Decadent "S'Mores" Double IPA

What? What is this? What planet am I on?  Is this going to be that odd kind of awesome that the Ben and Jerry's beer was? Because I'm totally down with that. These odd beers really make me fear for the future of beer brewing, though. I just hope that the ability to significantly alter the taste of the beer doesn't draw us away from the core - hops and malt.

The head atop this swirling honey colored beer is decent at first, but it reduces to a simple film laying on top. The aroma comes through solidly, though, with an odd kind of strong wheat and grain above anything else. That said, the slightly toasted marshmallows do kind of squeeze their way through.

The first sip reveals that this does not taste like a s'more. It's sweet like one, but it is also grainy, bitter, and that odd kind of hollow that I have tasted in some other beers, but I really don't think I've found the right way to explain it.

Tip-in is crusty malt and grains with pretty much no carbonation to speak of. The middle is thick and solid with sweetness on top, vanilla, toasted malt, and a slight bitterness around the outside. When the finish comes, the marshmallows get distinct and slightly scorched as the vanilla takes a greater hit. The grains bring the hollowness with them in the trail-off.

Bottom Line: It's not a bad kind of novelty beer, but a novelty is all it is destined to be.

2.5/5