Stillwater "Big Bunny" Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout

Every Stillwater beer that I've had so far has been recommended well. None of them have been insanely good, but they have almost all been past my rating systems' average category of 2 to 3 and into the realm of 3 to 4. That is a very good place to set up camp and just sit. Often, I will challenge a brewer to try and do better or think outside the box, if you can consistently make very good beer, even if you're leaving some room on the table, you're doing a damn good job.

The beer is quite predictably black. Around the outskirts, it's kind of a bloody, muddy brown-red. The head has small bubbles, but they're not quite as teeny tiny as I normally get with this kind of stout, so I'll say they're small. They don't leave any lacing on the side, and it's just a shame. A slight dusting in the middle of the beverage with a strong ring around the sides is all it boils down to. The aroma is very sweet and very chocolatey. There is vanilla highlighting the chocolate, but this is really going to be more of a desert beer.

First sip is a lot more bitter than the aroma led me to believe. The chocolate is joined by some coffee (or maybe I should refer to that is mocha. I don't know anything about coffee or similar drinks. I don't care to). There is almost a cherry added in with vanilla, but cherry would definitely be more overwhelming than this. Instead, it's bitter, but it still manages to be smooth. I'm going to drink this a little harder.

Tip-in is light carbonation tingle with warming chocolate, cherries, vanilla, and a haze of earth. The middle tosses in an extremely smooth syrup of chocolate with coffee, earth, bitterness, and possibly some bananas. The finish is a jab of bitterness before sweetness overtakes everything as the chocolate becomes a mist for the trail off.

Bottom Line: This is definitely a desert beer, and I wouldn't mind having this for dessert.

3.5/5