Abandoned Building Brewery Belladonna

“Intoxicating chocolate-pastry aroma—big, bready cookie dough. Flavor brings big coconut, toasted bread crust, fresh-baked cookie, and moderately sweet chocolate. Like warm cookies soaked in rich liqueur. Huge coconut macaroon notes. Finishes sweet, with lingering coconut and creamy roast. Slightly harsh warmth. Big, chewy mouthfeel. Chocolate pastry bomb.”

**Aroma:** “Fruity esters of pear or cherry with some dried fruit, creating a lighter, fruitier, surprisingly fresh aroma for a barrel-aged beer. Barrel aromas of bourbon, light vanilla, oak. Spices include cinnamon, holiday spices, clove, orange, juniper, and pine, with a hint of chile. Chocolate is present, along with some tobacco. Kind of hard to identify the base beer underneath.” **Flavor:** “The sweetness from the base beer helps to balance the spice characters of potpourri and cinnamon spice. The cherry and orange esters dominate, with some vanilla to smooth things out. Roasted barley and caramel, with some chocolate and Tootsie Rolls. There’s quite a bit of alcoholic and chile heat that detracts and helps to accentuate the phenolic and floral characters, putting them a bit over the top. The hops bitterness and roasted malt flavors add a drying finish to an otherwise sweet beer.” **Overall:** “For an in-your-face holiday beer, this is pretty good. The blend of spices and esters works but is subdued, and I really wanted more from the imperial and oak. It is subtle and tasty, even if it is light on the spicy notes. Nice chocolate and vanilla add fullness to the beer.”

**Aroma:** “Very nice sweet malt character. Inviting oak aroma up front comes through as vanilla and a hint of almond or toffee. The vanilla is very nice and the chocolate notes (coming through as semisweet and dark chocolate) come through great. Nice roasty and some nutty quality, with some coffee flavors in the back. Bourbon, dark cherry, dark roast, alcohol.. Earthy hops low but noticeable. Light fruity yeast character.” **Flavor:** Lots of chocolate and vanilla carry through from start to finish and are complex and full. Dark fruity notes/cherry esters. Roast and malt character add a good back to the malt sweetness with some good toasty/roast quality. The oak (almost like almond or toffee) adds complexity and shines well; it mellows out the edges. The bourbon and oak blend well, but don’t dominate. Nice warmth in the finish. Vanilla and caramel are in full force but not cloying or annoying. Hops bitterness is appropriately low to make room for the major wood. Alcohol is noticeable but smooth and dangerous.” **Overall:** “The beer is a surprisingly balanced and complex stout that showcases sweet malt, vanilla, and chocolate really well with some nice dark fruit characters. The barrel character was showcased well, and the beer backed up the barrel. Nice and smooth and came together great. Tons of chocolate and vanilla with a restrained roasty character that helps to balance. Definitely seek this one out and share with friends.”