Blackness of Eternal Night
Mason Ale Works

 

Canned on: ??????

A - Dark brown pour with thin caramel lacing and no carbonation.

S - Sweet chocolate cherry and vanilla with toasted cocoa.

T - Cherry, chocolate, vanilla, a slight bit of cinnamon, alcohol, and ends on the sweeter side.

M - Big medium body that's silky, light sugary residue on the lips, and warming in the back of the throat.

O - Tastes like a boozy chocolate covered cherry. Mission accomplished.

Poured moderately hard from a tall can into a small tulip glass, forming maybe a hint of lacing that soon faded to nothing. Deep brown color with a hint of haze. Very nice smell, almost exclusively vanilla and hazelnut. Taste is vanilla and hazelnut up forward, with cinnamon at the end. Moderate sweetness, and the cinnamon becomes stronger as it warms. Not too sweet as to be a dessert beer. Medium bodied and light to moderate carbonation. Also can't really detect the 14% ABV which is impressive. Excellent stout.

 

L: Poured from a tallboy can to a pint glass. Had a dark brown / almost black color and a thick, opaque consistency. There was a half inch of foamy, tan-colored, fairly long-lasting head. Not much lacing, though.

S: A solid aroma of chocolate, malt, cherries, vanilla, malt, and spices.

T: Tasted of a bit of cherries (more than expected, but good to see), some malt (a solid backbone of), spices (cinnamon, in particular), a little vanilla (there, but subtle), and a good amount of chocolate (always nice to see). This is a subtle, focused, easy to like flavor. Not overly aggressive, but still pretty tasty.

F: A below average amount of carbonation with a smooth finish. Medium-bodied.

O: On the whole, this is a solidly made stout. Worth a try.