Black Cauldron Imperial Stout by Grand Teton

This beer has a good story. It honors woman and how without them, beer would not exist. I guess people believed they were cooking evil potions. LOL it was evil alright, it was beer!!. This has a good chocolaty stout taste, worth trying again.

REVISIT: Finally had a chance to pick this up again so I could write a better review for this one. Last time I got a chance to try this was actually last year around this time. This is Black Couldron Imperial Stout by Grand Teton Brewing. It is an 8% ABV ale. I think one of the reasons I like this beer besides taste and art is mainly because of its tribute. The beer is a tribute to women in brewing history. According to the website, http://www.grandtetonbrewing.com/BCIS.html. It explains that brewing has always been an art for women since the beginning of time. It was believed that beer was a gift from a goddess and through this gift, women were able to establish themselves in power by their skills in brewing. Even today, in many indigenous parts of the world, woman bake bread and brew their own beer. In Europe 1445, the whole story of accusing women as witches for was due to the fact the men could obtain potential tax revenue from beer and establishments that would brew up beer. So a campaign of all-men brewers’ was formed to purge women from making beer by saying that what they were doing was witchcraft. Most of the actual witches that were burned to the stake were actually brewers or alewives. The website goes on to say the following:

“Most of the imagery we associate with witchcraft today originated with the brewster. The large black cauldron bubbling over with foam? A brew kettle, of course. The black cat? Necessary to keep rats out of the grain store. The tall pointed hat? It allowed the brewster to be seen over the heads of taller men in the marketplace. A broom? The symbol of household domesticity, it is still associated with brewing all over the world.Without the work of these women through the ages, it’s entirely possible beer would not exist today. To learn more about the role of women in today’s brewing industry”History aside. Let’s face it the art is awesome and this is a the perfect dark beer. It is a very good stout. It actually does have more caramel and chocolate than coffee. Some dark fruits like figs, raisins, and plum. There is also a nice bitter taste to it from the hops added but only for balance. The smokey and oak after taste is also phenomenal. It is not Halloween anymore. But a tribute of a beer dedicated to women all over the world is definitely something that can be enjoyed all year around. 😛