Perennial Artisan Ales Maman 2018

Aroma is toasted marshmallows dipped in bourbon-spiked hot chocolate with perhaps a touch of oatmeal-raisin cookies. Taste is essentially identical. The finish is creamy and smooth. This beer hits the marshmallow notes in a way that most people only hope to. Barrel is present, adding notes of toasted coconut, cinnamon, and clove.

“Pleasant aroma, with boozy espresso, dark chocolate, and vanilla setting the stage for a spicy black-pepper note and hint of whiskey. The sip is smooth, with a spicy whiskey component, as rounded chocolate, coffee, and vanilla interplay jovially in the background. The rye brings interesting complexity while helping to balance the sweetness of this massive beer. Finishes with smooth and clean spicy black pepper and alcohol notes. Well-balanced with no rough edges.” 

Aroma: “Spicy sweet roast character. Hints of soy sauce, oak, vanilla. Rich and intoxicatingly complex.” Flavor: “Massive chocolate, dark fruit, roast leading to a lingering barrel-aged oak character and strong, but not overly hot, alcoholic warmth. Residual whiskey character adds spiciness.” Overall: “Go big or go home. This is a massively complex barrel-aged stout. The whiskey character is quite strong, but the underlying beer is big enough to balance. The finish is sweet but given the roast, alcohol, and whiskey, it doesn’t come across as cloying. Beers in this style get more points because they are just bigger than everything else, but in this case this is a really well made beer.”