Trademark Dispute Brown Label (Vanilla)
Cycle Brewing

22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 2016. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1 finger dense and rocky tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, cream, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with light notes of coconut, molasses, licorice, raisin, fig, date, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Minimal booze in the aromas as it warms. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/black/bready malts, vanilla, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with big strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, cream, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with light notes of coconut, molasses, licorice, raisin, fig, date, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Very mild herbal, grassy, roast, charred bitterness; and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, cream, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, dark bread/crust, coconut, molasses, ldark fruit, light smoke/char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/black/bready malts, vanilla, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a solid roast/hop bitter/sweet and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and slightly slick/sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mild increasing warmth of 12%, with no lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is an incredible flavored barrel aged imperial stout. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/black/bready malts, vanilla, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; dangerously smooth and easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the minimally bitter/tannic/drying finish; fantastic soft/silky feel for the ABV. Amazing balance of super rich malts, vanilla, and bourbon barrel presence/integration. Mild earthy hops and fruity yeast. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding style example as expected.

 

Black color with mocha head. Sweet vanilla notes, bourbon, toffee and fudge on the nose. Bittersweet, roasty, desserty, a bit boozy. Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation. Quite nice but a bit astringent.

 

 

 

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

From a bomber into a snifter
Brown R

APPEARANCE: Pours out clear black and yields a three finger, medium looking, creamy, dark tan head with excellent retention. Pitch black body with lower levels of carbonation evident. Head slowly fades to a full foam cap and leaves some sticky lacing on the glass. Ring and slight wisp remains leaving touches of lacing down the glass.

SMELL: Oak, bourbon, caramel, milk chocolate and some definite vanilla beans on the nose. Sweet cream and plenty of bourbon with the vanilla beans. Enticing.

TASTE: Vanilla beans with bourbon, sweet cream and some milk chocolate up front. Sweet opening. Some boozy barrel and wood at the swallow with a bolder and lingering finish of sweet caramel and milk chocolate, sweet cream, vanilla beans, some coconut, with a nice bourbon and wood character tying it together. Some light chocolate bitterness lingers as well, though this is mostly sweet candy and bourbon flavors through and through.

PALATE: Medium body and carbonation. Semi-creamy on the palate, touch foamy perhaps, goes down fine and finishes somewhat mouth-coating. Some heat lingers.

OVERALL: These guys just do stout, barrels and adjuncts so well. They’re almost all hits, and this is no exception. The vanilla beans work great with the sweet bourbon barrel and the light hints of chocolaty bitterness plays a much needed role as well. The feel is perhaps a touch foamier than I’d like, but this is a minor point. Definitely a sweet one but enjoyable and delectable to the last drop. Thanks again, rutger!