What Our Panel Thought
Aroma: “The first impression is a raspberry/cherry cream sorbet. Fairly strong vanilla, sweet and chocolaty, with a touch of coffee roast. Roasted malt, booze barrel, dried fruit, coconut, and alcohol. A bit of fruity esters, and no hops aroma. Like chocolate malted-milk balls.”
Flavor: “Creamy chocolate notes blend with the vanilla from the barrel. Very sweet, fruity, and estery, and the berry flavor lingers long into the aftertaste. It’s like sweet chocolate-covered tart cherries. Faint roast malt is buried under the berry cream soda.”
Overall: “From taste alone, I’d have guessed this was more of a light, fruity beer. The blend of berries, oak, and stout work pretty well together, but the cloying sweetness and vanilla might be a little over the top. The dark fruits and coconut in the aroma are mostly missing from the flavor, drowned out by tart berry flavors.”
What the Brewers Say
“Brewmaster Jeremy Kosmicki wanted to make the birthday of his little sister, Liz, a special one. So he brewed a stout using a few of her favorite ingredients: fresh Michigan blueberries, rich chocolate, and vanilla aged in bourbon barrels.”
