Vanilla Bourbon Barrel Aged Daemon
FERMÆNTRA

they have several variants of this enormous beer working right now, and while i think i like the flavor of this one better than any other we tried, i also think its so positively sweet that to drink even a small one feels like a lot, its straight diabetic to me. silky though and rich looking, with a short mocha head on it and some web lacing as it sips down. notes of molasses and wet vanilla bean right up front, with the whiskey there in behind it and enough sugar that this doesnt seem boozy to me, even at this absurd strength. i often think beer doesnt benefit much from being this strong, the flavor i find really maxes out around 12%, from the grain, at least in my opinion, so this extra couple of percentages are superfluous, but at least this isnt hot. the vanilla is really forward in the flavor, lots of dark grain trying to balance it, and all the sugar you can imagine coming on mid palate and lasting through the finish, this stays on my palate forever, and as much as i like it, it takes over a little too much. cool bourbon barrel character, nice and mature, i think they use laws barrels for this, quality stuff. the flavor is excellent here, a nicely made beer overall, and the vanilla is all over it. just a sipper for me. ambitious and well executed stuff from these guys!