Hollow Place - Vanilla Walnut
The Veil Brewing Co. - Production Brewery

The beer pours a brown foamy head that dissipates at a moderate pace. The beer itself is an opaque dark chocolate black that looks pretty nice with a melted chocolate texture.

The smell is good. It has a mix of vanilla, chocolate, and walnut. The walnut is the strongest with a moderate vanilla mixing well with it. The chocolate is sweet but seems oddly out of place with the other two notes.

The taste is very good. The vanilla note is the strongest note of the three but it doesn't dominate the taste but is merely the one that comes out ahead with its bitter sweet and creamy note. The walnut is the second note while the chocolate comes out more in a cocoa form in the finish.

The feel is good. It has a heavy body with a thinnish and odd texture. It has a semi-dry finish to it.

Oh boy. Aside from its moderate mocha collar, this looks like a glass full of Hershey's syrup. It's just such an unusually chocolate brown for a stout, it's pretty obvious the additions in this beer have drastically affected its appearance.

However, it surprises me in that its stout characteristics have remained formidably present, with a nice roasted nuttiness that helps contrast its first pastry notes of marzipan and amaretto. But then it becomes apparent the mouthfeel is also affected, as its body is extra thick and almost gloppy.

Not long into the pour, it develops this Sacher Torte flavor, much like the one a local bakery by us (The Blue Door) expertly makes and often serves at breakfast. Yet it somehow manages a woody, semi-bitter balancing, and finishes chewy semi-dry with a little heat. Quite nice.