Rye Barrel Trophy Hunt - 2020
Cerebral Brewing

Glossy black with a fine tan head that quickly dies to a wispy surface and thin ring.

This solid rye barrel aged stout seems to actually pull out vanillin by way of its mildly spicy contrast to pair with the added vanilla, while adding the sort of balance and complexity I found lacking in other big name stouts like Rye BBT (though its lack of adjuncts, aside from lactose, is to be commended).

An excellent showing, particularly relative to its fresher, non-rye BA version I had just hereafter.

 

i dont really get the name, i mean i do, like this is a rare beer to be sought out and all, but the name with the endangered rhino on the label seems like a strange choice in these times of hypersensitivity, but i guess its all about the liquid, and this liquid is fire, without question the best beer i have ever had from cerebral, a total game changer, and one of the rare offerings from them where the hype seems totally warranted, there is nothing like this out there that i have ever had, and it was a special joy to drink it with my two homies, who shared this generously with me. this version is aged in rye barrels, done with vanilla caviar, which i had to google, vanilla beans, and cocoa nibs. there is so much to like about this its crazy, its a vanilla bomb but in an intensity and purity unrivaled, sort of like how cryo hops increase the saturation point of hop character without adding vegetal greenness in bigtime dry hopped beers, seems like the vanilla caviar works similarly. the base beer is absurd, the right amount of thick and boozy, and for being so vanilla packed, its not overly sweet, balanced even with all the dark grain roast, earthy cocoa nibs add a lot here too, and rye instead of bourbon barrels was a cool choice, some more depth and spiciness rather than corny sweetness, i feel like we can taste the oak more too this way, and it keeps this from being diabetic. maybe we were smart to drink this fresh, a lot of their big dark beers have had some infection issues over time, and there is nothing to mellow, heck it was in the barrel for almost two years, would hate for anything to fade or proportions to change, its dialed in right now. the vanilla profile here is as complex, intense, refined, and delicious here as in any beer i have ever had, and the rye loves it, the dark grain loves it, and even the alcohol heat seems to cling to it. pillows to drink, definitely packs a punch, a beer to share without question, and i shared it with two of the very best. unbeatably good, genre defining even, and a new high water mark for cerebral, who has absolutely killed it this time. as good as it gets, straight up!