On tap at Capital Craft – East Hanover, well integrated 2020 Imperial Stout fermented with Italian red wine yeast gets barrel aged in bourbon and port for fulsome mocha-bound dessert. Rich dark coffee-chocolate tones seep into sweet red wine insistence to its cookie dough bottom. Wispy anise, blueberry, blackberry, brandy, oaken vanilla and vinous cider illusions stay subtler than tannic port-bourbon wining.
Fudgy molasses-smoked whiskeyed chocolate splendor and sweet bourbon vanilla rapture guide oak-toasted full body. Maple-syruped dried fruiting (raisin-prune-fig), black cherry puree tartness and latent anise spicing settle at rye chocolate-malted back end of complex slow sipper slightly modified for 2020.
On tap at Taphouse 15, luxurious rum-spiced bourbon vanilla sugaring nearly overloads chewy banana intensity and lactic chocolate richness of complex barrel-aged stout. Mighty mocha reins taken hold by rummy Nilla wafer sweetness as toffee, creme brulee, glazed hazelnut, bruised cherry, chocolate cake and marshmallow illusions further foist fascinating dessert treat.
On tap at Tapastre, luxuriously complex pastry stout regales buttery dark rum sugaring for toffee-spiced dark chocolate creaming, cocoa-buttered hazelnut molasses sweetness and toasted coconut reserve. Chocolate hazelnut-candied insistence gains ancillary black cherry-pureed burgundy, raisin and fig illusions to contrast latent walnut-charred hop bittering and recessive oaken vanilla tannins. Richly creamed mocha rum cake finish sustains intensity.
Richly creamed whiskey-barreled Imperial Stout (2019 version) drapes brown chocolate syruping upon molasses-sapped bourbon vanilla thickness, leaving oak-charred dark whiskey sentiment for bold nutty mocha finish. Ashen hop bittering counters sweet chocolate nougat, stewed prune, pureed raisin and gooey anise crescendos. A superior chocolate whiskeyed confection.
Popular kiln-smoked dry stout given leathery oak-aged treatment. Raw-honeyed molasses bittering and dry bourbon-burgundy conflux determinedly influence black-malted Bakers chocolate pungency, freeze-dried coffee spunk, fungi brown tea musk and black licorice snip. Mildewed black grape esters and tarry hop char stay mellower than original ‘brew.’ A dryer version at 9% ABV.
On tap at Ambulance, “sumptuous” wheatwine dessert decadence with heady 16% ABV coalesces confectionery cocoa-buttered milk sugaring with bittersweet cacao-nibbed vanilla bean adjunct and candied brown chocolate allotment. Subtle bourbon aging adds sweet warmth to fudgy chocolate-y vanilla creaminess, picking up toasted coconut, crème brulee, marzipan, honeyed hazelnut and toasted marshmallow illusions. Luxurious full-bodied treasure.
On tap at Poor Henry’s, mild oak-charred brandied cognac influence stays subtle against sweet brown chocolate entry and oncoming bourbon vanilla intensity, leaving fudgy toffee creaming upon rich mocha finish. Needs more dynamic blend with higher cognac impact, but fine nevertheless.
On tap at Curley’s Corner, sweetly creamed bourbon vanilla-glazed dark chocolate syruping drapes brown-sugared dried fruiting and mild oak-charred hop bittering. Massive molasses-sapped mocha surge allows cocoa nibs, ground coffee, toasted coconut, anise and pecan illusions to surface.
On tap at Ambulance, dry black cherry souring gains tart red wine tannins and sweet bourbon drift for fruitful Imperial Stout. In the midst, sweet mocha pleasantries contrast pinot noir sentiments and delicate oaken vanilla bittering. Bourbon-draped black cherry protraction unfurls wispy raspberry, blackberry and boysenberry illusions way beneath the lightly vinous surface.
Seemingly unvaried takeoff of brewers’ Illuminati (bottle conditioned at Jolly Pumpkin) tosses wild yeast bacteria into bourbon-aged stout, creating sour-fruited raw molasses template over leathery cocoa musk. Dry whiskey waft consumes the nose as oaken cherry-vanilla tartness nearly conceals tannic red wine vinegaring and dry bourbon-burgundy whir while curdled soy milking gains lactic mocha edge.
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead – Haledon, dark chocolate syruping drapes Christmas-spiced cinnamon toasting and gooey anise tonguing for Italian red wine-barreled stout. Subtle tannic grape esters softly penetrate cinnamon chocolate caking while tertiary black cherry, blackberry and blackcurrant illusions wisp below.
