Brewery: Sixpoint Brewing Company
Beer: 3Beans
Type: Baltic Porter
ABV: 10.0%
Character: A Sixpoint Brewery, Mast Brothers Chocolate, and Stumptown Coffee collaboration featuring Romano beans, Cacao beans, and cold-brewed coffee, aged on toasted American oak
Metal Connection: PRIMORDIAL – No Grave Deep Enough
Holy Hell, this was a hard beer to get! I saw some friends and random check ins to Sixpoint’s 3Beans around San Antonio, so I immediately went to my usual spots to see if they still had any left for sale. I was met with disappointing results everywhere. I was told it was all sold out, or that their store only got one case, or that aliens came down from outer space and stole the last few cans. I heard it all. I never thought I’d get my hands on 3Beans. Finally I saw it available again at one of the local Spec’s in town, so I bought it. I seriously could not wait to taste this beer.
I love a beer with an interesting back story. 3Beans is definitely one of those, as it is a result of myth, tradition and innovation, according to the Sixpoint Brewing website. Here is something that was written in their blog section, about 3Beans that, of course, sparked my interest:
“Celtic lore spoke of a land where the beer fell in showers and the music of the gods could be heard. Brewed from beans and barley, this ale was so dark, rich, and satisfying that no gathering ever went unthankful. Prepared in cauldrons and consumed from horns, this was truly the drink of the gods.
Centuries later, a towering, all-sating dark ale has been resurrected at Sixpoint. With a silken mouth feel despite a hefty 10% ABV, 3Beans is the result of myth, tradition and innovation. The collaboration of three New York City companies sincerely committed to their craft brings to you the biggest beer Sixpoint has ever canned.”
The first bean, supplied by Sixpoint is the Romano bean, which is included in the mash. This represents old tradition, as northern brewers who were short on malting barley used this bean as a substitute for centuries.
The second bean is the Cacao bean provided by Mast Brothers Chocolate. This is also used in the mash, and includes the shell along with the beans for that chocolate flavor.
The final bean is from Stumptown Coffee. According to the Sixpoint website, in post-fermentation, the beer is blended with Stumptown cold-brewed coffee, adding roasted coffee flavors to the beer.
Like if all this wasn’t enough, 3Beans is then aged on toasted American Oak to give it more complexity to the aroma and flavor. Cheers to the people at Sixpoint Brewing Company for coming up with such a beer as this. Excellent job.
Now that I have written such an elaborate introduction, let me actually get to this review. I promise I will keep it short and to the point!
I used a Porter style glass, or Pokal glass for this one. 3Beans poured a very dark, near black color with a good 3 finger wide tan head. The retention of the head is amazing, leaving a sheet of suds down the glass.
The aroma is mostly filled with sweet chocolate, some coffee notes also come through up front, blended with a hint of vanilla. This gives it an ice cream or mousse like aroma. Imagine a good gourmet iced coffee dressed with a whipped cream topping. Now dare I say that the lingering aroma in my nose reminds me of actually smelling beans while being boiled.
Taste is hand in hand with the aroma. Flavors of melted sweet chocolate, and gourmet coffee blend well with subtle hints of vanilla and dark malts. Just like with the aroma, I do get a flavor in the body of this that reminds me of cooked beans, a bit, which could be a product of the said flavors mixing with the toasted oak, since that does give it a bit of a smoky flavor. The flavor that lingers around afterwards is of coffee and cream. The body is a bit heavy, and has a dry finish.
As much as I am impressed with the folk lore, and back story of this creative little monster, I am equally, if not more impressed with the actual beer itself. I am not sure how available this beer is to any of you reading this, but please do not pass this up if you see this beer on a shelf somewhere. Buy it, try it, and revel in it’s deliciousness!
Since reading the Celtic lore story from the Sixpoint website, I knew I wanted to pair this beer with a Celtic/Folk Metal band, and PRIMORDIAL came to mind. I chose a song off their last studio album, Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand, which was released in 2011. The song is called “No Grave Deep Enough.” Enjoy the song at full blast over a glass of this fine beer! Cheers!
Feeling like a Celtic Jumping Bean(?), BeerMetalDude!
Beer Metal Media 