Vanilla Grainn Wilson
Fort George Brewery + Public House

these guys do a million wicked stouts, but this feels like the most fancy and expensive of all of them, somehow about as elevated as beer can be, and i felt almost guilty drinking it, courtesy of my homie, this one will stay with me awhile. a massive imperial stout aged in vanilla extract and willett bourbon barrels, and its about as intense an expression of vanilla as i can recall from any beer ever, crazy they dont add additional vanilla to this, or they dont claim to, inky and black from the bottle, greasy looking, high shine, pretty much no head, legs for days, even a tiny pour is sort of intimidating, especially in the morning, but when in rome! the nose on this is just divine, enough whiskey to make it regal but no doubt its the vanilla driving it, using the roasty dark grain to create a rich and sexy profile, floral like to the extent that i can tell its an orchid, crazy in a beer this enormous in every respect, elegant even, tons of fresh bean character, a coffee note to this too, chocolate fudge of the highest order, charred oak for sure too, high saturation, good whiskey, some earthy minerality, and an almost almond aspect to me as well, lots of nuance even just from the vanilla, but definitely also smells like as much vanilla as stout. sweet but not overly so in the flavor, this stays pretty balanced for being vanilla dominant the way it is, insanely high end, like this is the beer equivalent of a rolls royce or something, i could swim in this. the beer instantly coats my palate, like a batter, and its permanent. thankfully its got a lot of layers, wet tobacco, fig, and smoke, along with graham cracker, dark bread, and espresso, lots going on, all in service of the vanilla. tons of wood too, this is heavy and wooden in the best way, the bourbon is central but as an accent, it really adds a lot, its also the last thing i taste, the alcohol is there and i like what it does, the flavor is incredible, and this feels like something sort of once in a lifetime. vanilla barrels cannot be cheap, but i feel like fort george deployed them brilliantly in this, perfect beer for it. love the body, feels wheaty, some midnight wheat happening probably, subtly complex as a base beer i reckon, is there a yeast wrinkle too? all the body in the world, no bubbles, better and better on the vanilla the more it warms. cant say enough about this one, an all time brew to be sure and worth whatever they ask for it...