Tonka - Tahitian Vanilla, Salted Caramel & Almonds
Barreled Souls Brewing Company in Saco, Maine, United States 🇺🇸
Collab with: Horus Aged AlesStout - Pastry / Flavoured - Imperial Special
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Score
7.38
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In this second version of Tonka, we added almonds, Tahitian vanilla and salted caramel to really embrace the notes the barrel was already giving us. The addition of adjuncts not only ramped up the subtle notes that were already there, it brought some additional sweetness and body to the beer transforming it into more of a pastry-style stout. The question of which is better is totally up to you to decide.
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8/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 8
Flavor 8.5
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle #601/ 720. Aroma shows bolder vanilla, light oak, melted caramel. The flavor shows strong vanilla with maybe a note of almond hiding in there. The adjuncts do tome down the barrel quite a bit. Sweet but not cloying. Another really well made Barreled Souls brew.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Barreled Souls Brewing Company
on 26 Jul 2025
at 16:03
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 7.5
Texture 7
Overall 8
500mL bottled 1/29/24, #601/720, drunk 7/26/25.
Dark, clear. Garnet highlights. Little/no head.
I get the nuts in the nose, surprisingly, but not very much vanilla. Some pastryish flavors from the salted caramel. Again, the barrel is hard to find in the nose. Prominent caramel-toffee. No alcohol noted.
BIG vanilla, whew. Did NOT skimp on that. It tastes great, but it's not exactly subtley done. Barrel has the fun drying spices with the clove, dry toffee, cream and the almond and salted caramel don't hurt either. No alcohol, with a nice texture and no big syrup or excessive sugar. Like the other, a bit on the sweeter side, but not too much so.
Dark, clear. Garnet highlights. Little/no head.
I get the nuts in the nose, surprisingly, but not very much vanilla. Some pastryish flavors from the salted caramel. Again, the barrel is hard to find in the nose. Prominent caramel-toffee. No alcohol noted.
BIG vanilla, whew. Did NOT skimp on that. It tastes great, but it's not exactly subtley done. Barrel has the fun drying spices with the clove, dry toffee, cream and the almond and salted caramel don't hurt either. No alcohol, with a nice texture and no big syrup or excessive sugar. Like the other, a bit on the sweeter side, but not too much so.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Jul 2025
at 16:02
8/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 8.5
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle shared with membership group. Inky black with nice viscosity, no head or lacing. Aroma is peaty malt, vanilla, almond, caramel, bourbon. Taste is strong caramel, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, hint of dark fruit. Medium body, moderately thick texture, soft carbonation, some alcohol heat (mellows as it sits). Not getting as much bourbon as straight Tonka. Starts a bit muddled but comes together better as it sits. A bit sweet.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Jul 2025
at 16:02
8/10
1/29/24 601/720 aroma is vanilla, nuts, toffee, bourbon. Taste is nice but a tad sweet, well integrated flavors in every sip.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Jul 2025
at 11:54