FiftyFifty Brewing Co. Eclipse Vanilla

“The flavor is like drinking a cloud—super soft, pillowy, lightly marshmallow. Hop flavors run the gamut from citrus, strawberry, and sweet cherry to diesel and dank. Very soft and inviting mouthfeel. The assertive sweetness helps elevate the hops and tropical flavors.”

“Strong oak dominates the aroma, with hints of vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, roast. Thick body, like Hershey’s syrup, with a flavor to match. Medium cherry and dark-fruit esters appear in the sweet, long-lasting finish. Plenty of warming in the chest.”

**Aroma:** “Some sweet dark cherry and raisin character. Nice sweet chocolate. Slight vanilla and oak. A musty red wine barrel character. I imagine this is what an old French wine-barrel room smells like. Medium strong roast dominates with some bright cherry notes dancing on top. Relatively thin overall on the nose.” **Flavor:** “Nice blend of flavors. Some bold roasty notes, nice dark and sweet chocolate notes, and some sweet dark cherry notes. The oak character adds nice complexity to the beer, hitting in the middle and carrying through the finish. The warmth also adds to the taste and cuts some of the sweetness. Some tannins couple with the roast and alcohol to add to the dry finish.” **Overall:** “This is a really smooth and well blended barrel-aged imperial stout. Lots of good malt flavors came together well and worked together throughout the whole beer. An interesting beer that displays a heavy amount of wine barrel that will do well with some age on it.”