Barcode Mint Green (8719992492411)
Brouwerij De Moersleutel

Got this one from the liquor store in Maarssen

From a 44cl can into a snifter
Best Before January 2025
Double Vanilla Bourbon barrel aged Imperial stout

APPEARANCE: Pours out clear black and yields a small, thin, tanned cap that quickly recedes to a half wisp and ring. Black body with no carbonation evident. Faint touches of wisp and a ring remain leaving a few falling dots of lacing down the glass. The head was a little too small on this one, but that’s a minor point.

SMELL: Bold nose with lots of bourbon, alcohol and plenty of vanilla in there too. Notes of butterscotch, toffee and milk chocolate as well, but this is mostly bourbon and vanilla beans.

TASTE: Bourbon, oak flavors, lots of vanilla beans and some milk chocolate up front, with some more bourbon and alcohol at the swallow. Bold and flavorful. Big, boozy finish of bourbon, oak, sweet vanilla, milk chocolate, touches of butterscotch and a hint of bitter coffee in the back. Plenty of boozy bourbon barrel and sweet, vanilla candy flavors linger.

PALATE: Fuller body and very low levels of carbonation. Silky and slick on the palate, syrupy and velvety, goes down smooth with a bit of a burn and finishes very sticky. Some decent heat lingers. Silky, velvety slick.

OVERALL: This is delicious. It’s definitely got a big bourbon barrel punch with lots of fresh vanilla beans. The silky, syrupy, low carbonation feel is right up my alley as well. If you like boozy, thick, velvety BA vanilla stouts, this will no doubt satisfy. I’m glad I was able to run into one of these and hope to do so again sometime. Really good stuff. Cheers!

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a tiny, wispy head that soon fades to nothing. Smells of lightly roasted malt and strong milk chocolate and vanilla notes, as well as lighter dark fruit and just a hint of boozy bourbon. Taste is a poor balance of slightly roasted and caramelly malt, a strong vanilla presence, distinct milk chocolate and much lighter coffee and dark fruit: plum, raisin, as well as a strong, boozy cheap bourbon note. Finishes almost sickly sweet, with a very light bitterness and some vanilla, milk chocolate and boozy bourbon lingering in the aftertaste. Creamy mouthfeel with a rich body and very light carbonation.

It never ceases to amaze me how stuff like this gets such high ratings on untappd, apparently there are plenty of people out there who just love sickly sweet, one-dimensional and unbalanced BBA stouts with an incredibly sharp and boozy bourbon presence. Although this is barely saved by some more roasted and ever so slightly bitter accents, I really do expect more from the Moersleutel and this came as a rather big disappointment to me as it really suffers from an extreme overdose of sweet vanilla and sharp, boozy bourbon. While it does have a somewhat nice, creamy mouthfeel, it also suffers from a distinct lack of carbonation though. In fact, it actually reminds me just a little bit of Bailey's, which I cannot stand, but used to love as a teenager, which may explain a lot.