Elaborative #7
Hill Farmstead Brewery

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From:
Hill Farmstead Brewery
 
Vermont, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
Ranked #318
ABV:
Not listed
Score:
93
Ranked #3,905
Avg:
4.38 | pDev: 5.48%
Ratings:
15 | reviews: 5
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 17, 2024
Added:
May 20, 2023
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  2
Brewed in June of 2020 in collaboration with Brad Clark of Private Press Brewing, both Elaborative Six and Seven are comprised of a 33º imperial stout aged simultaneously in wet bourbon barrels and freshly imported cognac barrels for 26 months, then blended. Seven expands on the notion of Six, having been conditioned atop Brad’s signature blend of vanilla beans from multiple terroirs.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by SadMachine:
Photo of SadMachine
Rated by SadMachine from New Jersey

4.68/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Jun 05, 2023
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.46 by JLK7299 from North Carolina

Feb 17, 2024
Photo of edthehead
Reviewed by edthehead from Maryland

4.53/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Black oily appearance, slight tan head, no lacing. Bourbon and cognac with bourbon taking most of the stage, accompanied by vanilla, and subtle chocolate notes. Medium body and carbonation, smoother than its Elaborative 6 counterpart.
Jan 07, 2024
 
Rated: 4.46 by Bhubbard34 from Pennsylvania

Dec 28, 2023
Photo of GreesyFizeek
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

3.96/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells quite “cakey” with vanilla frosting, sweet caramel, dark fruit and berries, cognac, and milk chocolate.

This is pretty solid, but it’s absolutely the most sludgy, pastry-like, and sweet stout that I’ve had from Hill Farmstead – a brewery that is more known for nimbler, roastier type stouts. This reminds me of a less successful take on Mikkeller’s BA Vanilla Shake. The vanilla notes here are very sweet, and very frosting like – or maybe vanilla coffee creamer. No matter how you describe it, the vanilla adds some big sweetness to an already sweet base stout. There’s some dark fruit, caramel, and lots of milk chocolate.

This is medium bodied, creamy, with no real booziness to it.

I still enjoyed this, but it was a little messy for a brewery known more for elegance in their beers.
Nov 25, 2023
Photo of Holderness
Reviewed by Holderness from Massachusetts

4.17/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.25
Tried blind alongside Elaborative 6. The two are surprisingly similar and my partner guessed that this one was Elaborative 6. Both are the sweetest stouts I've had to date from HF. The nose is spirits-forward (more bourbon than cognac) with rich milk chocolate, vanilla frosting, espresso, and dried dark fruit. Flavors are sweet and chocolatey. The vanilla treatment makes it seem even sweeter than E6 despite being the same base beer. Mouthfeel is quite thin for the style, with moderate carbonation. Overall quite delicious albeit a bit pricey

84/100
Sep 30, 2023
Photo of drdiesel9483
Reviewed by drdiesel9483 from Ohio

4.54/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Look - back thick slight rimming
Smell - vanilla barrel chocolate slight grape
Taste - about the same as the smell, pretty sweet
Feel - medium full body slight syrup light carb
Overall - delicious and that smell
Sep 10, 2023
 
Rated: 4.48 by Uconnelmo from Connecticut

Aug 26, 2023
Photo of mothman
Reviewed by mothman from Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Bottle pour at HF. Tan head. Dark brown, black color.

Excellent vanilla ba stout. Balanced nicely. Warming and smooth. Cocoa, fudge, caramel, vanilla. Bourbon. Fudge cake. Light roast. Tons of flavor.

HF continues to impress!
Aug 10, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by bigred89 from Maryland

Aug 10, 2023
 
Rated: 4.4 by westcoastbeerlvr from California

Aug 01, 2023
 
Rated: 4.73 by MJSFS from Florida

Jun 24, 2023
 
Rated: 3.9 by acurtis from New Jersey

Jun 18, 2023
 
Rated: 4.09 by chippo33 from Vermont

Jun 16, 2023
 
Rated: 4.5 by PhineasMcClintock from Massachusetts

Jun 08, 2023