Double Vanilla Phantom Unicorn
Pipeworks Brewing Co.

16 ounce can into a snifter. Released early 2022, had 3/26/22.

Pours near black and opaque, thick looking, with a quarter inch quickly dissipating foamy head and light, foamy cling. Aromas of vanilla, bourbon, roasted malt, chocolate, some oak and marshmallow. Flavors of vanilla, bourbon, chocolate, malt, oak. Smooth, a very good fuller body, appropriately carbonated.

The vanilla compliments the BA base nicely, and the barrels show well. Not quite as good as the original Phantom, but still very enjoyable.

 

Sampling a cellar temp 16 oz can poured into my snifter. No date stamp on this one.
Beer pours a thick black coffee color with dense creamy head of 1.5 cm foaming up. This foam fades slowly to a sturdy edge layer and some spinning wisps on the surface. I also get a bit of dark stout snot that floats on the surface. scooped that out and away down the drain it goes.
Aroma is rich bourbon and some dark chocolate, some hints of roasted malts and a bit of vanilla on the background. But bourbon carries this one and the nose is more balanced than I anticipated from the description on the can.
First sip reveals a medium to thick body with fairly gentle rolling carbonation. texture is a little sticky and does coat my lips after each sip from the glass. No more stout snot though which is good.
The flavor is roasted malt and dark chocolate which moves to some sweeter vanilla and bourbon notes and then strong dark chocolate on the finish. Some warming booze comes through on the swallow and the burps are all dark chocolate and hints of vanilla. Never any hop notes on this beer.
This is a tasty imperial stout that I am glad to have tried, could use a little more up front vanilla, but otherwise pretty solid! I am dropping the look just a bit due to stout snot.

 

Served in a snifter from the can.

Appearance: comes off a very dark brown semi thick black body with a dark tan head which initially Rose quarter of the fingers length off the body.

Smell: whisky aroma with light hands of coffee and splash of mocha.

Taste: butterscotch candy mixed with a fusion of espresso, molasses, brown sugar and deep deep notes of mellow whiskey.

Mouth: ridiculously Strong finish with a strong application and a full body. The brew has a soft carbonation and iti is ridiculously sticky.

Overall: superb beer which I would recommend to anyone, personally I think this is one to share but that is on you. Salud!

Canned on: ??????

A - Pitch black pour with moderate dark toffee colored lacing.

S - Burnt chocolate and char dominate the nose along with some sweet dark chocolate, very delicate vanilla, and alcohol.

T - Chocolate char, some toasted fudge, very light vanilla, Bourbon, and some cherry is poking through while the Bourbon gives it a little bit of an edge and thus not smooth.

M - Light syrupy body with some warming in the back of the throat as it slides down the 'ol pie hole. The back of the tongue is slightly dry while the rest of the palate is wet and leaves a sugary residue on the lips.

O - I wasn't sure what to think based on the aroma but the taste definitely makes up for it. Worth checking out. (IMO)

Pours midnight dark, with moderate to light carbonation, and a burnt caramel colored head of foam. Aroma is bourbon, vanilla and chocolate. Taste is a bit all over the place -- lighter than expected for being such a dark color. Low to no carbonation in the taste, with heavy vanilla and alcohol presence.

Pours thick and black like burnt motor oil. Almost zero head but forms a 1/16" foam ring around the edge. Got some sludge like bubbles floating on the surface but it's too dark to see what's on the bottom. That part I'm not crazy about.
Heavy on the Lactose. Super sweet but with a small bit of sourness that resembles sharp cheese.
12.8% ABV will always feel good. Goes down smoothly.
Overall I'd say it good but not great. that sour tartness and the sludge are turn offs but it not going down the drain. I'll drink up and move on.

 

Pipeworks is one of the more consistent stout brewers in the area. They have a Phantom Unicorn line that spins in a few directions and here is the vanilla rendition. The stout is rich and boozy and TONS of vanilla, my favorite additive. They really pushed the boundaries of what a vanilla stout can be and I'm loving it.

From the growler via Growler Stop in Newtown and enjoyed in a snifter.
This excellent brew pours a dark blackish brown with a moderate head of
khaki foam that settles to a thin ring with some nice light lacing. Nose of
rich bourbon, vanilla, oak, dark chocolate, dark coffee, char, and brulee.
Flavors hit the mark with mellow bourbon, molasses, oak, vanilla, brulee,
coffee, dark bakers chocolate, char, and dark fruits of blackberry and
raspberry. Nice mouth feel; full body, smooth, rich, coating, warming,
light carbonation that has subtle zip, and a dry boozy finish that ends
with a bitter malt note.

