Copper Kettle Brewing Company Snowed In

**Aroma:** “Medium spices with a slight acrid note. Moderate cinnamon evokes a bit of pumpkin spices and a touch of chocolate. Cherries, dried and fresh. Not a lot of stout (roast, coffee, chocolate) in the aroma. Some smoky notes and spicy pepper.” **Flavor:** “Chile flavor starts out high with moderate cherry notes and starts to burn slightly as it sits in my mouth toward the aftertaste. The hotness continues to grow well after the taste—a bit like hot cherry juice. A bit of caramel sweetness is there to balance, but the body is still svelte. The spices from the nose are here, too, but the chile heat presses them down into mere accents to the warmth.” **Overall:** “The chile heat is nice, but it ultimately overpowers the other flavors—more chocolate and a touch of roast would be nice. But if you love heat more than balance in a chile beer, you should try this.”

**Aroma:** “Some nice roast and toast character. Bittersweet chocolate up front with some oatmeal notes, followed by a subtle coffee-roast note. Just a touch of sweetness, a little nutty, and strong vanilla. No esters or phenolics.” **Flavor:** “Sweet chocolate and almost a milk creaminess. Some mild coffee flavor and dark malt sweetness and some dark cherry and almond notes. Creamy and not overwhelmingly roasty, almost with a soft espresso note. Oak character is subtle and hard to pick out, but lends a touch of vanilla to the flavor. The roastiness lasts on the tongue. Finish is mostly balanced, with a slight sweetness lingering in the end. Tannic character is very subdued. Hops bitterness is supportive.” **Overall:** “A very delicious stout that doesn't quite deliver as a barrel-aged offering. There is not enough barrel or oak character, but it is still tasty. The multi-layered malt profile keeps this beer interesting without becoming novel. The beer had some good sweet and roast qualities but was a little thin in the body. The creaminess reminds me a little of chocolate milk.”

**Aroma:** “Not as aromatic as most in the style with hints of treacle and brown sugar plus some light oral hops. Medium malt notes amd some dried stone fruit (plums and cherries). Light-to-medium alcohol. Well-blended oak and vanilla. Sweet and malty.” **Flavor:** “Malt sweetness is substantial but hiding behind the hops bitterness. Medium wood expression contributes in a supportive way, but not a lot of whis- key avor from the barrel. Strawberry and vanilla up front along with some light stone fruit, especially apricot and peach. Tannins from the barrel dominate late in the palate. Some woody and boozy notes with a bit of vanillin.” **Overall:** “Well crafted with a good base beer and front of palate. The straw- berry notes are very nice, but the hops bitterness detracts somewhat from the smooth malt.”