Bestowed - Maple Bourbon Barrel (Black Wax)
Third Moon Brewing

 

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a dark brown foamy head with some retention and some lacing notes. Aroma of cocoa/chocolate notes with some deep bourbon barrel notes and light residual maple notes. Taste is also a mix of rich cocoa powder with chocolate notes with some deep woody bourbon notes with some residual maple extract sugar notes. Body is pretty full with an oily texture and good carbonation with some discernible alcohol notes. Solid BA stout.

355 ml can with wax dip on the bottom. Served well chilled into a chalice. A little colder than recommended 14 degrees. Maple aged for 17 months in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels.

Appearance - An aggressive pours yields a nightmarish black brew with a small half finger of loose dark tan head that fizzles out inside a minute.

Smell - Huge and deep nose, even when cold. Maple. Bourbon. Molasses and some lighter notes of dark chocolate and roasted malts. Intense with a capital "I".

Taste - Loads of maple up front then some bourbon but with way less vanilla than expected. Subtle and smooth, boozy with intent. Plenty of wood and some leather on the back end. Maple and bourbon both distinguishable and the starts, but nuanced with subtlety. That makes a winner in my books.

Mouthfeel - Very full bodied, low carbonation, slick and thick, yet restrained in the boozy heat, more sippable than most at 13%.

Overall - Not a perfect beer my any means, but the bourbon is well integrated yet not overpowering, and the woody and booze shows off more than the faux vanilla. Maple well ingrained, but also not dominating with sweetness. Texture is good. Very well crafted and while not perfectly balanced, the intent for greatness is there. Well worth a try and the 355ml can is a better serving size too.