Moksa Brewing Mostra 5th
Imperial stout with coffee, vanilla beans, and maple syrup. Light chocolate and marshmallow nose wafts with sweet vanilla and a hint of rich vanilla tannin over maple. A brief roasty bite on the sip is quickly braced by maple sweetness, but it’s the 60% cacao chocolate-bar s’more with a touch of biscuity graham that makes it so compelling.
ABV: 15.6% Location: Rocklin, California
Finback Heinous
Imperial stout with coffee, chocolate, and hazelnut. Peanut brittle on the nose is backed with some hot cocoa, which leads to a sweet-but-not-too-sweet sip that’s a mocha with a 50/50 mix of milk and dark chocolate and a shot of hazelnut. The coffee, thankfully, appears only on the finish, as a bit of roast that scrubs the palate. It’s deliciously decadent without being overbearing and sweet at all the right moments.
ABV: 12% Location: Queens, New York
Seventh Son Fox in the Stout
Imperial stout with vanilla and cacao nibs. Inspired by a salted chocolate brownie made by a neighboring bakery, this beer showcases layers of dry cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate on the nose while the sip is perfectly balanced—artfully riding that line between burnt-sugar sweet and bitter sharp cocoa with a touch of dark malt roast.
ABV: 8.9% Location: Columbus, Ohio