8.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

16 ounce crowler into tulip glass, filled on 4/28/2019. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger dense and rocky khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, peanut butter, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, cream, toffee, fudge, marshmallow, brownie batter, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, dark fruit, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, peanut butter, vanilla, cocoa, and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, peanut butter, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, cream, toffee, fudge, marshmallow, brownie batter, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, dark fruit, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate pine, herbal, grassy, spicy hops; and roast/charred bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, peanut butter, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, cream, toffee, fudge, marshmallow, brownie batter, toasted biscuit, dark bread/crust, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, peanut butter, vanilla, cocoa, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a great hop/char bitter/sweet balance; and no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering hop/char bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, and fairly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 7.2%. Overall this is a fantastic flavored American stout. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, peanut butter, vanilla, cocoa, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mellowly bitter/charred/drying finish. Fantastic balance of rich malts, peanut butter, cocoa, and vanilla flavors; with balancing earthy hops. Lightly sweet with lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and impressive spot on style example. Not overly sweet or bitter/charred either way.