Barrel Aged Cuppa - Peanut Butter Coconut
Maplewood Brewery & Distillery

Pours like motor oil into the glass. Pitch black. A finger of a reddish, dark mocha head that dissipates quickly. Coats the glass with a dark reddish tint as you swirl it around.

Nose brings big coconut macaroon, milk and dark chocolate, chunky peanut butter, vanilla, slight dark fruit, some roasted malt, molasses, some coffee bean, bourbon, some charred oak.

Taste is outstanding. Milk chocolate coated coconut macaroon, some Hershey's syrup, chunky peanut butter, bakers chocolate, brownie, caramel, some vanilla, molasses, little roasted malt and dark fruit, bourbon, vanillin, charred oak. Like if you took a coconut macaroon, dipped half of it in some quality bourbon, spread some chunky peanut butter on top of it, and dipped it in some melted chocolate. Reese's vibes too. The barrel gives off a good amount of vanillin and coconut, complementing the adjuncts.

Full body, thick. Impressive body for a barrel aged beer. Soft, creamy, oily, sticky. Mouth coating.

In a city full of great barrel programs, Maplewood's barrel program holds it own very, very well. Barrel aged "pastry" stouts tend to overlook the barrel and be all of those adjunct flavors. This one does not fall into that category. Don't get me wrong, the coconut, peanut butter, cocoa nibs, and vanilla are strong with this one, but the barrel quality is significant even after 15 months and integrate extremely well into the base beer and the adjuncts added.

Can: Poured a pitch-black color sottu with a large dark brown foamy head with OK retention and light lacing. Aroma of strong peanut butter notes with some coconut and bourbon notes is also perceptible. Taste is also dominated by sweet peanut butter notes with some coconut and bourbon notes. Body is full with good cabrontion. Abit too intense for my palate with quite a bit of sugar in the aftertaste.

 

Tasted in a snifter from a one pint can on July 4, 2021.

 

 

 

 

Canned 11/10/20; drank 12/21/20 @ the Yarchives.

Black appearance.

A rough pour yielded a small, noisy dark khaki head which quickly dissipated; almost no lace.

HUGE peanut butter, coconut, milk chocolate, mild medium roast coffee bean & faint bourbon heat notes in the nose.

Thick, creamy mouthfeel.

Big time peanut butter & rich coconut flavors up front; rich milk chocolate notes on the finish. As this warmed, mild oak & booze heat notes emerged.

This is BIG TIME PASTRY VIBES; not super subtle, but rich, roasty & if you like the flavor profile, very enjoyable. I liked it!

 

Thick, more coconut nose than peanut butter, but both come out as it warmed a bit, along with light barrel. More barrel and this would be insane. The sweetness is present, but doesn't enter pastry territory, which is a great balance.