Quick Sips: Terrapin Moo Hoo Chocolate

True Confession: When I was a teenager, I had a giant wall of yellow in my bedroom made up of nothing but Yoo-Hoo cans. Until beer came along, it was the greatest beverage known to man. I drank so much of it, my zits had zits. Seriously, all those cans covered a whole wall in my bedroom.

Also, I failed to rinse out the cans before I stacked them up, resulting in an awful spider problem best left for a horror novel.

A horror novel that features Terrapin’s Moo-Hoo, however, is one I’d read twice. Maybe three times. This to-die-for beer is a milk stout brewed with loads of chocolate, making it a creamy, delicious adult version of Yoo-Hoo. If this was around when I was 15, I would have died of liver failure by the age of 19.

As it stands, I’ll have to hold out for 59.

Moo-Hoo isn't quite as mind-blowing as it was a few years back, but it's still worth grabbing without hesitation and remains one of my favorite chocolate beers. Get it!

(NOTE: Yes, this story is, sadly, true. All of it.)

NOTE 2: Portions of this post originally appeared in The Philly Weekly

Quick Sips: Fegley’s Bourbon Barrel Insidious

Those in Allentown and Bethlehem, PA know Fegley’s as The Brew Works, a pair of great brewpubs in some of Pennsy’s finest non-Philly towns for hanging out and enjoying great beer. When bottled, those beers get the “Fegley’s” label – but they are no less awesome than they are at the pub.

Insidious is their big imperial stout, a chocolate forward brew that can be a bit hot on the alcohol when fresh but that ages into itself very nicely after about 12 months in the "cellar" (or cupboard). 

The Bourbon Barrel version? A twist on that delightfully dark beer, following the trend of stuffing everything possible into a barrel. Trend or not, though, it works. Fegley’s version has less up front bourbon than many bourbon barrel aged beers, making this an approachable (but still imposing!) take on the barrel-aged style.

Black as night, rich as a Rockefeller, and surprisingly drinkable when compared to others of the same style, enjoy this sipper of a beer with a big steak or spicy nachos.

NOTE: Portions of this post originally appeared in The Philly Weekly. 

Quick Sips: Victory Storm King

Oh, you big, big beers. How we love you.

There are a bunch of different giants. Hill giants, frost giants, cloud giants, and of course, storm giants. Each has different hit dice and abilities. I’m not sure why it is important for you to know that when all you really need to know is, Victory’s Storm King is big enough to stomp a village into dust.

With this beer, Downington, PA’s favorite brewery proves that a massively complex beer doesn’t have to cost you half a paycheck. Storm King is huge, but it's priced pretty nicely when you consider how well it stacks up against other beers its equal. Not only does this inky black, 9 percent beer taste of rich chocolate, tobacco, licorice, and charred toffee, it also ages beautifully.

Really, get a bottle, stash it away, and open it four years later. You’ll be in love. Storm King is the biggest, boldest, best value for your dollar when it comes to imperial stouts brewed in Pennsylvania. (I specify PA because to be honest, the best deal in imperial stouts is Imperial Russian Stout by Stone,  a beer that is merely $6 a bomber but is better than most "limited" beers triple its price.) Your puny 1^stlevel fighter doesn’t stand a chance.

Portions of this review were originally written for the Philadelphia Weekly and are reprinted here with permission,

From the Cellar: Old Rasputin imperial stout

North Coast's Old Rasputin is considered by some to be the definitive American version of the classic Russian Imperial Stout style. I beg to differ, but I understand why people think that way. It's widely available, well brewed, and quite good.

It's also, like most imperial stouts, a possible candidate for cellaring ... so I sought to do just that when I bought Old Rasputin twice for my "cellar," once in the winter of 2010 and again in mid 2011. The problem? I never marked the beers, and North Coast doesn't date stamp them, so I have no idea how old this beer was. It's at the youngest about 18 months and at the oldest maybe three years. Keep that in mind when reading this. (Also keep in mind that this was enjoyed and written in autumn 2012 and is only being posted now.)

An Old Rasputin with mild age on it pours with a fizzy head of about one finger even after some time sitting around. It smells of licorice, coffee, and alcohol heat, none of it luxurious or inviting, but none of it unpleasant, either. Still, the aroma feels somehow subdued.

