S'more What?
Branch and Blade Brewing

I've enjoyed a surprising amount of B&B's previous offerings, even some stuff that I was initially iffy on the idea of, or stuff that seemed like a bad idea that came together alright in the end. This "batchy" brewery from Keene, NH seems to be pushing out a really solid variety of new beers recently, so I picked up a single of their imperial s'mores stout, S'more What? to see what they've been up to lately. I love a good beer in this "snacky" style (as Finback would put it), so I hope they do me a solid here.

Pours a solid looking deep brown bordering pure black with a smallish but retentive off-white/light khaki head. Good lacing and legs here with a nice foam built up on the surface. Around the bottom edges of my glass, when held up to light, this is actually a rather clear beer, with some dark copper highlights shining through. This is actually a pretty nice, impressive pour. I'm sure the head formation is slightly impacted by the adjunct ingredients, so I'll give them a bit of a pass for that aspect.

The nose here is a little buttery and sweet, but it's within an acceptable range and doesn't feel problematic to me. Since "marshmallow" was added here and I'm not sure what the actual source of the ingredient was, I am choosing to believe that is most of what I'm smelling. There's definitely some light notes of graham cracker and oat-like malt here, with a good chocolate malt backbone that seems like it will only improve once the beer warms. Indeed, as this was very cold when I poured it, it seemed kind of below-par, but it's improving every minute it sits out. I've been drinking great stouts for years now, but I feel like I constantly forget to keep them closer to cellar temp for drinking and reviewing purposes... this is yet another lesson for me on that very subject.

First few sips are below-average, but it does get better as it warms... ya know, like I figured it would. Joking aside, this actually becomes quite a nice drink once it gets to the right temperature. Strong flavors of marshmallow and vanilla with some light coffee notes mingle alongside the dense milk chocolate and graham cracker elements happening here. This reminds me a little bit of Off Color's Dinosmores, which was probably the first widely-known beer to tackle the "s'mores stout" craze, so that's definitely a vote of confidence in B&B. Carbonation here is a bit strong, and the body is slightly thinner than I'd expect for a 9% stout, but it does the job, I suppose. It's by no means a weak-feeling beer, but I just wish there were a bit more chocolate-laden heft to it. I still think it leans a bit too much on whatever they used for marshmallow flavoring, and could stand to be a bit maltier, but it does a good job with the adjuncts when all's said and done. Would I get it again? Nope, probably not. Especially not when something like High Water's Campfire Stout exists and is not an imperial stout despite having more of the flavors I desire in a beer like this. That said, this was fun to try, and I enjoyed my time with it in my glass.