Tailgate "Barrel Project - German Chocolate Cake" Milk Stout

From Germany comes... wait, this is from Tennessee. Shouldn't there be some kind of Tennessee version of this like, I don't know, Chocolate Chess Pie or Gammy's Chocolate Puddin' or something? I guess you guys made your choice, and you went international. I'm just saying that there's no harm in keeping it local.

Once again, it is a black stout. Once again, it does not have any appreciable head. It's not hard to figure out that a beer that is sitting in wooden casks, with all the pores that that entails, is going to lose quite a bit, if not all, of its carbonation. But what it picks up is alcohol and the dark and foreboding nature of the distilled spirits. The aroma is heavy with alcohol, vanilla, chocolate, and earth.

First sip is chocolate, vanilla, dark spirits, and sweetness. It resonates on the tongue in a way that is difficult to describe. The alcohol is not prodigious enough to elicit the Kentucky Hug of warmth trailing down the esophagus, but it's enough to grab my attention. It is not, however, distracting enough that I don't enjoy the flavor and even the strangely slightly overcooked bottom of the chocolate cake. If you've ever had a slice of cake where the bottom has sat in the hot pan too long, and the sugar has started to caramelize along the edge, you know this taste.

Tip-in is swirling chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and mild carbonation (which is more than I expected, but it's enjoyable). The middle increases the cake flavor and adds in the heavy alcohol and even a bit of the underlying brown liquor. The finish brings bitterness to the sweet beverage, and the robust flavors start to turn flat.

Bottom Line: Very nice. 

3.5/5