Espresso Martini
Vault City Brewing

neat beer, a huge stout in a small can, done in collaboration with a coffee roaster, cool coffee in this, neat that its not barrel aged, pungent stuff, like i can almost smell the vodka aspect of the martini in here, intentional or not, this is boozy and i think it lends to the theme pretty effectively. it could be a little less sweet and desserty than it is, lots of beer in this little can and i was glad to be sharing it, but a unique offering courtesy of a homie who recently traveled there. thick almost sludge pour on this, deep dark brown and way viscous, real light carbonation but a bit of head does persist. the nose is crazy, lots and lots of long boiled malts, as rich and sweet as they are dark, and quite a lot of coffee here too, roast but also raisin and cigar, cocoa, and its quality is obvious, ethiopian, the good stuff. there is light smoke, warm alcohol, brown sugar, and even a woodiness without being oak aged, a subtle and pleasant yeast element as well. all of this is there in the flavor too, really coffee forward and indeed cocktail-esque to a degree rarely achieved, which i think is part of the success of this, it really is like an espresso martini, wow. lots of milk chocolate decadence to this too. palate coating and huge, sweet but also bitter, thick and strong and long on the palate, small doses but really spot on actually, if just a tad unvarnished. unique, seems like these guys have a way with stouts in my limited exposure, i think certainly wrongly listed here as a roggenbier! great use of quality coffee, freshness is good for how far it is from home now, and honestly, this is pretty rad beer. hits an espresso martini brilliantly.