El Mariachi - Apple Brandy Barrel-Aged
Aardwolf Brewing Company

So in this beer we have an imperial stout with the requisite char, dark chocolate, and stone fruit notes, and then you toss on the top of that:

- Apple Brandy barrel
- Cacao nibs
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla beans
- Ancho and Chipotle peppers

Nah, nothing to see here, move along folks, just your ordinary, run-of-the-mill stout with six different flavors added to the base beer.

Yikes.

The first thing I notice when I pop the top is apple brandy aromas from the barrel - tart apples with sweet, fruit notes from the brandy. There’s also rich chocolate aromas. No cinnamon or peppers.

The apple brandy and cacao nibs are center stage on the taste, but the peppers and cinnamon come forward as this warms, which is critical to me - it’s so important to let these big barrel-aged stouts warm (I let this one go 20 minutes from the first sip to the halfway point of the bomber).

There’s also a cinnamon flavor, but I really don’t get the vanilla beans. But another 10 minutes later and the apple brandy and peppers are even more pronounced. The mouthfeel is on point as well - it’s nearly creamy, but not quite.

And as I continue to plow through the bomber, and the beer warms, the pepper and cinnamon flavors move forward even more, and the apple brandy barrel sits on the back of the palate like a bouncer checking ID’s at the hottest club in town - serving as the anchor that allows the stars of the show to shine.