Pipeworks Raspberry Truffle Abduction

This beer from one of Chicago's hippest new breweries is pretty much exactly what the name implies.  It is an imperial stout (called Abduction) to which the brewers added hundreds of pounds of raspberries and coco beans.

Yes, that label does depict an alien dissecting a raspberry from a man.

Raspberry Truffle Abduction's appearance does not surprise.  It is the same stereotypical black of so many other imperial stouts, capped by a small head with little retention capacity.  This is not for lack of trying, however; the carbonation is steady and the bubbles are fine.  Either the alcohol or the natural acids from the raspberries prevent foam from forming.

The aroma---at least at first---consists largely of roast with a hint of raspberry and licorice.  The smell of raspberries comes to dominate above all else within a few minutes.

Raspberry Truffle Abduction undergoes what might be the most dramatically rapid transformation to have ever occurred in mere minutes of warming.  One of the employees at the Binny's I bought this from told me the raspberries get increasingly obvious after being outside the fridge for ten minutes or more.  He was not exaggerating.  If you hate raspberries, you will hate this beer.

The brewmaster actually writes the batch numbers by hand with a sharpie and delivers them to stores himself.

It starts out with dark chocolate, a moderate dosage of what tastes like licorice, and a strong but brief blast of raspberry which does not linger.  By the time my glass is fifteen minutes out of the fridge, that once brief feature transforms to the point where every corner of my mouth has residual raspberry flavor.  It lingers for quite a while.  Apart from the sensation of licorice and some molasses flavor commonly found in stouts, every other aspect of this beer appears to revolve around raspberries.  The roasted flavors commonly found in stouts---coffee and dark chocolate---taste respectively like Godiva raspberry coffee and Lindor raspberry chocolate bars.  These flavored coffees and candies are joined by pure raspberry.


Even the perception of sweetness appears to come from raspberries, rather than from the body of a stout.  It is silky smooth and not really all that thick.  If it weren't for the fruit, this beer may very well be dry.  I will have to track down the regular Abduction to see if that's true.



Let me reiterate: if you do not like raspberries, you will not like this beer.  At all.  At times this resembles less a beer brewed with chocolate and raspberries and more a chocolate-covered raspberry with beer inside.  I have a hard time picturing how many raspberries per barrel they had to use.  It's borderline overkill even for someone who likes that fruit.  This would serve as an excellent alternative to a dessert wine or cordial after a Christmas or Valentine's Day dinner.