Black Barrel Brewer’s Reserve 2018
Robin Hood Brewing Co. (Home D Pizzeria)

Variant of the Black Barrel stout aged in Dad’s Hat rye whisky barrels with Tahitian vanilla beans.

Pours inky & thin with a somewhat weak barm.

Aroma is...interesting. From the bottle there is massive umami note - best described as bacon grease - that really dominates. Perhaps from vanilla bean husk. Once decanted & opened-up that note is less abrasive but still present. Underlying notes of burnt chocolate and (cleaner) vanilla. Undecided on how I feel about it.

Taste is rather husky, again with a bit of a meaty umami note, though tempered by some dark chocolate / roasted malt, a little toasted marshmallow and a smattering of bourbon; on the whole I felt the barrel characteristics needed to be more expressive. The imparted whiskey note is thin, and lacks the distinct rye spice. It is there, yes, but very distant.

All in all a pretty solid beer, but that aroma really threw a curve ball at me.