Terrapin Beer Co.
Athens, GA
Available: AL, GA, NJ, NC, PA, SC, TN, VA
This beer is made with a locally-roasted coffee blend from Athens, GA staple Jittery Joes. 130 lbs of ground coffee goes into each batch of the Wake-n-Bake blend, including Costa Rican, Guatemalan & Zimbabwe coffees. The W-n-B is part of Terrapin’s Monster Beer Tour, a collection of imperial ales.
ABV: 8.6
ABW: n/a
Color: n/a
Bitterness: 50
Original gravity: 1081
Mahogany, so dark and rich that you can barely see any light getting through. That's a first impression from Terrapin's Wake-N-Bake stout—an offering that's sure to become a standard breakfast beer. The java is present in the aroma, with a black-coffee sharpness that makes you sit up and take notice, mingled with hints of chocolate and molasses sweetness. But have no fear; Wake-N-Bake revives you gently at first sip, as the oatmeal mellows and rounds out this Goliath of a beer, turning it into a gentle giant that you might snuggle with so much you'll find yourself being late for work.
Strip out the alcohol and this could be a breakfast in a glass—oatmeal and coffee in one magnificent hit. This is a luxurious and impressive beer, loaded with freshly ground coffee and smooth and creamy thanks to the oatmeal. Caramel and chocolate from the abundant malt help broaden out the palate. Indeed, a flimsier cereal base would have collapsed under the depth of coffee flavor but here everything is in perfect harmony, although it does mean that there’s quite a swipe of alcohol in the mix, too. If not for breakfast, at least make it your after-dinner tipple.
Lisa Morrison, aka The Beer Goddess, writes about beer whenever she can and also gets to talk about it on a weekly radio show in her hometown of Portland, OR.
Author of the Good Bottled Beer Guide and The Book of Beer Knowledge, Jeff Evans is an eight-time editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and one of Britain's best-known beer writers.