The drinking experience offers much the same experience. The body is thin and light for an imperial stout, lacking the rich, heavy sweetness I enjoy in the style. There is lots of coffee, mocha and cocoa, so that's nice, but oddly, the booze is not as mellow as it is when fresh. The other odd thing? There is a vaguely milky quality to it without the body of sweetness of a milk stout. Don't know what to make of that.

So did it improve over time? I think so. Overall this beer is smoother and more enjoyable than it is when fresh. Pair this with a rich cheese or dessert dish and you'll enjoy it greatly.

BEER: North Coast Old Rasputin imperial stout
VINTAGE: 2010-2011 (?)
TIME AGED: 12-24 months (?)
NOTES: Still boozy, but pleasant, dessert-like tones come out to play

VERDICT: Definitely give this beer a year in your cellar, maybe more.

Quick Sips: Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Aside from Sierra Nevada's classic Bigfoot,  there are few beers that have been an annual tradition in my life the way Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout has been. I don't even remember when I had my first. The late 1990s, maybe. I just remember it was INTENSE in a way beers had never been before.

I've been around the block a few times since then, but even so this remains an intense, complex, and utterly delicious beer.

First, take note: This beer is NOT made with chocolate! The "chocolate" in the name is all due to the roasted barley used in the beer. Once brewed, it takes on an amazing chocolate quality, but no real chocolate is present. The taste is just a miracle of the brewing process.

So anyway,  this amazing annual tradition, this big giant nearly 11% ABV stout that can last for years in your cupboard, how does it taste?

The nose is rich with dark malts and alcohol, with warm chocolate tones very, very faint beneath it. Smells boozy and sweet. And yeah, the taste follows through on the expectations. Big, fat dark malts with touches of chocolate throughout.

When it's fresh, you can taste the HELL out of the 10% ABV. A lot of modern American craft beers mask their alcohol content pretty well. Not Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout. When fresh, this beer tastes potent. Not a lot of roasty, coffee-like flavor here. Some dark chocolate, a lot of rich, black malt. and (when fresh) loads of booze.

But here's the thing: This beer ages well. It will keep wonderfully in your cupboard. In fact, having had this many times with six months, a year, or several years of age on it, I can say with experience that it only gets better with age. The alcohol mellows and the burn subsides. What comes out are rich chocolate tones, roasty cocoa, and more.

This beer is DELICIOUS. It's complex but young when fresh.  Buy a four-pack, but don't drink it until the NEXT year. You'll thank me for it. And buy the following year's four-pack while you do it!

Quick Sips: Long Trail Coffee Stout

For me, Long Trail has long been a great go-to for approachable craft beers. They make solid session brews that won't knock you on your ass but give you nice flavor. Many die-hard beer geeks don't consider Long Trail anything special, but those folks miss the point. Long Trail isn't aiming to reinvent beer or blow out your taste buds anything like that. They just make good, drinkable beer. It's why I like them

None of which is to say they don't play around with bigger beers. Their Brewsmaster Series is where they get a little bigger and bolder. Each year a few beers come out in this series, always in bombers (22 oz. bottles), and always for a reasonable price. The standout is always, in my opinion, their coffee stout, a robust brew that clocks in at 8% and that has always packed a nice punch of roast, chocolate, and java.

So why I am so lukewarm on this year's batch?

This has been a top-notch beer for me in the past, but this year's batch (2012) has a slick, oily coffee bitterness I don't care for. That same taste totally ruined a homebrewed coffee stout I made last year. Mind you, the taste is not even close to that bad here -- I enjoyed this whole bottle -- but it's a step down from the gorgeous roast of previous batches. The coffee is way up front, burying the rich roast that defines this beers.

I'm stumped. And disappointed. Because last year, I would have ranked this brew among my favorites. This year? Not even in the top 100.

Sierra Nevada takes us to BEER CAMP

For some years now, Sierra Nevada has been holding Beer Camp, an opportunity for industry people, contest winners, and others to visit their Chico, CA facility and brew some beer (on Sierra's equipment!) that would only ever be seen in the immediate Chico area. Over the years they brewed dozens of Sierra Nevada brews, often quirky, interesting beers that were never seen by 99.9% of Sierra Nevada drinkers.

