A Night To End All Dawns (2015) - Cocoa
Kane Brewing Company

4.45/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Pouring slappy yet viscous, the body is jet black and is topped by an intensely stark mocha fizz that settles to a thin ring.

Bourbon and dark oak have a substantial presence on the nose, but play nicely with creamy, rich and luscious melted dark chocolate and vanilla bean brownie batter that's like it's been dunked into Port.

Taste is raisiny brownie, fudge and bourbon maple syrup. All kinds of charred oak and crispy brownie crust come out in the exhale. As it warms, a Tootsie Roll aftertaste emerges. Don't get it twisted though, this isn't solely a candy beer or pastry Stout, it's still the very complex and sophisticated Stout that regular ANTEAD was, but with an insanely beneficial added layer from the roasted cacao.

The silky medium body has a crisp but faint fizz and a woody, cotton dry finish.

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4.71/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

2015 ANTEAD set.

Dark brown body with a thin, beige collar of broken bubbles. Aromas of oak, bourbon, baking fudge. The flavor brings brownie batter, fudge, wet oak barrels. So good. Just like the regular with added complexity. Outstanding.

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4.21/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Thanks a ton, Casey! 2015 version. Never thought i'd see this in a hurry.

Black with a thin, dark brown head, this looks solid. The nose is pretty much just cocoa - heavy, rich, sweetened cocoa, mildly dusty and very flavorful. Along with that, there's a little roast and caramel, maybe even some bourbon and vanilla, but the cocoa just whelms it. This becomes clearer on the palate where this is dominated by the sweetened cocoa flavors bringing to mind dark chocolate syrup. Caramel and a little vanilla are noticeable too. Surprisingly thin on the palate, this beer is soft and creamy on the palate. An impressive beer, one I'd like to revisit.

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4.5/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Strangely, this was my least favorite of the 2015 ANTEAD variants, while it had been my hands-down favorite from 2014. Still a tremendous beer, just not as silky smooth as the 2014 version.

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5/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I very rarely give a 5, I'd have to check but I believe this is my 2nd. This brew deserves it. I had been trying to get some for awhile but even here in Jersey it isn't easy to come by. Was worth the wait and up to the hype. If there is a way to make this better I can't think of it. Awesome in every way. Gorgeous pour and aroma. So incredibly smooth and tasty. Like liquid velvet. In my top 3 ever and possibly #1. All I can say is wow, Kane is killing it.

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4.8/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Got this one from dbawd a while back. Cheers for the brews man!

From a 750 into a snifter
Vintage: 2015
Brown Wax

APPEARANCE: I actually drew blood trying to open this dam thing. Anyways, pours out thick, syrupy black and yields a 2+ finger, medium looking, creamy, slightly crackly dark tan head with very good retention. Jet black body with no real carbonation evident. Head slowly fades to a full, thick cap. Slight faint wisp and ring remain leaving some decent lacing on the glass. Good looking, menacing brew, just as the base stout is. Excellent.

SMELL: Lots of roasted cacao beans on the nose, with sweet creamy vanilla, pure dark chocolate, with light bourbon, oak and caramel notes as well. The cacao comes off almost like roasted coffee beans. The coconut and toffee-butterscotch aromas are there as well. This is very much the base beer with roasted cacao, as the lovely chocolate, bourbon and sweet vanilla and caramel candy aromas are all still there.

TASTE: This is lovely. Bourbon, oak, roasted cacao and coffee, with some caramel and toffee sweetness up front. A bit of alcohol at the swallow with oak and caramel, then a bold and lingering finish of bitter, roasted coffee, cacao, pure dark chocolate, coconut and sweet vanilla cream, some toffee, butterscotch, oak notes and some bourbon as well. This is really well balanced and very decadent, especially after the swallow. The roasted cacao comes off like light coffee beans, which is great, and it works really well with the pure chocolate, oak, caramel fudge and bourbon notes from the base barrel aged stout that linger and linger on the palate. Great stuff.

PALATE: Medium-fuller body with medium carbonation. Semi-creamy on the palate with enough weight for sure, goes down smooth with a light scratch at the swallow and finishes quite sticky. A bit of an alcohol burn lingers. A heavier and thicker feel for sure, which is exactly what the base beer offered as well.

OVERALL: Just lovely stuff. All over the place, this is top notch. Like the base imperial stout, the look and feel show that care was taken in the finishing touches of this one, which I’m a bit of a stickler for. The aroma and flavor are spot on as well, with the right amount of good roasted cacao character melding excellently with the base bourbon barrel aged stout. To be honest, if you had told me this was done with roasted coffee, I would have believed you. The cacao definitely adds a roasted coffee character to this one. Really good stuff and well put together. Thanks again for the trade dbwad. Highly recommended.

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4.33/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

There's no doubt this beer looks great, as it pours a dark, blackish crown color with chocolate colored lacing and very good head retention. Like all ANTEAD variants, the beer just looks rich and decadent. On the nose, there's considerable cocoa powder, along with some vanilla, coffee, and light bourbon. It's nice, but I really felt the aroma profile paled in comparison to what I got out of the vanilla and coconut versions of ANTEAD. The flavor profile was more of the same, though I thought the beer improved as it loosened up and opened up (as it warmed). Mouthfeel was full, rich and very soft, which was typical of all the ANTEAD beers I sampled. Alcohol was likewise very well integrated into the flavor profile, and drinkability was pretty good.

A very nice beer (obviously), but I just thought it didn't show all that well when sampled side by side with the coconut and vanilla. Still pretty damn good though...

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4.68/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

2015 vintage drank in a bourbon snifter on 3/30/2016

Look - Dark as night. Thick, viscous, and really thick lacing with a small tan head

Smell - sugary chocolate with the bourbon opening up more and more as it warms. Nice oak presence as well

Taste - milk chocolate smoothened with bourbon. Not super roasty which allows a strong chocolate boozy presence. The cocoa nibs are certainly noticeable in a unique way from the normal chocolatey goodness in these type. Almost like a chocolate spice.

Feel -thick, coating, and extremely drinkable. Minimal carbonation and goes down super smooth.

Overall - amazing offering. glad that this was the one ANTEAD i was able to enjoy. This whole vertical would make for an incredible event

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4.98/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

The beer hits of huge notes of Whopper candy, vanilla, cocoa, milk chocolate, creamer, creme brulee, bourbon, chocolate cake with chocolate shavings, medium plus mouthfeel with lingering bourbon, oak, and with more roast and chocolate on the finish.

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4.22/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Big thanks to Heisey for securing these gems and bringing them home for a side by side tasting. Pours black in color with a tan cap that fades quick leaving a line of head around the perimeter of the glass.

This smells roasty with a deeper layering of chocolate and earth outside the normal ANTEAD base there is also plenty of booze present but its well integrated.

This tastes roasty then vanilla sweetness and chocolate fill the middle with booze, earth and slight oakiness being evident in the finish.

This is a full bodied brew with a light amount of carbonation. The alcohol is really well integrated and makes for on heck of an enjoyable sipper. I feel the adjunct in this one gets a little lost in the base beer and isnt quite as noticeable as the other variations but that doesnt distract from how tasty this is. What a treat.

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