Flying Buffalo - Cinnamon And Vanilla
Griffin Claw Brewing Company

 

Reviewing from notes after finally getting around to cracking my lone bottle about two weeks ago. I've always been a bit hit or miss on the Flying Buffalo series, but this was the first year they've really ramped up the number and variety of the variants. This is the 2017 vintage, just in case they decide to produce this again, for reference. Poured into a large teku style glass.

Appearance (3.75) - Pour yields a surprisingly tall and sudsy looking three fingers of parchment paper yellowish tan bubbles. At first glance, it has me worried, because it's not the type of head I expect from an adjunct-laden imperial stout. The head begins to disintegrate within a few seconds, but takes awhile to fully fade away to a ring of lace, leaving some sticky streaks on the sides of the glass to indicate where the foam once stood. Beneath the foam lies a dark, walnut brown to black body with no light passing through to speak of. The only other observation is that it looks a little thin as it cascades into the glass.

Smell (3.0) - Honestly, I don't have much to say about this aspect of the beer because it's quite muted and no individual element really stands out at all. Yet, it also doesn't present any kind of melded aroma either. It's just kind of dull and uninteresting. If I had to pick a word to describe it, it would be "weird", because I get sort of a hint of cinnamon red hots, but very faint, and the soft, smooth aroma that often accompanies vanilla is nowhere to be found. Not really much in the way of the roasty, coffee-like smells or bourbon undertones you might expect from a big barrel-aged stout either. Combined with the characteristics of the head, I'm a bit worried that it's going to taste "off" or show early signs of infection.

Taste (3.75) - I'm pleasantly surprised to get zero hints of acidity or the types of tart, fruity flavors that will sometimes begin to sneak in with an infected beer. In fact, the taste isn't that bad, allowing for the fact that my senses are getting little to no help from the smell. Here, I do get more of the vanilla and some subtle undercurrents of spicy cinnamon, and yes, the barrel makes an appearance as well. The only drawback to this is that the fusel alcohols are a bit aggressive, so there is a bit of boozy pinch to it, of which I'm not terribly fond. Still, a vast improvement over the appearance and smell.

Mouthfeel (3.5) - Body is thin for the style, but probably closer to medium on an absolute scale. Carbonation is fairly high for the style, with the prickliness of the carbonation enhancing the sharpness of the booze in a not great way.

Overall, (3.75) an okay offering, but based on other similar beers I've had, it was pretty disappointing. It would be interesting to find out how my perception might have been altered had I not previously enjoyed a couple of fantastic bourbon barrel imperial stouts with cinnamon and vanilla.

 

 

22 ounce bottle into snifter, 2017 vintage bottling. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, cream, nutmeg, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, raisin, plum, fig, and dark/brown bread; with light notes of molasses, licorice, smoke, herbal, and roast/toast/oak earthiness. Touch of booze in the aromas as it warms, but not overwhelming. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt, cinnamon, vanilla, and bourbon barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, cream, nutmeg, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, raisin, plum, fig, and dark/brown bread; with light notes of molasses, licorice, smoke, herbal, and roast/toast/oak earthiness. Mild roast bitterness and bourbon/oak/cinnamon spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, cream, nutmeg, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, dark fruit, dark/brown bread, light smoke/dark fruit, herbal, and roast/toast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, cinnamon, vanilla, and bourbon barrel flavors; with an awesome roasted bitter/sweet and bourbon/oak/cinnamon spiciness balance; with zero cloying/acrid flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing drying from roast bitterness and bourbon/oak/cinnamon spiciness. Medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky, and lightly slicky/sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is extremely well hidden; a mildly increasing warmth of 14%, with minimal barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is an amazing spiced barrel aged imperial stout! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, cinnamon, vanilla, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV. Amazing balance of rich malts and spices; with perfect barrel integration, never overly boozy or tannic. This one was less thick/velvety and a bit more drying due to the spices, but nothing to complain about. A highly enjoyable offering.

 

 

Poured a dark black with heavy notes of cinnamon (almost pumpkin pie-ish) swarming my nose with a small half finger off white/tan head.

The nose has more cinnamon than what you get when drinking it which I appreciated. The vanilla wasn't so prevalent in the nose as in the actual brew. The vanilla notes almost accentuated the boozy barrel age. Has some legs leaving a slight stain to the glass.

Very crushable for a 14% barrel-aged beer. Wish I had another bottle to cellar and try in a year.