5 Seasons North The Grape Ape Imperial Oatmeal Stout

Brewed by 5 Seasons North
Style: Imperial Stout
Alpharetta, Georgia USA

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

UPDATED: APR 16, 2011
Date: September 04, 2008
Mode: Firkin
Source: Brewpub
Appearance: black, lasting fine tan head, bits of sudsy lace
Aroma: rich chocolate and cherry aroma, lots of fruity character including a tart cherry
Body: creamy body
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, lots of fruity wine character, oak and light roasted malt melds together, light bitterness follows the oak

Date: October 23, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: brewpub
Aroma: lot of fruity tartness in the aroma along with a light roasted and chocolate
Overall: rich chocolate, fruity tartness, good balance between the wine character and the chocolate, roasted and oak still the good combo

Date: December 17, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: brewpub
tartness is growing a touch and melding with the chocolate for a choclate covered cherry character,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *** /4

750ml bottle. Pours completely and utterly black, with no light passing through, underneath a thick creamy tan head that recedes very slowly and leaves good lacing. Aroma is massive and seriously toasty with lots of roasted chocolate malts and espresso. But the more interesting part of the nose is the red wine character with grapes, dry oak and a hint of spiciness. Kinda like oak and chocolate covered cherries rolled into one. Taste is more of the same with the first taste being a dry red wine flavor witch is followed by the backbone of heavily roasted malts and cocoa powder. The finish brings back the wine barrel with oak and alcohol burn. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with low carbonation. Fairly slick overall but with a very, very dry finish for a stout. I’ve been sitting on this one for a while and I thought it might have lost a little bit. I was wrong and this is a very enjoyable and unique vinous impy stout.

One of many bottles present at the You Bring the Cheese tasting, provided by seaoflament. My notes on this one are brief. Appearance: Pitch black in the pour with almost no head. Smell: Chocolate covered cherries are the first thing to come to mind. Butterscotch, peanut brittle, dark chocolate, burnt bread. The port barrel leaves me with more of a cherry character than anything. Very nice in any case. Taste & mouthfeel: Charred grain, bordering on burnt but not in a harsh unpleasant way. Tart and tannic red wine, chocolate, cherries and fruitcake. Medium in body, not exceptionally an exceptionally full or rich take on the style, which I found pleasant, though it surprised me coming from an imperial oatmeal stout. Chocolatey, grainy and bitter finish. Interesting stuff, I’d drink it again given the chance.

Bottle at 5 Seasons North. Pours black with a small, quickly dissipating dark head. Smells kind of like a Belgian stout with some fruit presence. Nice full flavor with roasty, dark chocolate notes but the vinuousness is what sets it apart, obviously- wonderful wine flavors in the finish. Ate at 5 Seasons three times in the five days i was in Alpharetta and this is the only beer i drank twice- it was that good. Pouring a little on ice cream is a real treat, too. The wine flavors totally disappear and you would swear someone put a squeeze of Hershey’s syrup on it. Sweet chocolate deliciousness.

Pours an opaque black color with a brown head. Aroma is chocolate, roast, caramel, sweet fruity jam character, and a hint of alcohol. Flavor is sweet fruit, caramel, plum, roast, oak, jam, and a nice sweet jam finish.

Blessings be upon thee, oh good friends who give the blessings of great beer.

While Grape Ape stirs memories and images of a certain purple cartoon ape, in this case, he is instead a hand-bottled beer of epic complexity and deliciousness. A one-off from the brewmaster at Five Seasons North, I was definitely blessed not too long ago when I was able to enjoy this brew with thanks to a wonderful friend. Technically categorized as an Imperial Oatmeal Stout, Grape Ape seems to defy any special sort of category or name, and instead, revel in its uniquely rich and complex palate. Let the supping, savoring, and ecstasy begin.

