Unit Monster
Marble Brewery

 

a cool can of beer, one i never intended to sit on, but i just found it in the cellar last night and chilled it down and got into it. a collaboration with local bottle shop mr. bs, awesome dudes over there, along with marble and telluride. its a big imperial stout, barrel aged, with rye malt in it (my favorite aspect of this), cherries, and vanilla beans. maybe it was more desserty when it was first canned, but now its pretty mellow, the cherries and the vanilla are really well integrated, and this isnt nearly as sweet as i thought it might be. the barrel aspect is quite mellow too, more robust in nose than flavor, but with the charred oak coming out more than any spirit it contained. cool notes of raisin and chocolate covered cherry, like a cordial or something, decadent without being overly sugary, the alcohol stands out but in a good way, and the dark malts have a lot of depth thanks to the rye in here, a really nice touch which i think keeps this from tasting overdone. vanilla is there in the finish, lots of chocolate, earthy rye spice and roast, coffee bitterness, and a richness and thickness of feel that makes it feel way more fancy than the packaging suggests. a cool coming together of some great operations, aged pretty well, and quite distinctive with the rye. nicely done!