Prairie Pe-Kan Imperial Stout

When I saw Prairie Pe-Kan on the shelf the first time, I walked right past it. I felt I could not drop another 10 dollars on a 12 ounce bottle that may or may not be worth it. I thought if I ignored it that day, it would be gone and I would not feel the temptation to buy it again. Then I saw it again in another place, and then another, and then I finally caved and bought a bottle. I faced the hard truth that I am a sucker for stouts from Prairie Artisan Ales. I realize this is mainly because I absolutely love Bomb! It's ridiculously overpriced but ridiculously good. I can only justify buying it once in a great while but it delivers every single time. Now when I came across Pe-Kan I did not expect it to come close to the greatness of Bomb. The label even stated that it was a “malt beverage with natural flavors”. Anytime a beer has “natural flavors” in it, my expectations are immediately lowered. Still, I purchased a Pe-Kan, chilled it, hoped for the best and made it the subject of this blog.

Things did not start out as well as I'd hoped with Pe-Kan. As I poured it, the first thing I thought was, “this looks a little on the thin side.” At the price point and ABV level, I was not looking for thin. I was looking for motor oil-like thickness. I thought the aroma was interesting. It was boozy, smokey, roasty, with vanilla, chocolate and caramelized sugar. I did not get much pecan in the aroma but I did get that in the flavor. It really gave the impression that this beer was trying to pull off pecan pie and I think it worked. Pe-Kan is sweet, like really sweet but for some reason I really liked it here. The vanilla, chocolate, pecans, caramelized sugar blended nicely with a nice roasty and smokey malt flavor. Did the beer taste a little artificial? Yes it did, but surprisingly I did not mind it. This is a fun dessert beer, plain and simple. It is not something I could drink more than one of but it is something I am glad I tried. I do not think this beer would work for everyone but if you like pecan pie, I would give it a shot.

Overall I would rate Prairie Pe-Kan a 4/5. It's not as good as Bomb! Not even close actually, but it is a really fun beer, that's worth a try.

Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly Exceptional. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!