Ferryman Of The Dead
R. Shea Brewing - Merriman Valley

It's basically everything you want from a cocoa nib forward imperial Stout somewhat roasty very chocolatey the smell alone makes your mouth water a bit and the finish is only a slight tingle of alcohol with the hops. At only 4.50 a can I really should have read the reviews before only buying one if it's still at the Vintage estate I'm I might grab another few cans for the future. Great beer to sip on a cold fall night!

I had every intention of writing something more substantive here. But I managed to drink the whole pint and now I can only remember that it does indeed come through with a German chocolate taste and is a worthy pickup for you dessert stout-loving peeps like myself.

16 ounce can, canned 03/16/2022. Thanks to Brutaltruth for this one! Served in a Teku, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch and a half frothy tan head that stuck around a while. Lots of lacing, too. Aroma is mostly sweet, the brew smells like chocolate cake, coconut, roasted malt, and vanilla. Taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also some dark bread, caramel and a bit of dark fruitiness noticeable too. Mostly sweet tasting but not overpoweringly so. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's coating and a bit creamy with a moderate amount of carbonation. Thought this was a good overall pastry stout, wouldn't mind trying this one again sometime!

 

Canned on 3/16/22. 16oz can poured into a tulip.

Pours almost black; light khaki head that fades leaving decent bubbly retention and decent lacing.

The aromas have a subtle blend of coconut and vanilla frosting leading the way. Some chocolate. Malts are there.

The flavors are bold and slightly rich. More coconut and vanilla. More chocolate. There's a nice German Chocolate Cake vibe going on. Low bitterness. Solid sweetness. Strong malt backbone. Mild warmth in the finish but the alcohol is still ultimately well hidden considering the ABV. I'd consider this one dangerously drinkable.

Mouthfeel is full-bodied with moderate carbonation. It's fluffy, creamy, velvety and smooth.

This is a nice dessert stout. They do a nice job of emulating a German Chocolate Cake. This has just about everything that you'd expect from an R. Shea imperial stout, more or less. Well done.

From the 16 oz can in a snifter. This solid brew pours a dark blackish brown
with thin dark tea highlights and a nice head of khaki foam that sizzles to a
thick ring, thin dusty layer, and sports some very nice lacing. Nose of rich
coconut, cream, char, brulee, dark cocoa, dark coffee hints, and dashes of
orchard fruits of cherry. Flavors hit the mark with toasted coconut, brulee,
dark chocolate, dark fruit touches of cherry and blackberry, and hints of
coffee amongst dark brwon sugars. Nice mouth feel; medium full verging on
a full body, smooth, rich, moderately coating, warming, and finishing medium
dry finish.

Overall---for a pastry stout it's solid!

Cheers

Canned on: 3-16-22

A - Black pour with micro thin lacing and low carbonation.

S - Chcocolate cake, chocolate syrup, fudge, gooey brownies. The nose is quite incredible on this one.

T - Big fudge brownie presence, chocolate cake, some caramel and coconut, and cocoa. Big chocolate from start to finish with lingering fudge and chocolate cake on the backside. Finishes on the sweeter side.

M - While there's no alcohol presence on the nose there is some on the palate along with some slight warming in the back of the throat.

O - This is a pretty fantastic Pastry Stout and well worth a try.

Canned on 3/16/22. Pint poured into a pint.

L: Dark, oily black, nice chocolately, khaki head. I got three fingers.

S: Desserty! A lot of chocolate on the nose. That's nice.

T: Heavily malty and chocolatey. To me, it tastes almost like chocolate milk at first, but only for a second. Then, the dark malts come swooping in and make it a beer with a toasty bitterness. Coconut? A bit of sweetness, but more of a bitter, dark chocolate flavor.

F: Thick and heavy, as per its style and weight. Tongue-coating and lingering. Creamy.

Sad to say, this is only my first R. Shea beer. Glad to rectify that - and have another oatmeal stout, It's been a while. And this is a dessert beer, if you haven't guessed.

This is excellent, it seems like this brewery cranks out these kinds of beers but they're done so well. This is much better than Weldwerks German chocolate cake stout.


On tap this is essentially flawless. I don't give perfect 5's ever cuz im sure something can maybe be better but this is just excellent.