Deadlock Victim
Kings County Brewers Collective (KCBC)

Picked this up earlier this month at KCBC as I always loved their beers and wanted to try this Stout from them. Anything dark or containing chocolate with caramel and sea salt gets my attention and this certainly fit that bill as I enjoyed this beer from start to finish while wondering how it hid the alcohol so well!

No surprise that this had a very dark pour to it as only a bit of light seeped in around the extreme edges of this beer. A thin, tan head capped this off as it slowly settled down. Not much lacing was left behind besides a few thin rings and spotty waves right above the level of the liquid. Lots of bakers chocolate, brownie batter, banana bread, and oats in the nose as the taste really opened up nicely, with the Magnum hops, oats, , bitter coffee, caramel sweetness and stickiness, and flavor from the salt brightening things up and making this feel like a true dessert beer. Soft, sugary, and slick, there was a lot going on here but it all tied in together nicely as there was some powder from the cacao and hints of vanilla that emerged once this fully warmed up. A nice carbonation and plenty of body from the oats made this full-bodied, but never heavy, as the aftertaste had a nice minty residue from the hops that left me wanting more.

My only wish for this beer was that the booze was toned down a notch as this was indeed a beast, but it was on par with everything else going on here. Canned on 12/8, this held up well and easily deserved a second go-around, although I only had one can here. This was a great brew for the end of the day and a cold winter's night, as both were true on this night. This was wonderfully complex and another example of why I keep going back to KCBC time and time again!

Aroma is chocolate, dark malts and slightly earthy. The flavor is dark fruit/vinous, dark/roasted malts, chocolate and a slightly burnt toast/acidic finish.