“Have you ever rocked the triple denim look? Denim on denim on denim? Yeah us neither but we hear the Canadians love it. We’ve whipped up this treat of a stout to coincide with the *slight* drop in temperature in Brisbane. Inspired by maple dip and cinnamon donuts, this bad boy is not messing about with additions of maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and lactose. Rich, decadent and thick. A deep chocolate colour with a tan head and a velvet-smooth body. Hints of roast, chocolate, maple sweetness and very light cinnamon spice finish. A warming feeling will overcome you, though the ABV is basically non-existent. A creamy winter treat.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Impenetrable black pour with a short brown head which quickly forms a collar. Nice wavy lace clings to the glass as we imbibe.

Aroma: Man for an Imperial Stout with maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and lactose it is astonishingly pedestrian. Aussie breweries really lack in the Pastry Stout department, especially when in comparison to the Yanks. Maybe we just don’t put as much sugar and sugar byproducts in them. That’s probably not a bad thing actually. The only downside being our olfactory’s aren’t as happy.

Flavour: Same deal here unfortunately. When brewing with ingredients/adjuncts like these it’s inexcusable not to have at least one of them standing out. We’re almost tasting more of the base Stout characters i.e roasted malt, chocolate and coffee than we are the maple, cinnamon and vanilla/lactose. All of them are frustratingly standoffish and works its way into a rather jumbled finish.

Mouthfeel: Silky, a little warming. Medium-full body. The one upside is that they’ve concealed the 10.3% ABV pretty well.

Overall: Like many other breweries before them, Range needed to take a look at how Stockade did ‘The Mountie’. That’s a real Imperial Maple Stout. We get that this is a little long in the tooth and Pastry Stouts are better drunk fresh but it’s less than 6 months old and should still be drinking well. Seriously disappointing.