Splinter Black
I still remember waiting in line for this one several months ago at about 6AM and freezing my fucking nuts off! My plan was always to share this brew with Huhzubendah at some point, and today I did just that! A: Black brew (hence the name), with a ridiculous head... and by that, I mean that the entire glass was filled with nothing but foam! After a while, a mocha colored topping to the liquid began to take shape. S: Vanilla, oak, and pork sausage... but not much bourbon. Curious huh? This one sort of reminded me of Duck Rabbit's Rabbid Duck. T: Very buttery in its oak presence, with a tinge of dark fruit. I didn't get nearly as much vanilla in the taste as I did the nose. Once I got into the session, I began to admire how smooth the brew actually was. M: VERY well carbonated (perhaps too much), but I have to admit that that hid the booze quite a bit. About half the lacing fell back into the glass and the other half stayed afloat. Not too sweet overall, which I appreciated. O: Troegs made a huge blunder with this one: This should be a regular offering, or perhaps a seasonal in their lineup, rather than a one time, brewery only, 2-bottle limit, $30 a pop effort. Heck, Troegs didn't even have this on tap for people to try on Splinter Black day for goodness sakes!