Two Of Wands
Aardwolf Brewing Company

 

Thanks to Roguer for this one from NBS BIF #10. 22oz bottle poured into 14oz teku. Poured a solid black color with about 1/4 inch of tan head that had low retention and light lacing.

There was some very nice maple at the front of the nose, but not an overpowering amount (which was my worry. A little maple goes a long way for me.), and the barrels were allowed to show through.

On the tongue, it was pretty similar; maple took the lead, some barrel shone, the base beer was solid, and (a constant through the 4 variants) definite alcohol heat. Especially at the back. It did detract a bit.

The body was full, smooth, even, and had a sweet finish.

Drinkability was as easy as a hot, 13+%abv stout can be. Not an effort to finish the bottle.

Overall, a pretty nice brew. Certainly a must-try if you have the opportunity.

Nov 1 2019 at Aardwolf, Jacksonville FL
Bomber bottle purchased and drank, with friends, at brewery. Working from memory...

Pour: dark as night. Small head with some lacing.

Nose: big chocolate cake, hint of walnuts.

Taste: rich dark chocolate cake, sweet maple and walnuts present but more a complement than a feature. Some dark malt coffee, stewed dark stone fruits. Super rich but very well balanced.

Mouthfeel: milkshake but not cloying.

Overall: loved this beer and bought a Bottle to bring home. If you’re into desert stouts, try it. The balance separates it from others.

Thin head production - thinner than the others I have tried in the anniversary series. Very slight brown ring lines the edge of the glass. Brew is a very dark nutty ebony color, as expected, with slight cola-like clarity at the edges of the glass.

The nose is more restrained than the others I've had, with maple blending almost seamlessly with the bourbon and rye barrels for an overall smooth, woody sweet tone. The huge roasted malt base gives off impressions of brown sugar, red grapes, light char, banana, molasses, and a slight nuttiness and char that mixes with the walnut tones to the extent that you can't tell what's from the additive, and what's from the malt. Light oak rounds out the finish. Nothing off or amiss. Sweet nose, but not boozy. The more the beer warms, and the more you inhale, the more you appreciate the profile as a whole.

The palate is a fair representation of the nose, with maple, bourbon, and rye up front all blending together as a sweet, syrupy, delectable blend riding atop a huge malt body. Slight boozy heat starts creeping up early, building through mid-sip, but never becoming burdensome. Heat lingers on the back end, but it is perhaps the mildest burn of the three I've had. Around the second third, the walnuts suddenly emerge sharply (but pleasantly) from the mix, likely as soon as the sugars are absorbed and the palate makes way for more tones. Throughout, the interplay of malt, yeast, barrel, and additives provides notes of banana, dark but smooth coffee, semi-sweet chocolate, oak, brown sugar, toffee, prunes, plums, and of course the aforementioned nuts and maple.

Lacking a bit of punch on the body, this is still full bodied, sticky, and exceptionally easy to drink. Very little burn, and an alcohol heat that grows but never offends. If you savor the sip in your mouth, you can feel the sting growing, but it never reaches the point where it forces you to swallow; one gets the impression that you could enjoy this for days.

Like the others in this series, the overall barrel presence is fairly mild. I don't know how much time was spent in the barrels, but unlike earlier craft forays into barrel aging (BCBS, Eclipse, et al), this is very smooth, almost entirely lacking any harshness despite the sky-high ABV. It's an exceptional overall beer, absolutely delicious, and despite being a maple DBA imperial stout, it's sweet without crossing the line into pure dessert stout.