Wicked Weed Brewing - "French Toast" stout

Here's something that caught my eye at D'Vines recently. It's an 8.8% ABV stout from Asheville, NC-based Wicked Weed Brewing. Wicked Weed came to DC a few months ago, and initially, demand was so high that it seemed no one could keep the beers in stock. But eventually supply exceeded demand, and I was able to try their fall seasonal, a pumpkin beer called "Xibalba." I enjoyed it, but due to the plethora of pumpkin beers I have had, I wasn't particularly impressed. But I figured I would try the brewery again, and this one seemed to be the most intriguing.

Today's beer is an imperial stout made with cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup. I've had plenty of stouts before, and vanilla and cinnamon are natural pairings, so I am particularly interested by the inclusion of the maple syrup. That, too, is an ingredient sometimes used in beer. In fact, one of my first posts ever on the blog was a review of Peak Organic's "Maple Collaboration" beer, and I since have followed it up with reviews of maple beers by Rogue Brewing, Funky Buddha, and The Bruery. So I guess the inclusion of maple isn't anything particularly new, bt it is always welcome in beer, in my opinion.

The beer pours a deep brown, almost black, and has a peculiar aroma that's kinda nice. Smells a bit like a latte.

Wow, a wave of strong vanilla dominates immediately, with malt and almost-imperceptible cinnamon notes tossed in there. There's more carbonation than I was expecting, and so flavor-wise it's different than many stouts which are smooth and milky. The texture is nice, a good mix of carbonation and levity on what I expected to be thick and milkshake-y. Perhaps this is why there's a little bit of maple creeping out towards the end, with the flavors mixing and evening out on the aftertaste, with some nice warmth to boot.

This was a pretty tasty beer, but the biggest detractor here I think is the overpowering vanilla. If that's your thing, then great, but I was hoping for a more maple-heavy beer or at least one with the flavors a bit more balanced. This was $7.99 for a 1pt, 9oz bottle, so overall not bad. It's not something I'd probably get again, but the price point is OK so it's not overpriced.