Maryland's Finest
Tripping Animals Brewing

No bottling date (released on 8/30/21, so presumably bottled within a few days of that date); consumed on 12/3/21

Pours a dense, viscous motor-oil black body while forming a minimal layer of khaki-mocha foam fading almost immediately to a sparse few paper-thin islands of otherwise nonexistent cap, a richer, creamy collar, and no lacing holding to the walls of the glass.

Aroma is rich with chocolate and a soft undertone of creamy caramel with burnt brownie crust accents developing into the middle as hints of fresh café-roasted coffee impart slight dark fruit and roasty tannins into the back end of the bouquet, where bourbon steadily encroaches as vanilla and more caramel are imparted on the close.

Taste opens to nutty coffee against earthy vanilla, with rich milk chocolate laced with bourbon and caramel evolving over the mid-palate as a tinge of walnut continues feeding nutty undertones as Swiss dark chocolate lingers through the finish.

Mouthfeel shows a body on the lighter end of full, with minimal carbonation emerging from the slick, nearly viscous texture and building, charry grit; oily characteristics yield to a punchy, boozy warmth lingering in the backdrop of the mid-palate, a wispy stickiness carrying until a semi-dry, distant quasi-bitterness on the finish; robust yet welcomingly passive and approachable.

Coffee acts as a brilliant supplement to a rich and roasty base, while a soft, well-integrated bourbon presence exhibits timely spikes across the profile in spots; a dense, satisfying involvement of roastier coffee effectively counterbalancing a barrel-aged stout trending sweet.