Barrel Aged S'mortal Kombat (2023)
Dimensional Brewing Company

absolutely epic, perhaps my favorite of the four beers i had from these guys in close succession, rad name! its fully dessert beer, i mean this is downright diabetic, but it couldnt be this good without being so sweet, its not just sweet to be sweet, its sweet because smores are sweet, and to taste like smores, you need sugar, usually its a feature i dont like in big stouts, but here its essential and im into it, even if this is a small doses thing, well relatively small, its so good i cant stop even though i should. this was a standout even in a lineup that included some contender level stouts. graham crackers, cacao, and marshmallow, it doesnt seem loaded with vanilla and lactose, which is a change of pace in this sort of thing, no cinnamon either, not sure why so many smores beers add that, never a part of the smores i grew up on, so good omission here. shiny, super viscous, jet black, more head than a lot of these have too, a half inch of deep brown bubbly froth rests on top awhile before falling away. the nose on this is awesome, and so is the flavor, the roast of course is bold, and this is epic stout underneath all the flavor, important. the alcohol is huge in this, its sugary all the way through, but its backed with earthy dark chocolate and melty milk chocolate, has some roast and barrel char and a warming coffee note that make it balanced to me, and the marshmallow makes it kind of fluffy and airy feeling. subtle vanilla and smoke, quite a lot of oak, and some honey character from the graham crackers coming out as it warms. overall i reckon this approximates an actual smore about as well as i have ever known a beer to do, super impressive. love the barrel character too, seems high end and it enhances this a lot, makes it regal and special. the alcohol is a lot, but it slows this down in a good way for me, this warms really well. brown sugar and dark chocolate to finish, insanely good, palate coating which i dig, i want to taste it forever. elite!

 

 

Baker's chocolate, hint of graham cracker, marshmallow-vanilla, and a balanced bourbon barrel nose on this one! Taste follows exactly with a viscous and decadent bourbon barrel boozy finish. Whoa! This is expertly done! Just a world-class mouthfeel on this one...and the barrels are well-integrated here. The only thing holding it back IMO is that to fully accentuate and appreciate the additions, more milk chocolate vibes and a touch more sweetness upfront was needed to balance out the cacao bitter notes on the backend as it warms. Outside of that, this is outstanding!