It’s been quite a while since I’ve sat down and written one of these reviews on a beer. I think I’ve mentioned before how it’s tough to truly enjoy a beer when you’re sitting there critiquing it, searching for flavors, and writing a review. However, I’m so close to getting to 1,000 beers that I need to force myself to complete my quest this year!
My sister brought this back for me from a trip she made on new year’s eve 2017. She stopped at our house on Jan. 1, 2018, and gave me this beer. She said it was a special release and she talked someone there in to selling it to her for me. I was super grateful for the special release, but it got stuck in the beer fridge/cellar along with some big imperial stouts (like Goose Island Bourbon County) because I’m not too worried about those big beers going bad over time. However, this one is 8% ABV, so it may not have held up as good over the past 5 years. It sounds very interesting, so I’m looking forward to giving it a try.
Location: Poured into a snifter glass at my home in Bloomington, IL.
Numbers: 8% ABV, 11 IBUs, ~200 Calories
Appearance & Aroma: It’s deep black in color, and I can’t see anything through it when I hold it up to the light. It had no head (which could be due to aging it for 5 years), only a ring around the edge of the glass, which faded after a few minutes. It has a great milk-chocolate-like aroma with a hint of mint – which almost reminds me of an Andes dinner mint, although the mint isn’t quite a strong.
Taste & Feel: The body is medium-to-full, and the mouthfeel is smooth, but a bit crisp from carbonation in the beer. The flavor up front has a good amount of cocoa with some hints of an almost black licorice type flavor. In the middle, the sweetness of the chocolate comes out a bit more, and it finishes with a more milk-chocolate flavor. Although there are undertones of mint, black licorice, and hints of coffee. These flavors last for a bit in the aftertaste, fading slowly over a few minutes.
Food Pairing: The bottle says it “pairs well with kicking back or doubling down,” but as far as food, you could definitely double down and complement this beer with a chocolate dessert or some thin mint girl scout cookies. I think the perfect pairing for this beer might actually be a tiramisu with marzipan and rum that would complement the cocoa, mint, and licorice flavors nicely, or even a cannoli with ricotta cheese and chocolate chips that would do the same.
Overall Impression: I wasn’t sure how this beer would come out after being in the cellar for five years, but I was shocked at how complex the flavors were. I was expecting something akin to an Andes mint in a glass, but I loved the hints of mint mixed with chocolate, coffee and licorice. The more I sipped on this beer, the more I enjoyed it. It has held up quite nicely, although I would love to try one fresh to see what it is supposed to taste like. I only wish I had cracked this one open around Christmas time while sitting in front of the fire, as I think that would have been a more appropriate environment to complement this beer.
My Rating: 
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