750mL growler filled March 1, 2926, drunk April 5, 2026.
Rich adjunct integrating pretty well with deep, fat, fudgey-sweet malts. Barrel is evident, as with the others I've had in the series, but very much in the background. Which is fine; not every BA beer has to be stuffed to the brim with barrel character. Vanilla and coconut notes take front seat, with the fudgey notes, and coffee is minimal. No alcohol noted. Barrel shows spicy bourbon and light fruitiness with a touch of spirit. It does smell like it's going to be on the sweet side, just hoping there is good balancing acidity and bourbon/wood character.
Hey, that's not so sweet! Significantly less so than 5 and 6, anyways. Excellent barrel character showing big spice and warmth. It helps dry as does the bigger coffee presence in the flavor. Coconut is fruity, sweet and rich but not as prominent as the nose. It all comes together pretty nicely and the big, thick malts tie it together. Not syrupy, though! Hill seems pretty committed to avoiding that current trend. A nice mix of more contemporary pastry imperial stout character (sweeter, thicker, more adjunct forward) but still retaining Hill's more traditional, elegant treatment of the style (still more dry than most in the style, not in the 15-18% abv range, doesn't bludgeon with fudge, alcohol, barrel). Nice. After the slightly disappointing VH 5 and 6, this is a welcome surprise.