In 2011, the brewery finally decided to make some of these beers available, releasing a Beer Camp mix pack that was, in my view, the very best mixer of the year. Every single beer was good, and several were phenomenal. Even something like the seemingly ordinary California Common, a style best known thanks to Anchor Steam, was amazing.

So needless to say, I was excited when it was announced that the Beer Camp pack would be back in 2012, this time with four totally new beers.

Here are my impressions of the four brews in this pack:

Floral IPA - This one is made with rose petals and rose hips, giving it a soft floral quality that parts ways with the pine-laden scents of Sierra Nevada's usual IPAs. This was my least favorite of the bunch, but not for the reason you may expect. The floral elements were actually well integrated. Where it fell short was in the overall balance. An uninteresting malt profile did little to intermingle with sharp hop bitterness. Though do keep in mind, unlike many American beer lovers, IPAs are not a favorite of mine.

Imperial Pilsner - I'm not sure why they went with the "imperial" tag, as this one comes in at 5.6% ABV, stronger than your average pilsner but not that much stronger. Regardless, for this this was the standout of the pack, and I say that as a guy who traditionally doesn't care for pilsners. This beer was bright, crisp, and refreshing, with a nice hop bite that gave it an edge over most pilsners. Utterly delicious and stupidly drinakable, if this came in six packs I'd be buying more of it.

Imperial Red Ale - Not a big fan of red ales. I can think of very, very few I've liked. Sierra Nevada almost gets me to like one here, with a great bouquet of hops and a robust malt backbone giving this puppy a solid 8.1% ABV, but yeah, this style continues to not be for me. If you like red ales, though, this will probably be a standout beer for you. It has bold hops coupled with rich malts and surprising chocolate notes. It's a big, big red that will please fans of the style.

Oatmeal Stout - A pretty modest name for a hefty 9% stout that is black as midnight and richer than a double chocolate cheesecake. WOWZA is this ever a desert beer. It SMELLS like desert! Huge, rich chocolate notes with the pure velvet of a great oatmeal stout. You'll taste the alcohol, making this one a decent candidate for laying down for six months to a year, but even now it's tasting pretty fantastic. Calling it a plain old oatmeal stout doesn't do it justice. This beer is huge and delicious.

All in call, Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2012 isn't quite as good as 2011's -- I liked all four of last year's and loved three of them, while this year I like three of four and love two of four -- but it's still a worthwhile mix pack that will expand your taste buds in good ways. Check it out while it's still available, because this will be off the shelves soon.

Quick Sips: Fegley's Insidious Imperial Sout

Folks in the Leigh Valley of Pennsylvania may know Fegley's as the BrewWorks, a group of brewpubs serving towns like Allentown and Bethlehem. Fro beer drinkers outside that area, we know them as an up and coming craft brewer trying to gain attention on the nation stage.

Here we've got their Insidious Imperial Stout, their big honkin' entry into a big honkin' category best defined by big alcohol and HUGE flavors. Unfortunately, when compared to amazing and affordable entries like Stone Russian Imperial Stout, this one just doesn't hold up. For a big imperial stout (it clocks in at 9% ABV) the aroma is really subdued. Some sweet malts, but not much else. No notes of roasted coffee or sweet chocolate. Hmmm. Not expecting much from the taste, then.

And yep, what we've got here is a tasty enough imperial stout that is perfectly serviceable. The beer ain't bad, make no mistake. I'm happy to be drinking it. It's quite nice. Nice, but also unimpressive. Which, sadly, has been my experience with Fegley's. You get these gorgeous corked bottles and you want to be floored with an outstanding beer. Instead, what you get is pretty good beer ... which is great and all, but not what you hoped for for when you see that impressive bottle.

Though in all fairness, I should note that the prices on these Fegley's brews tends to be fantastic. For instance, this beer was about $7. Bargain city! In keeping with the taste, sure, but $7 for this corked bomber is a nice deal for what is a good but not great imperial stout.

So would I ever pass up this beer? Hell no. I wouldn't go out of my way to get it, but if it ended up in my glass I'd still be a happy drinker.

Bell's Week: Special Double Cream Stout

Cream? What an understatement! This beer is creamy, creamy, creamy, with a silky soft mouthfeel that might as well be stout-flavored Cool Whip. Super creamy. Achingly creamy. Delightfully creamy. It's utterly delicious, akin to a sweet, dry Irish stout -- Guinness is the best known of this style -- but with the heavy-bodied awesomeness of a milk stout.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, launching into a review without an introduction.Bell's Special Double Cream Stout is a winter beer that ducks away from the bitter, roasted approach of many stouts and instead goes for smoooooth and creamy.

