Plethora of Piñatas
J. Wakefield Brewing

 

my wife is so awesome, she brought this back for me from the brewery when she was there last summer, its been in the cellar ever since, and it seemed like a fine time to pop in open with some company in town this past weekend. what an excellent brew, these guys always impress with the big adjunct stouts, and they have done it again here. this is done with chilies, cocoa nibs, cassia, and lactose, and the proportions are killer. its rad because it starts with a great stout, not to bitter but still very deeply roasted with a leathery quality, a velvet texture, and some natural chocolate notes already present from the grain, dense and smooth, strong but not harsh, and just real well done. the cinnamon is the element i pick up on the most, with just a kiss of smoke from the peppers maybe, warming from cinnamon and chili, some serious vanilla character happening here too, must be the lactose, which really does cream this up in feel and make it finish sweet. usually i dont want the sugar in a beer like this, but it seems to slow this down, extend it, and highlight some of its best elements one by one. some decent spice through most of this, milk chocolate richness at the end to offset it, great depth of flavor, almost a melted ice cream thing going on, some booziness too, just really distinctive and good. i wish i had more access to their beers, but i am almost always super impressed with them, this was fantastic, the highlight of an awesome little session!