Brandy B.A. Imperial Milk Stout
Lagunitas Brewing Company

really cool under the radar draft only beer here, a strong imperial stout with a bit of lactose, aged in brandy barrels. wintery, cozy, roasty, and just a little bit sweet, an impressive specimen, strong, mature, and highly refined, one they might consider revisiting, not a lot of brandy barrel aged stouts on there, this is decidedly unique. black and shiny, leggy but not insanely viscous for what it is, looks good, lively for the style too. the brandy treatment is obvious in nose and taste, i get a toasted oak aspect, a warming woodiness with the alcohol, some sweet lightly vinous character, a rich vanilla property along with the milk sugar, and a sort of cognac fancy vibe, a little hotter alcohol at temperature. from the grain i get nice dark chocolate bitterness to counter some of the sweetness this has, light coffee character, good balance. there is a subtle yeast element, a bready middle, and whispers of grape, licorice, and even light black peppercorn. i think the wood is awesome, makes this seem long aged and really mellow, and the brandy flavors with the dark grain are killer, uniquely cohesive. full body, long finish without being too sweet, slightly creamy feeling, and obviously quite strong. clever recipe and nice execution. under the radar for these guys, but sneakily really pretty special!

On tap at Tin Bucket.

Black with a thin dark brown head. Nose is super boozy with plenty of brandy, pomace, oxidized grape must, caramel, toffee, buckwheat honey, toasted wheat bread, a little cereal. The palate opens boozy, sweet, with so much brandy. Bittersweet brandy booziness is present. Sweet caramel, toffee, mild butterscotch notes are a present. Milk chocolate, cream, a little vanilla are present. Sweet on the finish with caramel, toffee and plenty of brandy. The brandy lends an aged beer character that the rest of the palate doesn't live up to. Alcohol is noticeable on the finish of this full bodied beer, a long with brandy and burnt caramel. Solid.