Evil Twin Bozo Beer

When it came to picking a beer for my latest blog about, I wanted to go big, like really big. For the past week, I have been looking over the beers in my refrigerator and felt nothing really fit what I was looking for. So I decided to go to a bottle shop to look for something that would and that is how I came across Evil Twin's Bozo Beer. An imperial stout with an ABV of 17.2%, Bozo Beer was exactly what I was looking to blog about this week. I believe it is by far the strongest beer that I have reviewed here and I find that very exciting. What might not be as exciting, is tackling this monster of a beer by myself. Oh the things I do for this blog...

When a beer has an ABV as high as Bozo Beer, one thing you can expect it to be is full bodied. In this case that was an understatement. As I began to pour Bozo Beer into a glass, I said “whoa” out loud when I saw how thick, rich and dense it was. I expected there to be a lot of roastiness & booze in the aroma and there certainly was plenty of both, but there was much more going on here. The side of the can lists a lot of adjuncts and most of them show up and stand out in the aroma. Coffee, chocolate, marshmallow, nuts, creamy vanilla, molasses, cinnamon, chili peppers, cinnamon are all present in the aroma.

When I took my first sip, I prepared to get a hot mess of a beer. What I got was a lot of roastiness, marshmallow, vanilla, coffee, chocolate and molasses initially, with the almonds & hazelnuts coming in to compliment all of these flavors nicely. The cinnamon & chili peppers come in late and are fairly understated but add a nice touch. The warmth from the alcohol follows but is not nearly as aggressive as I was expecting. I guess it is safe to say almost nothing here is quite what I expected it to be. Usually, when a beer has a laundry list of adjuncts, it is never quite as good as you want it to be. A lot of adjuncts get lost in the fold behind more dominant flavors. For example, I expected to taste almost no marshmallow and I expected to complain about it here. That was certainly not the case, as marshmallow was right up front and center. This beer is way better than I thought it was going to be and I am thrilled. Bozo Beer is a rich, creamy, decadent treat that is so much smoother than I expected it to be. The only thing that would possibly make this beer better is some barrel aging, and if I ever come across a BA version of Bozo Beer, Evil Twin Brewing could not take my money fast enough.

Overall rating: 4.5/5

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!