ve had many monies fly out of my wallet and into my fridge/cellar. Am I sorry? No. What good is money if you can’t immediately turn it into beer or bourbon? Let’s drink!

Company: Prairie Artisan Ales

Location: Tulsa, OK. Brewed in Krebs, OK

ABV: 15%

Style/Description: Imperial Stout Aged in Rum Barrels with Coffee, Cacao Nibs, Vanilla Beans, and Chillies Added.

Price: $9 (12oz bottle)

Appearance: Pours like Jamaican motor oil with a medium dark brown bloom which slowly fades.

Nose: Coffee jumps out big time along with some chocolate and some light spicy pepper vibes. Faint rum and vanilla creep around in the background.

Taste: Like in the aroma chocolate and coffee are huge right off the bat. The texture is smooth and creamy with fantastic sweetness balanced almost perfectly by bitter chocolate and a hint of rum heat. I’m not getting any pepper notes or heat, but the light rum barrel heat makes up for it. As I’m drinking more the sweetness and chocolate are standing out way above anything else like a chocolate shake with some coffee and just a touch of booze.

Finish: Sticky sweet for a while but as the sweetness fades bitter chocolate and coffee takes over along with some slight rum heat.

Overall: This batch of Pirate Bomb! is definitely on the sweet chocolate/coffee side with very little rum barrel and even less pepper heat. For good measure Kate and I busted out a bottle from the previous batch released earlier this year and found it the rum barrel WAY more present with a nice touch of heat and overall better balance. I’m still digging this batch, but it’s just got its own thing going on (Kate just asked for another sip by referring to it as “chocolate beer”). I also just realized that drinking two bottles Pirate Bomb! side-by-side is a great way to start drinking for the evening. Cheers, guys!

Rating: 4/5