____ Brewing Co. - "the key to the bathroom" stout

Today's beer I found kicking around the back recesses of D'Vines, a lonely single can on the furthest shelf of the walk-in. I don't recall seeing this beer, with its slipshod adhesive label, for sale anywhere on the shop floor (or even in the back stock room) in all the time I have been working at the shop. Who knows where this can came from, or when, or why, but it's mine now.

This is the "the key to the bathroom", and is a 10.00% ABV imperial stout made by _____ Brewing Co. I've never seen nor heard of this brewery before, which I learned is pronounced "Blank Brewing", although they style it with a few underscores. The label, which is basically a vinyl sticker, is affixed off-kilter, doesn't really say much. The front has a cool design mostly reminiscent of the old-school early 90's games, and the back has a couple of mushed-together lines of green ASCII text rambles on a bit about the "inspiration" behind the beer, etc.

But wait - it also says on the can, made at Dorchester Brewing Co. Not ____. Well, I know what's up - further research reveals that this brewing company is affiliated with Twelve Percent Imports - very important clue: sometimes, very small breweries don't have the ability to distribute products on a national scale. Maybe not even on a statewide scale. Or maybe they are simply so small that they don't have the brewing capacity to even attempt to distribute beyond their town or county. So they may contract with larger breweries, like Dorchester, to get their brews made and canned. Then, something like Twelve Percent goes out and tries to find these smaller-release beers and provides a conduit through which they can produce and market. And I'm glad they did - _____ has some neat other releases, which I have subsequently seen, including a hazy IPA called "Your favorite IPA on tap. And do you guys sell wine, my girlfriend doesn't like beer."

OK, let's see how this thing is out of the can. Pours thick, generating the darkest brown head I have ever seen. Forget candling this thing, not even going to try.

Surprisingly, it's quite smooth and milky. There's some booziness, i.e. a heavy alcohol sweetness, with deep and full flavor of chocolate milk. There's moderate spice, a bit dry and herbal, with a long baker's chocolate on the finish and a little bit of sweet alcohol. Very heavy and warming, and super tasty!

So according to the back of the label, this beer is inspired by apple and cinnamon breakfast cereal - Apple Jacks, I guess. But having had the beer, I'll have to take their word for it - I'm not getting any of the spices or anything resembling a bowl of cereal, except maybe for the milkiness. But really, this is not at all sweet. I think the most peculiar thing about it is the dryness - a nice divergence from some of the sweet, syrupy stouts out this time of year.

And now for cost/benefit - is it worth four bucks for a 12oz can? Yeah, I think so. It's a "big enough meal", so to speak, to warrant that cost. I'm not sure what format in which it is normally available - four packs? Six packs? Any of which are sure to be in the $20+ range. That might be a bit much, but for a single, it's good to try.  Bottom line - it's a tasty beer, nice and thick, perfect for a snowy winter's day or blustery fall evening.