Beset
The Eighth State Brewing Company

This bottle's white wax was so hard that prying the cap off with my axe, which usually keeps it straight, almost bent it in half. At the same time, the wax remained attached to bottle, as if the cap was still set within it. The worst part of this entire struggle is that it's not even barrel aged, although, its appearance would suggest otherwise. Its tar black body has a dark mocha head of very fine bubbles that audibly fizzles out instantaneously. It was set to be beautiful, but just turned into a glass of black wine.

Taste is quite intensely sweet, and even tart, of vanilla. It reminds me of Swiss Miss--both the nearly acrid mini-marshmallows, as well as the drying, subduing cocoa powder that's even sort of dusty here on the palate, mildly tamping down the vanilla tang.

There is so much vanilla in concert with its unusual roast that it's just a weird flavor profile overall. While the body is syrupy, it's also thin, cut by a sharp carbonation that runs into a warming finish not unlike cough syrup.