Hell Bear is a barrel-aged stout from Werk Force Brewing Co., a brewery and taproom in Plainfield, Illinois, whose tap list carries a family of Bear stouts.
Award
| Category |
Medal |
Entries |
Brewery |
Location |
| 34, Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout |
Bronze (3rd place) |
65 |
Werk Force Brewing Co. |
Plainfield, IL |
Specs
Brewery Description
The brewery site publishes no description of Hell Bear. The beer description on the Untappd listing for the 2025 edition reads:
Imperial stout with peppers, rich dark chocolate.
Source: Untappd (hand-read citation): Hell Bear (2025)
Tasting Notes
Tasting Notes: Rich Dark Chocolate, Vanilla, Depths of Hell. The end result is a perfect harmony of rich fudgy goodness with a touch of heat and smooth vanilla that make you come back for more.
Source: werkforcebrewing.com
Ingredients
The original Untappd listing describes Hell Bear as a variant of the brewery's Sleepy Bear series, aged 15 months in Weller wheated bourbon barrels, with fresh estate grown Ghost, Carolina Reaper and Death Spiral peppers added to the chocolate base (Untappd (hand-read citation): Bourbon Barrel Aged Hell Bear). Which edition was entered in 2026 is not published, so these details are kept out of the structured fields. For context only, the brewery's tap list describes its other Bear stouts as built on roasted and caramel malts, rye, oats and brown sugar (Werk Force: tap list).
Hop Profile
Not Found
Brewing Details
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| Color (SRM) |
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| Original gravity |
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| Final gravity |
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| Water |
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| Process |
A blend of Sleepy Bear aged in Buffalo Trace Mash #2 and Willett bourbon barrels, then rested on Carolina Reaper, Chocolate Scorpion and Brain Strain peppers, roasted cacao nibs and Madagascar vanilla |
werkforcebrewing.com |
Style Context
As category context only, the Brewers Association guidelines have no standalone entry for a wood- and barrel-aged strong stout; their Other Strong Ale or Lager entry sets elevated alcohol at 8% ABV and up and notes that wood- and barrel-aged beers meeting that threshold are categorized separately. Every listed edition is a bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout of 12% or more, which fits that description.
Awards History
| Year |
Competition |
Category |
Medal |
| 2026 |
Great American Beer Festival |
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout |
Bronze |
Generated from the loaded results for this brewery and beer name, not researched separately; years not loaded are not covered.
Brewery Context
Werk Force Brewing Co. is in Plainfield, IL.
Links checked 2026-10-14: Website, Instagram, Untappd.
Related
Links
Gaps
- Not Found: IBU. Checked patch.com, untappd.com, untappd.com, untappd.com, binnys.com, werkforcebrewing.com, werkforcebrewing.com, werkforcebrewing.com, werkforcebrewing.com, web searches recorded in the research notes, Catalog.beer search by beer and brewery name, werkforcebrewing.com.
- Not Found: Color (SRM), Original gravity, Final gravity, Hops, Hop form, Hop use, Hop lot or farm, Malts and grains, Yeast, Water. Checked patch.com, untappd.com, untappd.com, untappd.com, binnys.com, werkforcebrewing.com, werkforcebrewing.com, werkforcebrewing.com, werkforcebrewing.com, web searches recorded in the research notes, werkforcebrewing.com.
Research Notes
- Checked the brewery's home page, tap list, to-go list and Barrel Den page; none mentions Hell Bear. The Barrel Den is an event room, not a barrel program page.
- The only barrel-aged stout on the current tap list is a different beer aged in a Journeyman barrel.
- Untappd brewery pages could not be located without the brewery's Untappd handle, and web search was unavailable for this run.
- The style label for this file is the category name, since the brewery publishes none.
- Researched 2026-10-13.
- Second pass 2026-10-13: found four Untappd editions of Bourbon Barrel Aged Hell Bear (13.2%, 2023 at 13%, 2024 at 13%, 2025 at 12%), all labelled imperial stout; ABV stays null because the entered edition is not named. Patch reports Hell Bear tied for gold in Chili Pepper Beer at the 2025 US Open Beer Championship. No 2026 GABF medal post was found.
- Field pass 2026-10-13: The retailer listing is explicitly the 2024 Barrel Aged Hell Bear, so it does not establish ABV or ingredients for the unspecified entered edition. No matching IBU, brewery beer page or hops were verified.
- Deep dive pass 2026-10-14: the brewery's October 25, 2025 release page for the 2025 Bourbon Barrel Aged Hell Bear (the variant on file) gives 12.0% ABV, tasting notes (dashes in the original replaced with commas), the two bourbon barrels, the peppers and vanilla; no hops, malts or IBU.