And that it is. It's fluffy and puffy like a dessert, silky like a milk sotut (but it's not a milk stout), and overall delicious. Jim,. my coauthor on A Year of Hitchcock, ranks this as one of his favorite beers. It's easy to see why. While I don't rate it quite as highly -- it's excellent, but not a life-changing brew -- this is truly a stellar beer. If I could get this all the time, it would be on my regular purchase list. I was initially going to finish Bell's week on a different beer, but decided to do it on a good note ... and this is a DAMN GOOD NOTE.

Bell's, you bastards, why don't you distribute in New Jersey!?

Bell's Week: Kalamazoo Stout

Kalamazoo. That's where Bell's got its start. It has a map and a bad website and a Wikipedia page and even a college.

But the most important thing of all is, it has a beer.

Hey, that's pretty awesome. Even Lakehurst doesn't have a beer, and that town has the damn HINDENBURG!

Kalamazoo Stout is (obviously) named after the town of Bell's birth. It's a stout brewed with brewer's licorice, which might sound weird but used to be common.

(Licorice isn't unheard of in brewing, and in fact used to be used fairly often in classic porters. Still is, at times. I used it in the colonial porter you can see in these pictures.)

With Kalamazoo Stout, the brewer's licorice is very up front, stepping on the typical roasted malt of a good stout and dominating it with licoricey (is that a word?) sweetness. It's tasty but just off-kilter enough so that I'm not sure you'd want to have more than one in a row. Definitely a nice twist on the style, I can't say I disliked this stout because I didn't, but Bell's makes better stouts. And so does everyone else.

Quick Sips: Weyerbacher Sierra milk stout (Brewer's Select Series)

Weyerbacher is one of my favorite Pennsylvania breweries, which is saying a lot since it is a state loaded with great beer makers. In addition to great regular offerings like Double Simcoe IPA, Merry Monks (one of the finest tripels made in America), and Heresy, an oak-aged imperial stout, they also have a very limited Brewer's Select Series. These beers are only available at their brewery, so good luck getting your hands on one. If you happen to find yourself there for a tour, though, be sure to see what the latest beer in this series is.

This particular brew is Sierra, a small batch milk stout. I really love milk stouts, and this one is (actually, was; Sierra is no longer available) a great example of the style. It's got the creamy body you expect from a milk stout, with a mild but noticeable roasted coffee nose. Very full-bodied but drinks easily, quite smooth with nice sweetness. If this is an example of what Weyerbacher does with their Brewer's Select Series, I'd love to try more of them.

Quick Sips: Dogfish Head Chicory Stout

Dogfish Head is best known for doing really unusual beers. That makes them a somewhat divisive brewery, but it's also why I like them. When you get a beer from Dogfish Head, you're likely to be getting a beer unlike anything else out there ... and that's pretty cool.

One of their few "normal" beers is their winter seasonal, Chicory Stout. This is a pretty straightforward stout -- at 5.2% ABV it's also one of Dogfish's weakest beers -- that takes a turn for the unsusual thanks to the addition of roasted chicory, organic Mexican coffee, St. John's Wort and licorice root. The result is a very drinkable dry stout with just enough going on to make it stand out from the pack.

The nose is rich Mexican coffee, very roasty, like a handful of oily black coffee beans spilling from your hands. There are hints of chocolate and coffee throughout the taste, yet oddly, very little sweetness. Instead it has a sharp, coffee-like bitterness. This beer has a dry finish. They don't call this a coffee stout, but that's what it is. A roasted rich (and delicious) coffee stout.

Chicory Stout is on shelves right now, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it if you enjoy stouts. Grab it while you can, as this beer is only released once each year

Dogfish Head Bitches Brew makes its return

According to the folks over at beernews.org, Dogfish Head's Bitches Brew will return to shelves this month. This was a beer brewed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the landmark Miles Davis record of the same name. You can see a full description of the beer at the Dogfish website.

