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When I saw that they had aged the very good peanut butter & jelly milk stout, I was immediately intrigued. The fact that this is barrel aged really adds to the potential enjoyment of such a beverage. What I found strange is that this is not part of the barrel project. It has the similar barrel background on the label, and it is clearly aged in bourbon barrels, but it apparently didn't make the cut to be part of that project. I wonder if they have something like this, a standard barrel aged beer, and then they have more experimental beers as part of the barrel project. Only time will tell.
Unsurprisingly, this is a very dark beer. I would struggle to figure out what colors there are around the edges, and I'm not going to bother. As it is a barrel aged beer, the head is quite reluctant to come out, and virtually none of it stays. I suppose that's just what carbonation does when it's trapped inside of a wood barrel. The aroma is quite strong, and the sweet grapes can be picked out above the comparatively weak peanut butter. It smells really good, and it smells very boozy. I don't know that I can tell the difference between a bourbon and a whiskey, but someone who could could probably do it just from the aroma of this beer.
First sip is quite good. The taste follows the nose almost exactly, as the jelly has overwhelmed the peanut butter nearly completely. While peanuts can still be detected, the sweet Concorde grapes are infusing the rest of the beverage with the flavor that is almost enough to overwhelm the powerful alcohol. I have had beers before that were very high in ABV, but the flavors were so strong that the alcohol was hidden. This isn't one of those beers. This one is letting you know that it is a 9.1% beer, and it is proud of it. You paid for this alcohol, and you're going to enjoy it.
Tip-in has the jelly and the alcohol hovering over top of everything else. Carbonation is not a factor, and the peanuts are hiding. The sweet and smooth middle pushes the jelly down, and the underlying imperial milk stout is allowed to flourish with its dark malt and sweet lactose sugars. The finish lets the peanuts show through a bit more as the jelly once again takes hold.
Bottom Line: This is a very enjoyable beer.
4.0/5
