First Posted: 10/26/2014
Description – Big Gruesome pours pitch black in color with a creamy dark beige head that lingers long and leaves behind a thick lacing on the glass. The aroma is rich and decadent with strong notes of chocolate, cocoa, and peanut butter with subtle backing notes of vanilla and coffee. The taste follows the nose with rich chocolate hitting the palate up front but very quickly followed by peanut butter with vanilla and coffee next washing over, the taste is fantastic and leaves one wanting more. The medium-full body and moderate carbonation create a very smooth and easy drinking beer that is an absolute dream for chocoholics and a must try for stout lovers. While the idea of a chocolate and peanut butter infused stout may sound like a beer that could be overly sweet, Big Gruesome pulls off the style perfectly. The flavors are in perfect balance and do not fatigue the palate at all and instead it is a beer that can be enjoyed all night. A must try beer, especially during the Halloween season, let the kids eat their peanut butter cups now the adults have a liquid version to enjoy.
Food Pairing – This is a beer that absolutely screams to be paired with a wide variety of desserts. The most obvious choices for pairing are those that are chocolate or peanut butter based or better yet, both. Try pairing Big Gruesome with Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Pie, Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake, and of course creamy Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies always make for a great pairing as well. This is a beer that can hold its own against the most decedent of desserts so don’t be afraid to find something that is chocolate on top of chocolate on top of chocolate, Big Gruesome can devour it. Another great flavor with this beer is vanilla; this will highlight the vanilla that is within the beer already, fresh vanilla bean based desserts are especially delicious. Try some vanilla bean custard, vanilla bean cheesecake, or vanilla bean pound cake topped with fresh vanilla bean ice cream and topped with some chocolate and peanut butter sauce drizzled on top, drooling yet? If you are looking for a simple, straight forward pairing why not just make a creamy beer float with your favorite ice cream. Big Gruesome is also a beer that can be a dessert unto itself, but the best pairings are those which highlight both the chocolate and peanut butter flavors in the beer so be exploratory, it will be a delicious adventure for sure.
The Final Word – Spring House Brewing Company is a relatively new brewery in the greater PA craft beer market, however it is a brewery that entered the market with a boom. The beers that Spring House is brewing are extremely flavorful, experimental, and most importantly absolutely delicious. The names and dark aesthetic have also aided in Spring House’s growing reputation, but with beers like Lil’ Gruesome Peanut Butter Jelly Stout, Braaaiins! Pumpkin Ale, Satan’s Bake Sale Mint Chocolate Chip Stout, Seven Gates Pale Ale, and The Astounding She Monster Mango IPA the brewery has cemented a reputation for being unique. However, uniqueness does not always make a brewery, but great beer does and every one of the aforementioned beers are not only great to look at, but they taste fantastic. Big Gruesome is another great beer in their wonderful lineup and a must try for fans of darker beers and anyone whose interest is peaked by the style, it does not disappoint.
Where can I get it? – Currently available in 22 oz. bottles at: Cooper’s Seafood- Scranton; Backyard Ale House- Scranton; J & H Beer- Plains Twp; and Wegman’s- Dickson City and Wilkes Barre.
Remember, enjoy responsibly!