Joining it will be a re-release of Hellhound on My Ale, another beer made to honor a musician (blues legend Robert Johnson) and Faithfull Ale, a beer brewed to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Pearl Jam's album Ten. It's a Belgian style golden ale brewed with black currants. I can't verify for sure, but I'm pretty sure this was once a brewpub beer brewed under a different name, specifically Au Courant.

I'm a fan of all three musical acts, so these beers are fun based on that alone. Thankfully, they're worth drinking, too. (Well, the two of them I've had, at least.)

Bitches Brew is a big imperial stout with a pleasant honey flavor at the end thanks to blending in Tej. It doesn't sound like it should work, but it does. The initial aftertaste is surprising but wonderful. The beer was featured on the short-lived show Brew Masters, and as a result became very difficult to find. Bottles flew off shelves the same day. They sometimes sold for $40-50 on the aftermarket. Expect this one to sell like mad this time, too. But do make the effort to find it; it's delicious.

The Hellhound is a pretty good imperial IPA with some lemon zing to give it a twist. Like most of DFH's big IPAs it's very sweet and thick and borders on syrupy. This one works better than their others due to that lemon, in my opinion, which gives it a bit of needed zest. Clocks in at a robust 10% alcohol by volume, so it's a big beer. If you don't care for their 90 min or Squall take a pass, otherwise give this one a look. It's a nice sipping beer, especially on a warmer day. This beer was once brewed under a different name, too. It was a brewpub exclusive called A Romantic Aromatic.

Founder's Breakfast Stout: a little slice of Heaven

Founders Brewing Company out of Michigan has over the last few years established themselves as one of America's very best craft breweries, especially of stouts. Difficult to find beers such as their KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) get beer geeks raving, but even their year-round "standard" beers are pretty kick-ass, notably Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale and Centennial IPA.

My favorite, though, is by far their Breakfast Stout, a double chocolate coffee oatmeal stout. Yeah, you read that right. It's only available between September and December, tends to disappear from the shelves fairly quick depending on where you live, and is worth spending a few weeks in a war-torn country just to try.



This is a big, tasty stout, though I wondered if it would be when I first poured the glass. The aroma had hints of coffee and roasted chocolate, but neither were overpowering.

The taste, though. Yeah, the taste. While it's true this is like a meal in a glass, the important part is that it's like a delicious meal in a glass. You don't initially taste strong chocolate or coffee; they're just hints in an impressive weave of roasty flavor. They're rich and full and strong, yet they never punch you in the face. The beer is perfectly balanced, tasting like a complex stout with smokey nuances and a smoothness (probably brought on by the chocolate) that belies its bitterness. Very impressive. Hyped beers often don't live up to the hype. This one does.

The bottom line is, this is a stupidly good stout that really would make a great breakfast if it weren't for the alcohol. It offers a strong and complex yet not overpowering taste. None of the boasted flavors (chocolate, coffee, oatmeal) are so prominent that they scream "look at me," instead mixing into a pleasing and heady beverage.

Believe the hype.

Founder's Breakfast Stout should be hitting stores in a few weeks.

(2013 edit: The last year years,Founder's Breakfast Stout has changed a bit, with the coffee being much more out front, at times being the dominant flavor. Still delicious, but certainly a bit different.)

Weyerbacher brews a heretical stout

Weyerbacher is a fantastic brewery out of Pennsylvania that really deserves more attention, especially since they've been crafting exceptional beers for 16 years now. They do some fine year-round beers, the Merry Monks being my favorite, and also do a large number of small-batch, limited release and seasonal beers.

Among them is Heresy, which is their Old Heathen imperial stout aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels.

And it's a pretty nice one. Just look at that tasty pour! The rich, foamy head so thick you can flat a cap on it!

Thing is, for being a pricier version of their standard issue imperial stout, the oak aging didn't do much for this brew. It has a slightly woody nose with a touch of bourbon, but you really have to be looking for it. Most of this is just nice imperial stout with strong chocolate taste from the roasted malt. Not that there is anything wrong with that! It's a good beer with a great roasty flavor, just didn't seem to benefit much from the barrel aging (which is all the rage these days among American craft brewers).

Comes in at 8% alcohol, but it's a very smooth 8%. You'd never known it was a more potent than usual brew. I've seen reviews that said the alcohol taste was kind of hot, but not in my experience. Maybe it's because I've had it for a while and let the alcohol mellow. (The bottle was about seven months old, stored at room temperature.)

