Black Pit Of Hatred - Bourbon Barrel Aged with Vanilla Beans
Burnt City Brewing

Pours a pretty viscous pitch black color. Completely opaque even when held up to the light. Thin, two finger foamy head appears and then dissipates almost immediately. A small splotch of foam remains on top of the head in the center of the beer along with a ring of foam on the outside of the top of the beer.

Aroma has notes of vanilla beans, milk chocolate - pretty sugary and sweet - up front, but then through that comes a smoky, roasty malt melody with notes of oak and bourbon. There is some definite sweetness on the nose.

Flavor follows the nose with notes of chocolate, vanilla, roasted malts, and roasted, charred malts. It is relatively sweet, but a bit more balanced than some of the other Black Pit of Hatred variants. This one has a more pronounced bitterness - I believe coming from the roast malts - its not really a hop bitterness - more like a roasted astringent bitterness. Also, this one is hot - its got a pronounced alcohol burn on the back end that really warms you up as its consumed. That being said, as it warms the smoky, roasty notes of the stout really shine through, and coupled with the bourbon, it does provide a nice flavor to the beer.

Feel is medium bodied, smooth, with gentle carbonation. Moderate warming sensation is present.

Overall its a solid bourbon barrel aged stout. The vanilla is really subtle in this one, but given the inherent sweetness of the beer, it still feels like the vanilla is more present than it actually is.