Overall----glad I got a growler.....gonna be a long night!

Cheers

Pours an effervescent ebony with one finger of rapidly disappearing mocha colored head, Viscous look to this, traces of head retention& lacing

S: Dark fruit, chocolate, vanilla & booze once warm. Tons of nose

T: follows the nose, some barrel rawness, dark cherry, figs, plus leafy & woody hops up front, plus a little vanilla. Vanilla comes on as this warms, along with chocolate covered cherry soaked in booze with a little barrel on the tip of the tongue. Finishes dry, oaky with leafy hops, dark chocolate, figs & vanilla

MF: Fairly chewy body, tamped down carbonation, warming as well. Carbonation picks up as this warms

Solid BA Imp Stout, but not one I'd buy again at this price point

16 ounce can, no date that I could find on the can or label. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch or so tan head that stuck around for a bit. Small amount of lacing. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like vanilla, bourbon, roasted malt, caramel and dark chocolate. I think the taste is just like the aroma, but there's also some oak, molasses, coffee and dark bready flavors noticeable too. Good amount of barrel character. Leans sweeter tasting, but not too sweet at all. Mouthfeel/body is full, it's coating and creamy with a moderate amount of carbonation. I liked this brew, thought it was a good barrel aged imperial stout! Worth picking up if you like bourbon barrel aged stouts, wouldn't mind trying this one again in the future.

Slate pitch black pour with a pinky finger of brown foam. Love the original, wary of how much vanilla is here given the large vanilla nose with the rest of the lingering stout behind. Taste, while vanilla forward, has more barrel to it, molasses as well, getting chocolate to round it out. Much sweeter than the orignal and less complex. Feel is cooler, smooth, mildly roasted and malty. Nowhere as good as the original, but still a good vanilla stout with a sweeter complexion

 

 

1 pint can
no apparent freshness date
L: jet black body; brown head fades rather quickly
S: roast & char, dark chocolate, vanilla, oaky bourbon, sweet lactose
T: sweet with loads of vanilla; dark chocolate, roasted barley, caramel, lactose, boozy bourbon, oak, white pepper
F: thick and syrupy, ample carbonation, sweet finish with a nice amount of alcohol to help cut the sweetness
O: very good as expected

Appearance - The beer was a slick black color with little head and a turd of sediment floating on top.

Smell - The nose was a boozy stout with light vanilla notes.

Taste - The initial impression was the roasted malts and the warm of bourbon. The vanilla was a bit of an afterthought. The profile was hot to the finish.

Mouthfeel - The feel was almost like a milk stout. That may have been an aftereffect of the vanilla.

Overall - I was slightly disappointed by this one.

Got in a BIF from FBarber. 16 ounce can into tulip glass, 2022 vintage dating. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy tan head with great retention, that reduces to a thin lace cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing and moderate streaming carbonation on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big vanilla cream, fudge, dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, molasses, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, dark bread; light coffee, smoke, char, licorice, dark fruit, herbal, pine, and yeast earthiness. Stronger vanilla cake aromas, with flavors trending more towards molasses and dark fruits. Aromas not too boozy either. Light-moderate pine/herbal/char bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation and very full body. Very creamy, silky, slicky, and fairly syrupy mouthfeel. Some increasing sticky hop, chalky roast, and oak tannin drying after the finish. No cloying/acrid/astringency. Light increasing warmth and mild booze lasting after the finish. 12.8% certainly is not a secret, can feel it halfway through the glass. The lactose thickness was a bit too much to the low end of syrupy, but the barrel was in good presence to provide some tannic balance to help the bitter hops. A very rich treat as to be expected of an imperial milk stout. Slow to enjoy, but satisfying in complexity.

poured from a 16oz can into a perennial snifter. pours an onyx black with almost no foam or head to speak of. prominent, almost harsh, whiskey sting on the nose backed with a touch of roast, chocolate and vanilla. taste follows with a whiskey soaked chocolate ball flavor but it’s got some harsh wood to it. cola like mouthfeel. a little too spritzy for my liking. over extended barrel. nice chocolate / vanilla / cake notes but doesn’t come together like you hope it will.