A murky black pour peaks, broils, and then burbles up into a dark tan, almost brown head which slowly fades into a thick collar. As my Grape Ape settles, I take time to enjoy the falling snowflakes of chunky dregs settle into the bottom of my glass; a visage of beauty. She swirls thick, leaving broken lace wherever she pleases. Almost like an explosion, a huge nose of thick lactose and heavy whipping cream seduce my senses while a stockpile of chopped wood and charred, burnt earth blossoms in the background. Molten milk chocolates slowly make their way to my heart, picking up licorice root, vanilla bean, and slightly tart black cherries and black grapes along the way. Wow. Infinitely layered and complex. There is so much going on here, and yet it amazingly all works together perfectly; and I’m just talking the nose. Licking my lips already wet with anticipation, I welcome her bounty into my embrace. Creamy, mouth-coating, and with a zest of tartness, black grapes and cherries make their presence known first while a thick, creamy river of melted milk chocolates spiced with licorice, vanilla bean, wood, and earth wash over me. Surrendering myself to the rush, I am drowning in a rich, delicious, infinitely complex ocean of taste and I love it. A small pocket of dryness settles on top of my tongue, while bitter chocolates and licorice root linger. As Grape Ape warms a bit, his raucous circus of flavors and depths settles a bit into a more unified picture. The black grapes and cherries melt into his woodsy, earthy backbone perfectly, while a waking note of coffee emerges. Settling back into the couch, I take extra time to savor my Grape Ape, knowing that as much as I am able to make note of, I will never be able to capture it all which is exactly how it should be.

Grape Ape may sound like one big tumultuous mess of a brew: unorganized, messy, heavy, and too tart and earthy. If that is what you are thinking, then you are wrong, very wrong. It is easy to see why the brewmaster at Five Seasons North is a man of mystery, a fact that is reflected in this beer which is a work of art. Anyone else would have made a mess of this beer, but not Five Seasons North. Grape Ape is a miracle of brewing prowess, skill, and a shining example of how taste, flavor, complexity, and finesse can be married in perfect harmony. Much like the cartoon character of youth, this Grape Ape will live on forever in my memory and in my heart as one of the timeless quaffing highlights of my life.

750ml bottle, corked. Dark black/brown color, dark brown head. Very viscous looking. Aroma is of rich roasted grain, oatmeal, and wood. some alcohol in the nose as well. Flavor is very layered. flavors of pine and tobacco. Some red wine in the as well, very dry. This is a big beer. Gets the job done to a point that it is hard to drink. Very big.

Appearance: Pours a viscous, black body with a foamy, tan-colored head. Smell: Foremost is the oaky, redolent wine scent with large notes of roasted malts, rolled oats, chocolate, Breakfast Blend coffee, a drop of vanilla, and whipped heavy cream in tow. Taste: Rich, luscious maltiness with tastes of melted bittersweet chocolate, sweet oatmeal, and small, wooden sample-sized spoonfuls of vanilla and coffee ice cream. Enter the fruity, moderately oaky, very slightly tart wine flavor with touches of homemade plum jelly and black cherry. The multitude of fine flavors all come together seamlessly. The wine character lingers into the long, sweetish finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium carbonation. Very velvety, very smooth mouthfeel. Drinkability: It has been decided! The Grape Ape ale is a very admirable, highly enjoyable wine barrel-aged brew. Also, kudos to 5 Seasons (North) for employing the use of a Norton wine barrel from the Tiger Mountain Vineyards situated in North Georgia.

Hand bottle... This beer rocks!... Pitch black with a small, creamy, light brown head. Decent retention. The über complex aroma is to die for – earthy, vinous and chocolaty; it is a mélange of chocolate, wood, light funk, leather, grape skins, tobacco and other tantalizing things I can’t even name. Full-bodied with a velvety mouthfeel and soft carbonation. Beautiful blend of tangy, dry red wine and modestly bitter chocolate and espresso. Autolyzed yeast? I think not. I’m the only one digesting this yeast. Finishes red wine-tart, tannic and dry. Big time thanks to kp for shipping this bottle of liquid luxury my way!

Bottle at 5 seasons at Ale Atlanta tasting. Nice strong aroma. Some autolyzed yeast aroma a bit like vegemite. Hint of oxidation. Mellowed. Some red wine. Some alcohol. Lower drinkability.

Bottle at 5 seasons. After getting a bottle out and deciding to trade it I had to taste it...so I went back and ordered it. Pours a black color with a small brown head. Aroma is full of chocolate and cherries. I also smell some whiskey notes. Flavor hits you with a good oatmeal/imperial stout flavor and then quickly turns to a very vinous finish. I really, really enjoyed this. Great beer.