Style: BA Dessert Stout

ABV: 14.8 IBU: 30.0

89/100

Aroma:	11
Appearance:	3
Flavor:	17
Mouthfeel:	4

Cerebral Brewing Rye Barrel Aged Trophy Hunt

What the brewers say

"Aged ... with Tahitian vanilla caviar, Fiji vanilla beans, and Haitian cacao nibs."

What our panel thought

"Nibs poke through chocolate vapor trail; more vanilla, smelling like a high-quality chocolate bar. Light booze and oak. Over-the-top chocolate cake flavor, sweet with significant bitter edge. High alcohols—could be smoother."

What our editors thought

"Balanced nose of rich roasted malt, dark chocolate, vanilla. The sip evokes fruity esters—grilled peach, orange, tangerine—resolving into a sweet stout body accented by earthy vanilla."

Review printed in: Stout: More than Just Desserts (Oct-Nov 2020) (View All Issues)

Print Shelf Talker

How We Review

REVIEWS FOR YOU >

Narrow Gauge Brewing Barrel Aged Vanil (Batch #2)

Roasted malt aroma with vanilla focus, dessert-like chocolate cake, with oak-barrel vanillin and boozy notes. Medium-full body, not overly sweet, roast-coffee finish and complementary dark-fruit esters. Vanilla and barrel blend nicely. Warming, pleasant alcohols.

Resident Culture Dedicated Mind Expansion with Vanilla

Molten aroma of dark chocolate, coffee, molasses, vanilla, marshmallow—merging with a not-so-subtle alcohol. Oily and thick. Flavor envelops the tongue.

Cerebral Brewing Mysterious Forces

“Sweet nuts, coffee, candy-bar note with touch of spice. On the palate, thick liquid bliss with immense, layered chocolate, vanilla, hazelnut, subdued coconut.”

FRESH BEERS >

The best new craft beers available in a beer store near you. Sponsored content.

New Belgium Dominga Grapefruit

New Belgium wood cellar blender Lauren Limbach was gifted a new foeder that she aptly named Dominga—a play on the Spanish word for Sunday. She first created a mimosa-inspired golden sour called “Dominga: Goddess of Brunch.” Now we are excited to introduce the cocktail-inspired version, Dominga Grapefruit Paloma. Inspired by the classic cocktail of Mexico, Dominga packs a refreshing combo of bright grapefruit and lime flavors, along with agave and a pinch of salt.

Firestone Walker Oaktoberfest

Oaktoberfest is our oak-inspired homage to the great German tradition of Oktoberfest. We go the extra mile of maturing this beer in French oak barrels to create an amazingly smooth mouthfeel. The result is a classic German festbier with a hint of West Coast hoppiness. Grab your stein, don your lederhosen, and enjoy!

Firestone Walker Parabola ’24

Parabola is always a beast of a beer, with intense flavors of black cherry, dark chocolate, vanilla, and roast coffee—yet each annual release also bears its own subtle imprint. For this latest edition, we aged the beer for a year in 12-year Elijah Craig barrels. These coveted bourbon barrels imparted signature notes of charred oak, caramel, and cinnamon, taking the Parabola experience to new heights. Pour some out in your favorite snifter; behold the impossibly opaque color as you allow it to warm up a bit; and then let the dark magic of Parabola stun your palate with its unrivaled flavor and complexity.

Sierra Nevada Cosmic Little Thing Hazy Double IPA

For the latest in the Hazy IPA series, ride Sierra Nevada’s interstellar wave of tropical flavor in this Cosmic Little Thing, a hazy nebula glowing with Comet, Strata, and Helios hops for notes of citrus, berries, and lychee. Head into orbit with this 8 percent ABV hazy double IPA before the next Hazy IPA rotator hits. Look for Cosmic Little Thing in six-packs and 19.2 oz singles.

Firestone Walker Cosmic Crusher Juicy Imperial IPA

Out-of-this-world flavor that packs a punch—take a journey with Cosmic Crusher. “Cosmic Crusher is our crazy adventure into the realm of imperial juicy IPAs,” says brewmaster Matt Brynildson. Cosmic Crusher is built around two ultra-tropical hops—Galaxy and Strata. The result is a level of flavor, aroma, and mouthfeel that can only materialize at high strength, crossing the line into a whole new cosmos of punchy mango and pineapple character. SKUs available: 12 oz six-pack cans, 19.2 oz single serve, and Mind Haze Variety Pack.

Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion

Luponic Distortion is the Firestone Walker trailblazer that continues to break the rules, back for the first time since 2021. The classic Luponic Distortion base recipe returns with an all-new hop blend to deliver a fresh blast from the past. Brewed with a secret blend of new-age hops, the 2024 edition of Luponic Distortion turns up the volume with mind-bending flavors of lychee, peach, nectarine, and strawberry. Available exclusively in the Beer Before Glory IPA Mixed Pack.