Pinthouse Pizza The Big Lebarrelski (2019)

Aroma: “Fruit-forward with orange zest, lemon pith, white-grapefruit flesh. Some more subtle peach and other tropical notes on retronasal.” Flavor: “Complex citrus notes dominate in flavor as they do in aroma. Tropical fruits—lemon, orange peel, pineapple, and coconut—mixed with slightly grassy, onion, green-pepper flavors. Slight malt sweetness. Finishes bitter, but not super dry. Well-balanced and complex.” Overall: “Some dankness of tropical fruits and citrus make this inviting to the palate with the right amount of bitterness to balance the flavors.”

“Dark-roast cold-brew with cream in the aroma, carrying through into the flavor. Slightly astringent; roast-coffee note lingers into the finish with unsweetened chocolate. Pleasant warmth accompanies each sip.”

**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.”