With the deep, cold winter chill that set in over the South these past few weeks, the weather has been absolutely perfect -- not for driving, of course, but for beer. (And certainly not the combination of the two.) Not just any beer can stand up to the uncommon inches of snow and slick ice of this fine Georgia winter. The exceedingly cold temperatures outside call for something warming, something rich and complex. Something like Imperial Stout.
While Georgian winters aren't normally as deathly cold (often, winter weather in the Peach State calls for nothing more than shorts and a T-shirt), Atlanta's own Sweetwater Brewing Company brews up a beer each year that seems to straddle the line between begging for freezing storms and laughing in the face of what winter brews are supposed to be. That beer is, of course, their Happy Ending Imperial Stout. And it has returned for 2011 just in time.
Happy Ending is, as the brewery tends to refer to it, a "dry hopped stiffy" of an Imperial Stout, falling in at 9% ABV and being dry-hopped with Cascade and Willamette hops. The dry-hopping gives it a powerfully citrus-forward aroma that hearkens to their IPA, and the beer almost seems like an "imperialized" version of one of the latest styles in the American craft brewer's repertoire, the American-style Black Ale (formerly "American-style India Black Ale," recently renamed in the latest revision of the Brewers Association's style guidelines). Thanks to Happy Ending's rich malt profile and warming elevated alcohol content, it's perfect for icy weather like that Georgia has seen recently, but its explosive hoppiness makes it shine through even in the mildest Southern winter. It may be for these reasons that it earned Sweetwater a Silver Medal at the World Beer Cup, and even made Draft Magazine's Top 25 Beers of the Year. As they say, "It’s bold, complex and unsung in the world of hyped-up stouts."
I reviewed Happy Ending last February, so I won't do it again now; though the beer changes a bit from year to year, this year's isn't that far off from the 2010 version, albeit perhaps a bit more hop-forward on the palate. (For a review of the 2011 batch, check out Birmingham Craft Beer Examiner Guillermo Woolfolk's recent review.) Available annually until March, the brew just hit Augusta shelves this past Friday, and it's only available locally in six-packs of 12-ounce bottles. Be sure to keep an eye out for the draft version as well, and if you happen to be traveling, grab a 22-ounce bomber if you spot one, as they're wax-sealed and perfect for cellaring (though don't get confused by the 22-ounce bottle's dating; it was mistakenly labeled with 2010, but is really the 2011 bottling -- prior large-format bottles were in 750-ml wax-sealed swing-tops which, evidently, were not holding out air properly with age). And this is certainly one beer that's worth throwing in the cellar: From my own recent tasting of a 2010 bottle out of my own cellar, it is aging nicely, still with a nice hop note but with the rich chocolate of the malt really beginning to shine through, and a 2009 bottle I had the chance to sample on a recent trip to the brewery showed magnificent complexity, highlighted by luscious chocolate-covered cherry notes. (For more information on cellaring beer, read my primer on the basics of beer cellaring.)
You can find Happy Ending locally at Toast Wine and Beverage and Harvard's if you're in Martinez, and be sure to check at Vineyard Wine Market if you're in Evans. Get some while you can, though, because this beer never sticks around for too long. Grab a few to set aside, and cozy up with a glass in front of the fire next to your darling -- thanks to the 9% ABV, you just may have two happy endings ahead of you for the night!
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