Wood Series: S'Mores Imperial Stout
Sunriver Brewing Company

glorious take on a fairly common concept now in craft stouts, lots of folks going for this campfire treat, few executing at this level, really this is good, no surprise from these guys and from this series, which continues to hit. quality big stout base, higher end bourbon barrels evident, nice patient aging, then marshmallows, fudge, vanilla, graham crackers, and cacao nibs, it comes together brilliantly. dark dark brown without being black, not crazy viscous for its abv or dessert theme, and with just a short patchy tan foam head on it from the bottle, not super leggy and sugary looking either, which is a welcome sight and an indicator of how restrained the residual sugar actually is in here, surprisingly. aroma is lovely but the flavor is even better, more ramped up. lots to break down here, but the thing that really strikes me is both the quality of the chocolate overall, and the honest graham cracker character, which is so often lost in these types of beers, its really an aroma and flavor leader, right there with the cocoa and vanilla, really impressive, love that inclusion, even the sort of crumby texture, actual honey character, its wonderful, kind of the part of this that stands out the most to me because of how uncommon it really is. the fudge and the nibs together is a neat touch, you get the bitter earthy low end which is great with the roasted barley in here, but also a richer more decadent and indeed intense middle palate chocolate profile, very hershey bar, ideal for this. the marshmallow is there, kind of with the vanilla to be, lengthening this, not quite gooey, but good, and not overdone which is important. killer whiskey and barrel back end here too, not too alcoholic but with complimentary wood and char adding the campfire factor, and nice vanilla and toffee wrinkles adding richness. love the late bitterness too, still a powerful stout and it makes itself known even ahead of the extras in here on the swallow, love that the base beer isnt lost to the smores. vanilla sweetness at the end, light brown sugar, dark bread, the graham cracker, lingering fancy chocolate, smooth without being too huge in body, very well refined for something at this size too. outstanding effort, among the best smore themed beers ive ever known...