Situational Ethics - Rye Barrel-Aged Rocky Road
Monday Night Brewing

 

epic little bottle of beer here, a top adjunct stout for me in recent memory, vintage two, i guess they made these a couple of times each, 2023 printed on the side of the label, love the name, didnt know it was a series but now immediately need to try all the others, hope to get the chance! this is so well composed, it puts most of the rest of the field to shame. i love the use of real nuts in this, almonds, hazelnuts, and macadamia nuts, they all come through, and the texture is awesome from them, the greasiness of the macadamias adds some real richness to this. slick and near black, fast settling dark brown head, leggy but not overly sugary to drink. the nose is chocolate forward with an amaretto note, an obvious high end vanilla edition, and the rye coming through, decidedly not bourbon which is cool, woody and a little boozy, but also deeply earthy with the classic rye spice, definitely the right call for this, and awesome with the natural nut character that permeates, desserty but like, adult dessert not kids dessert, elegant in its enormity. the chocolate is bold in the flavor and the malt never gets super roasted and bitter to counter it, but it works, adds a wonderful sort of fudge-like decadence to this, marries well with the vanilla, and all of it coats the nuts, this truly does hit like rocky road. the barrel is ideal for this, the body is huge, and this is definitely fancy and special to drink on. the macadamia is evident in the mouthfeel but i taste the almonds and hazelnuts a little more, nice to have all three in play doing their thing. excellent proportions on this, it evolves really well as it warms, and overall this is memorable. hoping to get the chance to try at least a handful of the other versions of this that have come out. not to be missed, one of the better uses of real nuts in beer that i can recall...

 

 

Hoping this 500ML bottle tops my best Monday Night experience to date (which hasn’t been…good). Split with my wife.

Black with a nose that reeeeeeks of nuts. Not a great start. I’d sniff walnuts if that’s what I sought.

Situational Ethics – Rye Barrel Rocky Road Imperial Stout nuts all over the mouth. Big wave of nuttiness up front with hazelnuts obscuring the acorns & breadnuts making up the bulk of the legion. Almost lost in the charge are a few drops of vanilla, chocolate, & mild spices that must be the rye barrel. Pleasantly thick but glad I split this small bottle.

Since I’m not a squirrel this fell short for me. The lack of barrel is especially disappointing. I have one more Monday Night bottle & I hope it’s superior to what I’ve had to date, but I’m not hopeful. Decent.

On tap at Downtown Drafts in Gainesville GA.
Pours with an opaque near black body and a decent tan head.
The enticing but mild aroma features rye whisky but tasting reveals that the barrel aging effects are well done and not overpowering.
Very smooth full body with well hidden ABV. This thick RIS leaves the glass with what looks like a coat of used motor oil.