$3.99 for a bomber bottle at Trader Joe’s. Well, kind of a chocolate cake smell. And a chocolate frosting smell, too, as in extra sugar. Starts to smell like too much sweetener. Black stout color under a thick, tan foamy head. This… kind of doesn’t agree with me. I’m getting almond extract first thing off the bat. Then vanilla, then chocolate. I guess I should have heeded the warning of a beer that labels itself a “pastry stout”. Alcohol gets a little strong, which helps mitigate the overdone added flavors. But there’s just too much “pastry,” not enough “stout.” Still, this gets in as my first beer of 2020.

Bomber on 28th Dec 2019, my son had a small amount, I the Lion's Share! Drank at my daughters house in OC, California; Trader Joe's being the outlet I bought it from. Deep and dark brown, almost black bodied, tanned topping. Malty nose with a vanilla and chocolate twist, sweetness arrives as you sip the milky, smooth brew, sweetness grows as the beer warms, the vanilla and chocolate flavours come out and dominate the taste. Nice!