Pazuzu
Obelisk Beer Company

Incredible mouthfeel. Thick - sweet, yes, but stops short of cloying. Barrel and vanilla up front, with an unexpected nuanced bitterness at the back end - the Amburana wood mixing with the vanilla is apparently the cause of this ??

16 oz can purchased in summer ofo 2025 (and again in 01/2026) at the exceptionally mellow brewery/brew pub in Astoria - poured into a large volume goblet. Date stamped on bottom: 11/06/24.

One of the more enjoyable sipping barrel-aged stouts I’ve encountered, and one of the best beers I've ever had.

 

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque black in the glass with a half finger dark khaki head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, molasses, cocoa, coffee and cinnamon and spicy wood. Flavor is dark toasted malt with light char, milk chocolate, licorice, cinnamon, charred coffee, spicy wood and a hint of vanilla. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess. An excellent, rich chocolate malt body supports the woody barrel character very well. The Amurana wood gives the cinnamon notes as well as an exotic general spiciness. The barrel flavors are not subtle and it takes a rich stout body to display them and that is true here. Not getting a lot of vanilla, but this is so interesting and full flavored it doesn't matter. Spicy, but delicious barreled stout; I wish I had grabbed another one. I'll be watching for future barrel work from this brewery, which has been solid on everything I've tried.

I am a big fan of well used amburana (bamburana was a revelation back in the day) and this hits the mark. The base stout seems to be on the dry side, I'm getting lots of roasty char and some coffee. The Amburana notes of woody cinnamon come across more strongly than the vanilla which suits me fine. There is just a hint of whiskey throughout and I'm really liking the lingering spice at the finish. Thanks Ryan!

16-ounce can purchased at Belmont Station. Date stamp reads "BON OUI TO YOU ALL 11/06/24". Enjoyed in a small snifter a couple ounces at a time.

The Obelisk Instagram account describes Pazuzu thusly: "We boiled a massive imperial stout for 5 hours and blended in another batch of imperial stout that spent nearly a year in Westward Whiskey barrels. We added heaps of Madagascar Vanilla and Brazilian Amburana wood..."

Look:
Pazuzu looks like a shot of espresso, jet black with a rich head of thick golden brown foam. When I hold it up to the light, the edges of the beer show deep reddish brown highlights. The foam quickly retreats to a thin ring and leaves some spotty lacing after each sip. The beer coats the inside of the glass.

Smell:
The first smell made me think I was about to drink an imperial stout that was wearing a little too much perfume. The original version of YSL Opium, to be specific. Spicy, woody, a little smoky. (I dated a crazy woman in the early 90's who used to wear a little too much of it. Stung my nose and made my eyes water.) The nose is loaded with roast malt, caramel, dark chocolate, burnt sugar, coffee, vanilla, and alcohol. Notes of cherries, cinnamon, and anise rise up as the beer warms.

Taste:
The first few sips were a good match for the smell: spicy perfume over lots of roasted malt, dark chocolate, and coffee. The perfume faded as the beer warmed and morphed into a light cinnamon character up front and something like ginger and licorice on the back end. Sweetness is prominent but stops well short of cloying. Vanilla comes through as a toasted/scorched marshmallow flavor that gains presence towards the bottom of the can. Whiskey and oak show up in the middle and play nicely with the large cast of flavors already on stage. The barrel character is quite a bit more subdued than I prefer, but it works here. The drying, bittersweet finish is all dark chocolate and lingering bitterness in the Old Rasputin style, enhanced with spices and a drop of whiskey underneath.

Feel:
Medium-full body, a little syrupy. Mild carbonation feels a bit prickly with the perceived spiciness and some lingering warmth from the alcohol.

Overall:
Pazuzu is a Mesopotamian wind demon, and also the evil spirit from "The Exorcist." The beer is full flavored and somewhat unusual and ultimately a bit overwhelming, but I like it a few ounces at a time. The spicy perfume character from the amburana wood is interesting and it was fun trying to pin down the flavors. Honestly, though, I'd really like to try the base beer (an imperial stout that went through a very long boil) all by itself. No whiskey barrel-aging, no vanilla, no amburana. I think it would be terrific.

From the can. The label indicates this beer is whiskey barrel aged and blended with vanilla and Brazilian Amburana wood.

The beer pours the expected blackish brown color with good head retention and lacing. On the nose I'm picking up considerable vanilla, with underlying coffee, molasses, chocolate and light whiskey. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely, but with some light clove, cardamom and anise as well. Its a bit unusual to say the least. Mouthfeel is fairly full in this moderately sweet stout, with a long, sweet, spice filled finish. Alcohol is pretty well integrated into the flavor profile, so drinkability isn't too bad.

This struck me as a rather unusually flavored impy stout, with some interesting barrel chatacteristics. Not sure I could ever drink an entire 16 ounce can of this stuff (I shared the one I purchased with the bartender at Imperial), and would probably think twice before ordering another can. It was an interesting beer to try, but was a chore drinking down due to the sweetness level coupled with the unusual barrel chatacteristics.