Humble Forager Swingin Sticks With Angry Chair 4Pk

Humble Forager Swingin Sticks With Angry Chair 4Pk is a 13% ABV imperial stout collaboration sold as a four-pack of heavily adjuncted pastry stout. Conditioned on over 2,000 pounds of combined adjuncts — toasted coconut, roasted pistachios, cacao nibs, and caramel — this release has earned individual BeerAdvocate ratings between 4.01 and 4.25 out of 5.

Quick Facts: ABV: 13%  |  Origin: Waunakee, Wisconsin  |  Style: Imperial Pastry Stout  |  Brewery: Humble Forager (brewed by The Brewing Projekt)  |  Collaboration: Angry Chair Brewing (Tampa Bay, FL)

Production & Heritage

Humble Forager is a nomadic brewing brand whose beers are produced at The Brewing Projekt facility in Eau Claire, Wisconsin — a brewery named "Best New Brewer" in Wisconsin in 2020 by RateBeer. For Swingin Sticks, Humble Forager partnered with Angry Chair Brewing out of Tampa Bay, Florida, a brewery renowned for its own lineup of decadent pastry stouts. The base is an intentionally oily, thick imperial stout that was then conditioned on 1,000 pounds of toasted coconut, 1,000 pounds of roasted pistachios, boutique cocoa nibs, and swirls of caramel — an unusually massive adjunct load even by modern pastry stout standards.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Toasted coconut hits first, followed by waves of dark chocolate, caramel, and a creamy richness reminiscent of dense espresso. There is an underlying nuttiness from the pistachios that rounds out the nose.

Taste: The entry is immediately sweet with candied coconut and caramelized brown sugar. Mid-palate, roasted pistachio emerges alongside bitter dark chocolate and rich cacao, building into a layered, almost confectionery-like complexity. The mouthfeel is extremely full — thick and smooth, closer to soft-serve texture than typical beer.

Finish: A lingering bittersweet chocolate note anchors the finish, which carries moderate length and a faint warmth from the 13% ABV. Residual coconut sweetness and a subtle nuttiness persist through the close.

How to Drink Swingin Sticks

Pour into a snifter or tulip glass at cellar temperature (50–55°F) to let the aromatics open fully; this stout is designed to be savored slowly on its own. At 13% ABV with an intensely sweet, dessert-forward profile, it functions best as a standalone sipper rather than a cocktail ingredient. That said, adventurous drinkers have used pastry stouts of this style in three ways: a Stout Float, where a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream amplifies the coconut-caramel richness; a Black Velvet riff, combining a small pour with dry sparkling wine to cut the sweetness; and a Beer Cocktail Affogato, poured over a shot of fresh espresso for a coffee-forward dessert drink.

Best For

• Sharing among pastry stout enthusiasts during a bottle-share night
• Pairing with a dessert course at a dinner party
• Gifting a craft beer collector who values limited collaborations
• Cellaring for six to twelve months to observe how the adjunct flavors evolve

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Swingin Sticks taste like? Swingin Sticks delivers a rich, dessert-like profile dominated by toasted coconut, roasted pistachio, bitter dark chocolate, and gooey caramel over a thick, oily stout base. It is notably sweet with a bittersweet chocolate backbone and a smooth, almost velvety mouthfeel.

How does Swingin Sticks compare to Angry Chair's solo pastry stouts? Both Angry Chair's own releases and this collaboration share a commitment to heavy adjunct loads and dessert-forward intensity, but Swingin Sticks distinguishes itself with the massive pistachio component — 1,000 pounds — which adds a savory, nutty dimension not typical in Angry Chair's chocolate-and-coffee-leaning solo lineup. The Humble Forager base stout also tends toward an oilier, thicker body than many of Angry Chair's standard imperial stout platforms.

Is Swingin Sticks good for sipping neat? Yes — at 13% ABV with an extremely full body and complex layered sweetness, it is purpose-built for slow, contemplative sipping from a snifter or tulip glass at cellar temperature.

Where is Swingin Sticks made? Swingin Sticks is brewed at The Brewing Projekt facility in Wisconsin under the Humble Forager nomadic brewing label, in collaboration with Angry Chair Brewing of Tampa Bay, Florida.

What foods pair well with Swingin Sticks? Dark chocolate truffles complement the cacao nib character; pistachio gelato mirrors the nut component; salted caramel brownies echo the caramel swirl; aged gouda provides a savory counterpoint to the sweetness; and pecan pie aligns with the toasted, nutty richness of the beer.

What sizes does Swingin Sticks come in? Swingin Sticks is sold as a four-pack, which is the standard retail format for this release.

Is Swingin Sticks worth the price? This positions as a premium craft collaboration with an unusually large adjunct bill — over 2,000 pounds of ingredients per batch — and a 13% ABV, placing it firmly in the upper tier of pastry stout pricing. For drinkers who value heavily adjuncted imperial stouts from respected collaboration partners, the ingredient intensity and limited availability justify the premium positioning.

Why Swingin Sticks?

The sheer scale of adjunct usage sets this beer apart: one ton of toasted coconut and one ton of roasted pistachios, supplemented by cacao nibs and caramel, make it one of the more ingredient-intensive pastry stouts on the market. The collaboration pairs Humble Forager's thick, oily stout base — brewed at a facility recognized by RateBeer as Wisconsin's best new brewery in 2020 — with the pastry stout expertise of Angry Chair Brewing, one of the most sought-after names in the style. Individual BeerAdvocate ratings between 4.01 and 4.25 out of 5 confirm that the execution matches the ambition. For anyone serious about the pastry stout category, Swingin Sticks represents a genuinely maximalist take that earns its reputation through ingredient volume and collaborative pedigree rather than hype alone.