Sower and the Seed
Noble Shepherd Craft Brewery

Bottle purchased and drank at Noble Shepherd Brewing in Bloomfield, NY.

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells like oak, dark chocolate, roast, spicy booze, nuttiness, and coffee.

I’ve had Hollerhorn’s maple spirit before, and it’s an interesting liqueur, but ultimately quite boozy and harsh. Luckily, this isn’t really all that harsh, there’s some spice and heat, but the body of the beer is big enough to stand up to that. There’s a touch of earthy maple sweetness, lots of oak, milk chocolate, and a really pleasant nuttiness, with some light dark fruit character.

This is medium bodied, pretty creamy, and nicely drinkable, despite the heat.

This was much better than Noble Shepherd’s previous years’ maple-themed anniversary stout.