From the Beer Writer: No, the picture above is not a hologram. Abnormal Beer Co. is all ready to release its annual tribute to dearly-departed rap legend, Tupac Shakur. That beer comes in at a hardcore 13.8% alcohol-by-volume and goes by the name Barrel-Aged Makaveli (a nod to a Shakur stage name). It’s an imperial stout taken to the dessert-y territory befitting its birthday-beer status care of gobs of coconut, plenty of vanilla beans and java procured from fellow Rancho Bernardo business, Mostra Coffee. Fat as bass-bolstered beats yet smooth as well-orchestrated rhymes, Makaveli offers boozy whiskey notes that dovetail nicely with the vanilla from the beans and oak. Any gaps are filled in nicely by sweet, exotic coconut. You could pour some out for a lost legend, but you won’t want to.
From the Brewer: “Every year, we make an imperial coffee stout to celebrate one of hip-hop’s greatest rappers who left us too early. Last year, we barrel-aged some and now we are releasing it for his birthday! Barrel-aged Makaveli is packed full of fresh coconut, Mostra coffee and Madagascar vanilla beans like its original, but rested in Wild Turkey Diamond barrels for over a year. The result is a beer that drinks like a chocolate-covered coconut candy bar. We blended five separate barrels for this and then treated that blend by recirculating it through our hop-back for about two weeks. Gobs of whole vanilla beans and almost 20 pounds per-barrel of fresh coconut laid down the base, then we topped it off with a coffee blend from Mostra Coffee. Once we were satisfied, we moved on to conditioning for bottles and kegs. Bottles will be available for sale at noon today, online in 375-milliliter white-waxed bottles.”—Nyle Molina, Head Brewer, Abnormal Beer Co.