Lovely sweet stout

12 ounce can into snifter; 2017 vintage, best before 11/7/2020. Pull tab broke off, had to open it with a knife. Pours fairly cloudy opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a small cap that lasts. Dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big medium roast coffee, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, molasses, raisin, fig, date, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness. Minimal booze in the aromas as it warms. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with big strength. Taste of huge medium roast coffee, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, molasses, raisin, fig, date, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness. Mild herbal, grassy, peppery, roast, char, coffee bitterness; and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of medium roast coffee, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, brown bread/crust, light licorice/dark fruit, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a nice roast/hop bitter/sweet and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Very clean lagering, mildly yeasty. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roast bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness. Medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and lightly slick/sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mild increasing warmth of 10.1%, with minimal lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is an amazing barrel aged flavored Baltic porter! All around amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish; amazingly soft feel. Perfectly balanced between rich malts, cocoa, vanilla, fruity/nutty coffee complexity, and bourbon barrel presence/integration; with solid earthy hops, and mild fruity yeast. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A highly amazing offering, and world class style example.

Draft at Brody’s, Den Haag. Black with a tan head. Aroma of bourbon, oak, vanilla, milk chocolate, coffee, caramel and toffee. Flavour is heavy sweet. Full bodied with soft carbonation.