Lifting Shadows
Bluejacket Brewery

16 ounce can, no dating on it that I noticed. My buddy Denis picked this up for me at the brewery on a recent trip to DC about 2 or 3 weeks ago so I'm guessing it was a somewhat recent release. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch tan head that stuck around a while. Good amount of lacing. I like the aroma, it's mostly sweet and smells like vanilla, cocoa, marshmallows, coconut and roasted malt. Taste is pretty much just like the aroma, but I also pick up some maple and caramel flavors too. Definitely sweet tasting but not overpoweringly so. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's slick and a bit creamy with a moderate amount of carbonation. I thought this was a good pastry stout, glad to have the chance to try this one! If you're into sweeter tasting stouts then you should like this one, I know I did!

Poured from the can into a teku glass.

Thick rich looking body, with a light oily pour. Colors dark walnut brown, with a real dark tan not quite cocoa colored head. Rich filling, with fine tan bubbles slightly on the sides, and a nice topped thin puck.

Considering the variety of flavors and ingredients added to this stout, a dominant aroma is one that doesn't even appear to be an ingredient, an overwhelming sense of maple syrup. There's some light touches of faint dark cocoa too. This is quite a good aroma, but certainly not what I was expecting.

Palate is unexpected but decent. Very light bodied for such a high abv beer, bordering on wet mouthfeel. Still the palate is supportive and full of good stout flavor. Light touches of milky maple, and also a nice mix of coffee and carob nib like chocolate bark flavors. Finishes quite fast though, even a touch of earthy hop spice to go along with it.

A bit unexpected in flavor, but still respectable. Doesn't quite hang with the big guns but nothing to be ashamed of here.

On draft at the brewery. Lots of coconut and marshmallow. Thick, fudgy mouthfeel. An interesting pastry stout with nice coconut flavor but too sweet for my palate.