Dark Charge - Bananas Foster
Braxton Brewing Company - Braxton Covington

Imperial Stout brewed with bananas, cinnamon, and vanilla bean and aged in Bourbon barrels. Bottle 248 of 600. Part of the 2019 Braxton "Cake Box" (3 bottles) purchased at Dark Charge Day. Poured from a wax-dipped bomber into a small Triple Digit tulip. The pour is black and viscous with a thin head of fine brown foam. On the nose I get notes of roasted malt, some banana, a fair amount of cinnamon, and some toasted oak. I may be imagining this, but I also detect a faint graham-cracker-like note that makes me think of the crust of a cheesecake.

Full body with a creamy feel and a sweet-and-roasty flavor. Up front I get some molasses and faint toffee, then a big whallop of roast charges in (this is Dark Charge, after all - it's one of the roastiest stouts you can find). Along with that roast is a fair amount of banana and vanilla. That roast simply overpowers it though, and almost makes the beer taste tart. Before it does though, you get this brief moment where you taste the molasses and the banana at once and it really does give you the impression of the bananas and brown sugar one would taste when enjoying Bananas Foster. Sadly, this flavor doesn't last long. It is quickly swept aside by the roast. The finish is roasty and a little bitter, but the banana that makes it that far tends to balance it out a bit.

I had this beer on tap when it was released at the brewery. I didn't think I would like it very much, but I thought it was really good. Enjoying this bottle at home and giving myself a little quiet time for reflection, I find my impressions are the same as they were at the release. This beer was a surprise to me then and it's a surprise to me now. Kudos to Braxton for having the courage to try something unconventional. I hope they come up with some new cake box variants for next year (maybe Red Velvet, Coconut Cake, or Boston Cream Pie).