Barrel Aged All of the Lights
Abnormal Beer Company

 

 

 

The beer pours a nice dark tan head that dissipates quickly. The beer itself is a dark chocolate brown with a very delicious looking texture to it. The texture resembles that of a melted chocolate and smoothed out with a good oily sheen across the surface.

The smell is absolutely delicious. It has a good whiskey smell upfront that mixes well with the chocolate. The hazelnut seems to come out a little in the beginning and then takes over in the finish, which gives a good sweet smell to it. There is also a vanilla note too around the edges.

The taste is much more interesting than the smell. The vanilla is much more pronounced alongside the other notes. The whiskey is still the first note that appears through the whole thing and dominates most of the taste while the hazelnut comes out at a close second and a slight coffee bitterness among the hazelnut with some alcohol in the finish.

The feel is pretty good. It has a heavy and silky body with a slightly sticky finish to it. The whiskey also gives off a nice warmth through the whole thing.

Overall, this is a fantastic beer and one worth trading for if you can find one. The balance and mixture of all the different notes works very well and the whiskey note is wonderful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured off the tap at Abnormal into a taster glass. Pours a deep chocolate brownie color with thin espresso head. Nose is chocolate fudge, nutella, vanilla, toffee, and coffee. The nose is good, but the palate is amazing: they could have named this "all of the flavors", as all the above flavors all come through strong and in wonderful harmony. Perfect moderate-to-heavy mouthfeel; rich and decadent, like a hazelnut chocolate brownie. Be sure to let it warm. I've never been guilty of enthusiasm when it comes to Abnormal stouts, but this is right up there with some of the best BA stouts I've had. Would compare it favorably against BA Coffee Shop Vibes, which I loved.