All in all I'd say the Heresy is worth a look, but if you balk at the price consider a single bottle rather than the four-pack.

Fresh from my fermenter, an oatmeal stout

I've posted about homebrewing before. Here's a brew that I think turned out pretty good and should turn out even better after a few adjustments for my second batch. Introducing Old Kicker Oatmeal Stout, brewed with cocoa and coffee:



Old Kicker has a lively carbonation like Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, with a taste of cocoa in the middle and then the lingering bitterness of coffee.

I can't take full credit for it, though. The recipe isn't fully my own concoction. It began with an oatmeal stout recipe from the fine folks at Brewer's Apprentice. I then added two scoops of cocoa during the boil, one with about 30 minutes left in the boil and another in the last five minutes. For my second batch I'll be adjusting that upwards, adding one to two more scoops of cocoa so the taste is more pronounced. Both will come in the last five minutes; I'm afraid that early dose may have boiled away some desirable cocoa aroma.

My other addition was coffee. For those who don't homebrew, here's how it works: When you bottle your beer you add something called finishing sugar as you bottle it. The yeast wakes up and eats it, producing CO2. Since the beer is now in a bottle, the CO2 has nowhere to go, and this stays inside the bottle. That's how your beer carbonates. (And YES, if you add too much sugar the yeast will generate too much CO2 and your bottles will literally explode. It can be dangerous.) Generally you boil the finishing sugar with a small amount of water before adding it to the fermented beer.

But with Old Kicker, I used coffee instead of water. Amazingly, I only used about 3/4 a cup of coffee for a five-gallon batch, yet you can still clearly taste it in the beer. It's a touch on the astringently bitter side for my taste, so next time I'll be cold brewing the coffee to provide a smoother coffee flavor without the bitterness.

Finally, I'll be adding a small amount of lactose sugar. Lactose is a sugar that beer yeast can not ferment. Adding it will do one thing: add body, making the beer taste and feel "fuller" and heavier.

The results will be, I hope, a delicious chocolate oatmeal stout with coffee. The first batch was pretty tasty (and there is still plenty left). Hoping the second will be delicious.

For those interested in trying to brew Old Kicker, start with this stout recipe (PDF warning) and adjust as per this post. Experiment a bit to make it your own.

Chasing down the elusive KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)

Note: I brought this post over from my main blog.

Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout, aka KBS, is an amazing, hard to find beer because the once-a-year brew sells out so fast, but it's well worth the trouble of tracking it down. Here's why.



There is a reason why Ratebeer rates it a world class beer and ranks it as one of the top 10 beers in the world based on thousands of reviews. It's quite simply one of the most complex, rich, and flavorful beers you'll ever have. Folks who have only experienced the usual Bud-Miller-Coors style beers are probably unaware that beer can be like this.

I was lucky to even get it. I had been bugging the guys at my local liquor store two months ahead of time. "Do you think you'll be able to get the KBS? Please set a few bottles aside for me!" Turns out my entire state only got 120 cases. Otherwise good liquor stores were #25 or #30 on their distributor's list to get a case ... and those distributors had maybe four cases to dish out. Yikes.

But my shop did get it, and they set aside two bottles for me. (Few shops sold this in the four-packs it comes in. Instead, most imposed one- or two-bottle limits on customers.) I'm glad they did. This stuff was a treat.

This is an imperial stout brewed with huge amounts of coffee and chocolate, both of which are very much a part of this heady, chewy brew's taste and aroma. It's rich and dark and very full-bodied. Founders sends the taste into the stratosphere, though, when they cave age it for a year inside oak bourbon barrels. The result is a beer loaded with flavors that all compete for center stage without crowding one another out.

KBS has a strong, up-front bourbon taste with hints of vanilla in the aroma. Give it a whiff and you'd almost think you're smelling a dense liquor. It's a beer through and through, though. After the initial burst of bourbon at the start of your sip, coffee and chocolate rise up in the middle, with hints of vanilla working to counter the mocha taste. The balance is perfect. As you finish your sip you're left with a lingering, oaky bourbon finish.

All in all, it wasn't just a beer, it was an experience. If by some amazing chance you see some, grab it. Otherwise, be ready to act fast when next year's batch is released. It's already in barrels.