Style: Barrel-Aged Cinnamon & Spice Stout

ABV: 11.3 IBU: 66.0

98/100

Aroma:	12
Appearance:	3
Flavor:	20
Mouthfeel:	5

Great Notion Brewing Frenched Toast

What the brewers say

Aged for 2 years in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels with Madagascar vanilla beans, whole cinnamon, and Ver-mont maple syrup.

What our panel thought

A very prominent and pleasant maple-syrup aroma. This one is a sweet and syrupy maple bomb as the aroma indicates.

What our editors thought

The cinnamon and maple-syrup notes jump out of the glass in a vivid display of adjunct intensity. The body is extremely sweet, but the quality of flavor delivers exactly as the ingredients promise, and then some. Burn down any expectations for balance and embrace the singular expression of these breakfast flavors.

Review printed in: Stouts for All Seasons (Oct-Nov 2019) (View All Issues)

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Great Notion Brewing BA Double Stack

Wow! Maple! There are some vanilla overtones and hints of roast malt, but the maple hits like a Boston tidal wave. A wonderful combination of maple syrup, coffee, and chocolate dancing in a vanilla, caramel, and slightly marshmallow-like bourbony vessel. Just enough body to stand up to all those flavors. Noticeable, but in no way harsh, alcoholic warmth. Exquisitely well-balanced base beer.

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“Maple syrup notes jump from the glass supported by hints of dark chocolate, coffee. The sip is an intense blend of maple and coffee. Mouthfeel is near perfect.”

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“Sugary nose with layers of rich chocolate, touches of cinnamon, light maple. It would be your bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch if condensed down, well balanced by a nice fresh coffee element with hints of brown sugar and molasses hiding in the background. Chocolate-forward base beer offers the perfect canvas for the dessert-focused stout. Coffee reemerges in the finish creating a nice palate-cleansing bitterness, bookending the mid-palate sweetness. Thick, sugary mouthfeel requires slow sipping, yet it remains highly drinkable.”

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