Dark Charge - Maple Breakfast
Braxton Brewing Company - Braxton Covington

I'm trying a 5oz taster of this beer off the tapper at the brewery. It poured an opaque dark with very thin tan ring head that is not leaving much lace. The scent had hints of sweet malt with maple sugar and vanilla notes. The taste was sweeter leaning yet nicely balanced and easy to sip with good maple syrup presence. The mouthfeel was fuller in body with good carbonation. Overall it is a solid beer.

Look - Fantastic black thck with a big lasting tan head and lacing
Smell - so much maple and barrel
Taste - roasty malty maple with a really nice barrel
Feel -medium full body with h a light carb and cream
Overall - pretty good maple bba stout

2020 dark charge release
Black color with a thick brown head, good retention.
Maple aroma is dominates with notes of cocoa and roasty malts.
Taste is much like the smell. But the maple balances quite nicely with the malts.
The sweet vanilla shines through in the finish.
Very enjoyable!

 

Imperial Stout brewed with coffee, cocoa, maple, and vanilla and aged in Bourbon barrels. Bottle 582 of 1200. Part of the 2019 release purchased at Dark Charge Day. Poured from a wax-dipped bomber into a MadTree Teku. The pour is black and viscous with a two-finger head of fine brown foam - impressive for a barrel-aged beer. Good retention too. On the nose the maple is quite prominent. I also get roasted malt, cocoa, and some toasted oak. Somehow that maple manages to hit your nose first and last, mixing with the roasted notes and lending the beer a smell like slightly overdone French Toast.

Full body with a creamy feel and a rich-and-roasty flavor. My first impression is the same maple-and-roast combination that is heavy on the palate. The roast is heavy, and the maple is really stacked against it. There is a fair amount of molasses and toffee in there too, but mostly it's maple and roasted malt. The maple seems to do a fairly good job of taming the roast. Anyone who has had Dark Charge can verify that this is saying something, as Dark Charge is one of the roastiest stouts one can find. Finishes sweet and roasty with a sticky maple syrup character.

I had this beer on tap when it was released at the brewery. For some reason, I remember liking it more then (not that I don't like it now). I think this is a good idea for a Dark Charge variant, as sweetness seems an obvious candidate to challenge the roast for Dark Charge supremacy. That said, the combination of maple and heavy roast is interesting, but it doesn't really rock my world. I'd likely buy this again if Braxton decides to re-release it, but I'd be easily swayed by any newer variants that seem more promising.