Stay Puft - Salted Caramel
Barreled Souls Brewing Company

Poured at fridge temp. Pours black with very quickly dissipating head. Sounds a bit odd - fizzing as it disappears. The nose is really nice. Caramel, vanilla, chocolate, marshmallow, and maybe a hint of brown sugar.

The taste is great. Sweet and bitter mixed into one. Definitely getting the salted caramel and marshmallow. I can't even explain where the bitterness is coming from - reminds me a bit of the bitterness that comes with maple syrup in beers. Chocolate, raisins, sherry, and oak.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied. A bit thinner than expected. The aftertaste is a mix of sweetness and bitterness.

 

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells very sweet, with gooey marshmallow, sweet chocolate fudge, caramel, and a sort of a fruity maltiness.

I usually really like Barreled Souls, but I don’t generally reach for their non barrel aged stuff. This just confirms that habit, as it’s way too sweet with very little to back for with each sip. It’s a stout with salted caramel and marshmallow, so of course it’s going to be pretty sweet, but there’s very little balance to it. I’d want some roastiness or darker flavors here, but it’s just all pastry. The barrel aged versions of Stay Puft are much better, as the barrel aging adds some dimension, balance, and time for the sweetness to subside.

This is medium bodied, kind of syrupy despite the fact it’s not thick, with not the best drinkability.

There wasn’t much for me personally in this one. I still love the brewery but I will stick with their barrel aged beasts instead.

4 oz pour at the source.

Opaque black with zero head or retention. Sweet chocolate, vanilla and caramel in the nose. Full bodied with a chewy mouthfeel. Rich chocolate, vanilla, and a hint of caramel on the palate. Finishes sweet with lingering chocolate.

Pours a not so effervescent mahogany with rapidly falling tan head.

S: Caramel, chocolate, marshmallow, starts to fall apart as the beer warms

T: Follows the nose, a little smokeyness, & creme Brule', just a kiss of iced coffee up front. Creme Brule' with kiss of salt & weak coffee once warm. Finishes with warming booze, sweet, salty caramel & vanilla& a kiss of watered down coffee

MF: Medium body, subdued carbonation

This is great, despite fact it is attacking a cavity I need to get taken care of. This ingredient really pops this beer for me. Super drinkability for the heft. The flavor was great, the rest needed to follow along

 

Sampling a cellar temp 500 ml bottle poured into my snifter. Bottled on 5-6-2021 and picked up from brewery in October of the same year. In my cellar since Oct 2021.
The beer pours a rich dark, black coffee color with no light passing through the glass. A fizzy, dense beige head of 1.5 cm foams up and fades to a sturdy edge layer soon after my pour.
Aroma on this brew is rich, sweet and malty with chocolate notes, caramel mixing in with brown sugar and a bit of vanilla and some roasted notes as well. Generally sweet nose with no hints of hops nor booze at this point.
the first sip reveals a medium to thicker body with soft spacious carbonation and a bit of a sticky coating texture. Does the part of feeling like an imperial stout. No hint of ABV anywhere.
Flavor is sweet chocolate, caramel notes and some vanilla. I also get a little darker chocolate or fudge notes and maybe a salt hit, that could be just my brain telling me its there since is a salted caramel variant.
Never any hops on this beer and while sweet it isnt over the top IMO and is very enjoyable.
this is a win from Barreled Souls and I really enjoy this variant. Very glad to have tried this one and encourage you to pick this up if you have an opportunity.

2021 Version

 

 

Matte black with a large, chocolate milk-colored head that fizzes away fairly quickly, leaving behind a crown and messy lacing.

Roasted malts, chocolate and hard caramels in the nose with hints of cherry, coffee and peanut far behind.

The taste is roasty malts again with clear caramel added to some underlying stone fruit, chocolate and coconut impressions. There’s a kiss of alcohol heat. Some light chocolate bitterness in the aftertaste.

Medium bodied and fairly creamy feeling with modest carbonation.

I expected the caramel to be more intense after some of their other beers, but it’s fairly restrained in comparison (although still clearly present). It’s actually very artfully done, but the coconut impression isn’t to my personal liking.