Skeleton Key - Scotch Bonnet
Bellwoods Brewery

Got this from peensteen this past summer

From a 500ml bottle into a snifter
Vintage: 2018
Spiced imperial stout with vanilla, dulce de leche, lactose & scotch bonnet peppers
Aged in rum barrels for 1 year

APPEARANCE: Slow foamer on this one. Pours our black and yields just a small, one finger, thinner, fizzy, noisy tan head with lousy retention. Head quickly ends up in a faint, splotchy wisp and solid ring. Black body with no real carbonation evident. A slight ring remains leaving no real lacing down the glass. Slow foamers are never pleasing to the eye.

SMELL: Rum barrels, vanilla cream and milk chocolate, lactose, a light hint of smoky peppers with touches of ginger and cinnamon. This is very lactose and vanilla forward. Bold too.

TASTE: Rum barrels, lactose, dulce de leche and vanilla cream up front. Lots of spicy peppers as well, with a big burst of heat at the swallow. This is very spicy and pepper forward. Bold finish with rum barrel, dulce de leche, vanilla cream, milk chocolate, some alcohol and a burst of spicy hot peppers linger on the palate. Plenty of heat.

PALATE: Medium body and medium carbonation. Creamy on the palate, goes down fine with a burn burn, plenty of pepper heat, finishing somewhat mouth-coating. Waves of heat afterwards.

OVERALL: This is hot stuff. Peppers do well in stout beer but this one is a little out of my league. The dulce de leche also gets rather tiring somewhat quickly as well. After having sampled enough stout beer laced with dulce de leche, I'm not convinced the combination is a worthwhile one. Least favorite of the three by far. I managed to finish it but it wasn't all that great of an experience. Pass on this one.

 

Pours a thick black with minimal head that disappears to nothing within the first 30 seconds. Traces of what I assume is the scotch bonnets cling to the glass as the beer is consumed.

Sweet dark brown sugar and rum hit the nose first. Peppers are barely present. A slight toffee or caramel note in the background.

Peppers hit you quickly over a sweet, rum soaked oaky stout. The dulce de leche follows with hints of dates and figs and vanilla.

Thick but not syrupy.

I like this far more now than i did when I had a small sample at the release. The booziness has subsided, but the additions are all still quite nicely present and I enjoy haw they follow one another. Good stuff.

Lots of taste. A potpourri of spice following the dominant scotch bonnet heat. Bottle sample. Masterful, I had a couple ounces, the rest is just a marinade.