Only Void - Blackberry, Raspberry And Vanilla
Tired Hands Brewing Company

Traded for this a while ago, as the date on the bottom of the can read 10/13/17 with "BERRY GOOD" written underneath it. I have to say that this was unlike any American Imperial Stout that I ever had, as it was full of berries, sweetness, and booze that all came together pretty harmoniously. This felt like a treat that I would have at a wedding or a catered event but thankfully, I had a whole can of this to savor and enjoy from start to finish!

Of course, this poured dark with the slightest hint of purple to the hue. Juicy and slick, this was light in consistency with just enough head to complement the dark liquid, as there was hardly any lacing left behind on my pint glass. Tons of blackberry, raspberry, vanilla, cake batter, sugar, and booze on the nose as the taste contained all of those. Jelly, molasses, berry puree, jam, and tartness on the palate as this was so much more complex that I would have ever anticipated. Although the carbonation was light, this had enough flavor to make up for the lack of effervescence.

It's a given for an American Imperial Stout that this would have a ton of booze in it and yes, there was lots of alcohol in this beer. Sure, it was felt but not as much as it's listed ABV would indicate as the perceived amount of heft was on par with all of the fruit and sweetness that this had. Hard to find the molasses and maple syrup but you love dark berry, vanilla, and roasted malt, then this would be up your alley. As good a dessert beer as I've had, this felt like a bakery treat taken to the next level. Nice job by Tired Hands on this one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beer pours a blackish brown color with excellent head retention and plenty of lacing. On the nose, I picked considerable raspberry, dark chocolate, vanilla and light coffee, which in combination gave the beer something of a blueberry aroma. The flavor profile replicated the nose pretty closely, though the berry flavor really dominates in this beer, and is almost too much of a good thing. It's still very good, but I'm not sure just how well the sweet berry flavor blends in with the excellent base beer. Mouthfeel is fairly full, though this beer is not at all heavy or cloying. Alcohol is very well integrated into the flavor profile, and so drinkability is pretty good.

A solid effort for sure, but I still pretty the Ethiopian coffee version the most so far. Nevertheless, very glad to have the opportunity to try this beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 oz. can dated 10/13/17

Pours dark maroon black with a dense creamy brown foam head. Smells like dark chocolate, mixed berry jelly, blackberry, raspberry, roasted malts, vanilla, cola, dark fruits, molasses, toasted brown sugar, maple, with earthy herbal grassy pine. Tastes like super dark chocolate, mixed berry jelly, blackberry, raspberry, dark roasted malts, vanilla, dark fruits, molasses, toasted brown sugar, maple, with earthy herbal grassy pine. Feels thick medium bodied, creamy with moderate smooth carbonation. Overall a really great blackberry raspberry vanilla imperial stout.