Into Nothingness
Anchorage Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured at 57°. Black with ruby edges; fizzy fleeting reddish brown head; poor cap retention; no ring and small island of micro dots; spots of lace and flecks of coconut on swirl; no legs. Bananas and chocolate nose. Very sweet bananas and chocolate. No coconut. No barrel flavors. Gooey syrupy feel; full adjuncty body; warmth in mouth from 15% abv; moderate minus carbonation. Overall almost too sweet to drink; I couldn’t find any coconut or barrel, likely smothered by the bananas covered in chocolate syrup; a miss from ABC…pity given the ridiculously high price point.

 

 

 

Deep, dark, opaque body; initial thick, brown head which quickly dissipates to nothing except a thin circular wisp around the glass edge. Heady, sweet banana and vanilla nose with a faint roasted malt background. Heavy, sweet taste amplifying the banana element primarily; vanilla; oak and rich caramel. Heavy body; thick and oily; sludgy residual sugar; intense, fruity sweetness to the mouthfeel.

I suppose one could equate this beer example as being close to a pastry stout. For me, the banana and vanilla make this one rather unique overall. This is not a beer I would want to frequent a lot, yet it delivers a rather distinct taste and drinking experience; like a once-a-year kind of celebratory beer. Well, most likely a one-and-done experience for me, but what a memorable one...

Pouring temperature: 46 °F; bottling data: unknown

 

 

 

 

Pours jet black. Aroma is heavy on the sweet banana with some roastiness and hint of vanilla. Taste is an amazingly complex and balanced combo of bananas, chocolate, vanilla and coconut. Very sweet but not to its detriment. Thick mouthfeel. Incredible stout. Super happy that i got my hands on this while on vacation in the Southwestern US.

 

 

Pours out like thick black ink. Shake it a little bit and you get some foam formation but not much.

Nose is Chiquita banana right off the bat. The banana is dominant but not necessarily overwhelming. It smells like their just a little past ripening, start to turn brown. You don't want them to sit around much longer. Beneath that I get some of that Anchorage stout note. Roasted malt covered in copious amounts of coconut and vanilla. This is almost like a banana pound cake. This is so unique.

The taste is pure decadence. Chocolate covered bananas, bananas foster, bread pudding, ice cream all wrapped into one. The banana dominates the flavor. There's almost no room for anything else. Almost. Roasted malt sits down at the bottom along with everything else. Banana combines with the coconut and vanilla to a small degree to create a mildly tropical quality. This is a crazy sweet brew though. Probably the most out of all the others comparatively.

The mouthfeel is something you only get when a brew is this sweet though. It goes beyond full-bodied into thick. Like melted Gelato or ice cream. Each sip is like a dessert and by the end you'll be feeling it. This is not for the faint of heart. It's cloying as hell. It sticks to everything and will make a mess out of your glass.

Overall this Anchorage Stout is incredibly unique and delicious. Not often do you see banana put into a brew and have it turn out this good. Anchorage has something special with this line and this brew is just another instance of that.

Great banana, good mouthfeel, but not much else. The carbonation is weird, and there’s a lingering bitterness I’m not a huge fan of. Pretty good coconut component as it continues to open up. Overall I still enjoyed it.