“This one is near and dear to our hearts. Brewmaster Jeremy Kosmicki wanted to make the birthday of his little sister, Liz, a special one. So he did what he does best and brewed a stout using a few of her favorite ingredients: fresh Michigan blueberries, rich chocolate and vanilla aged in bourbon barrels to round out those beautiful flavors. Liz was floored and we think you will be too.”
Served in a beer tulip. This bad boy presents as black as night with a thumb of brown foam perched on top. It recedes gradually, establishing a thick ring that manages a healthy lace as we indulge.
Our olfactory’s have had the pleasure of meeting this stout before so to revisit this aroma is simply divine. Where do we start? The two main features are the powdered cocoa and blueberry scents that marry up like two peas in a pod. Aromas in support range from chocolate bullets, molasses, marzipan and oaked whiskey to berries, maple syrup, chocolate icing and flaked oats. Outstanding. We’re getting dizzy from inhaling it too much!
The mouth feel produces this amazing balance between the smooth malts and the tart blueberries. The 10.5% ABV is masked brilliantly and the body is nice and plump. Drinks magnificently.
The flavour is much sweeter than we recall. There’s a strong presence of dark malt, chocolate and blueberry here but the refined sugary sweetness seems to dominate a bit in flavour. It’s not cloying, which saves the beer, although it is noticeable. Hints of milk sugar, marzipan and vanilla add a certain creamy aspect as it finishes on a soft roasty note that provides good length in the tail.
A little disheartened about realising the slight downfall in this stout but it’s still an absolutely superb drop. Not on KBS level but it still sits very high on our list of memorable stouts. Impressive stuff.