Monsters' Park - Bourbon Barrel-Aged - Mexican Hot Chocolate Edition
Modern Times Beer

 

Had on tap. Matte black with a medium brown ring. Hello there brownie aroma with chili pepper and cinnamon sharply accent before entering a realm of cocoa, vanilla, and bourbon all integrating, wow a lot going on. Peppers and cinnamon seem stronger than other iterations of this style stout. Taste however puts those fears to rest, so fudgy, great barrel with wood peaking out amongst the bourbon here and there, slight lighter roast coffee in there too with all the adjuncts, very well balanced and layered. Feel has some spice and pepper heat, but mostly is fudgy, thick, sneaky creamy while has nods to various textures from the ingredients, and pleasantly warm with booze. As it warms the heat gets stronger

 

12/12/19 can @ home

 

Slick black with very minimal highlights. It forms a pinky width of caramel colored crown that dissipates within a minute.

The nose brings a huge marshmallow like vanilla and chocolate mixing with slight barrel.

The taste follows well. A lot of chocolate and huge vanilla sweetness with a hint of peppers in the back. Cinnamon evident as well. Pretty huge sweetness though.

The mouthfeel is warm from the bourbon and has a tingle from the peppers. Sticky, coating sweetness. Peppers leave a warmness behind to linger in the chest.

Overall, I can detect everything this lists while keeping a pretty good balance. The only thing not perfectly balanced would be the sweetness, if not for the peppers and cinnamon it could become too much.

PERFECTION!!!

Pours a deep deep brown, definitely not black, with a very active mocha head (the beer was remarkably active when I popped the cap) that fizzles back to a thin halo pretty quickly.
Nose is unremarkable. Chocolate and roasted malts dominate but aren't pungent. There's a softness to the sharp smells that I associate with vanilla when it's in baked goods so maybe that's it's influence here as well.
Taste is super mellow, vanilla and rich chocolate and mild malts dominate up front. a bourbon and dark cacao with a hint of chile follows behind but it's mellow at first and builds with each sip. This is thick and chocolatey for sure. The cinnamon and chile hang out in the back and end up being the last flavor to linger on the tongue, a nasty trick to inspire another sip
Mouthfeel is very thick. I think this is what the pastry stout crowd is after but it's a bit over the top for me, kinda feels like I'm just sipping on chocolate syrup at some points.
Overall I'm happy that whoever wants this is getting it, and I could definitely see it being served as part of a dessert in like a 3 or 4 oz cup. But it's just a lot too much sugar and I guess I don't really want my stouts to be liquers that belong in mixed drinks

12oz can, Modern Times stemless glass. Dark black body, oily, with a one finger mocha head, good retention and lacing. Smells like dirty sewer water or something like that. It doesn't have any chocolate presence at all, and mostly cinnamon and dry oak, which gives off that stale, stagnant water smell to it. Problematic to say the least. That being said, flavourwise, it's got a nice big chocolate and cinnamon spice bite to it, mild dry oak. Not really tasting much bourbon, more so the neutral oak; the cinnamon is kind of overpowering. Full bodied, smooth and good carbonation, a bit creamy as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Pitch black with a ruby tinge, and a half finger of purpleish dark brown head.

It smells of chocolate, rum barrel, oak, Caramel, a little bit of aromatics, and very boozy.

The taste is out of chocolate, very sweet with hints of woody oak barrel aging, a hint of chilies, chocolate, malty, there’s a throat burn and hint of a booze.

Medium to think, oily and slick body, with very little carbonation.

I got this in Redding where am drinking it July 9, 2019.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awesome! A bit pricey at $30 at my local bottle shop, but it didn't leave me with buyers remorse. Excellent! Boozy bourbon with strong cocao and vanilla flavors as of Sept. 2018. Very smooth. Going to have to pick up a couple bottles to leave in the stash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Got this one from rutger this past summer. Cheers, man!

From a bomber into a snifter
Mexican Hot Chocolate Edition
SRM: 80
IBU: 60
FG: 1.019
Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with cinnamon, cacao nibs, chilies and vanilla.

APPEARANCE: Pours out black and yields a one finger, medium looking, dark tan head with good retention. Pitch black body with no carbonation evident. Head slowly fades to swirly wisp and ring. A good ring remains but leaves no real lacing on the glass.

SMELL: Cinnamon, chilies, vanilla and cacao for sure, with oak, bourbon and alcohol as well. Bold and just as advertised. Nice.

TASTE: Definite alcohol, bourbon, chili heat and cinnamon up front. Alcohol, vanilla and chili heat at the swallow, moving into a bold and boozy finish of chili heat, cinnamon, vanilla, roasted notes, bourbon and a decent punch of alcohol lingering on the palate. Boozy with lots of stuff going on.

PALATE: Medium body and medium levels of carbonation. Creamy enough on the palate, hot for sure, goes down fine with a bit of an alcohol burn and finishes sticky on the palate. Lots of chili and boozy heat lingers.

OVERALL: Really, really good. This was excellent and is probably the best Monster’s Park variant I’ve had so far. It’s boozy for sure, but the chili heat is well measured and the adjuncts work really well here. The base beer is also well put together with a decent look and feel to support the boozy, adjunct show. Well worth checking out if you get the chance. Thanks again, rutger!