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Booze Geek: Space Ghost Imperial Stout

Published Sat, 26 Sep 2015 14:00:32 -0500

By Dylan Gonzalez

Beer: Space Ghost Imperial Stout

Brewery: Central Waters Brewing Co.

ABV: 12%

I remember a time from days past when I begged my parents to get Cartoon Network added to our cable network. No, it wasn't for the relatively new Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo or Courage the Cowardly Dog. My cartoon soft spot came from a much older time. For me, the Hannah-Barbera shows of the 60's and 70's really rang a bell with me, especially the action and science fiction themed ones. Which is what drew to this beer…

Space Ghost, an Imperial Stout brewed with chili peppers, had a very dark, nearly black body. It produced a long lasting head, a light tan in color. It gave off the scent of creamy malt and chocolate, with a hint of spice from the chili peppers.

I noticed light chocolate up front. The chili peppers made their presence known in the mid-palate and I was surprised by the amount of heat coming from the beer. It was not unbearable, but it may have been a bit too much to love. On the finish I detected roasted malt. There was a substantial amount of heat down my throat, dancing between enjoyable and a bit unpleasant.

Space Ghost was an interesting beer. It was not as hot as some other chili infused beers I have tried (looking at you Ghostface Killah), but the heat was a bit too much to warrant another taste. I generally prefer chilies to have a subtle presence when being used in beer. If you don't like your beer spicy, don't drink this.

What to Drink This To:

As I stated earlier, I have a real fondness for the Hannah-Barbera cartoons. One of my favorites (up there with Jonny Quest) was Space Ghost. A super-hero that guarded the universe, Space Ghost flew about the cosmos battling enemies such as Zorak, Brak and Moltar. He was aided by his sidekicks, Jan and Jace, and pet monkey, Blip. I always loved Space Ghost's costume; it was simple but really effective. And as hammy as the dialogue was, the show was hugely entertaining. Space Ghost would go on to feature in the equally entertaining Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, a surrealist talk-show host that heralded in the modern day era of Adult Swim. DC also published a mini-series rebooting the character, written by Joe Kelly and drawn by Ariel Olivetti, that I read some years ago and very much enjoyed.

Dylan Gonzalez happens to love beer and comic books and luckily found a place to write about both because he has no idea how to actually make money in the real world. He lives in a cave in New Jersey.

Tweet him at @BeardedPickle, follow his own beer blog at http://boozegeek.tumblr.com/or email him at dylan.gonzalez1990@gmail.com.

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