Southern Tier Brewing Company Warlock Imperial Stout (8.6%)

I’ve been anxious to try what I had hoped would be a delicious slice of night sky. Every place I checked it was already sold out and in some places a waiting lists were formed; needless to say I was frustrated with my failure to acquire a bottle. Then I had the pleasure of getting together with some wonderful beer friends and one of them had brought a bottle of the Warlock. I was ecstatic when I saw the bottle.

It pours like midnight gold which had my mouth watering. The first thing I smelled was vanilla, more like extract than fresh vanilla. My mouth was watering a bit less at this point but still had high hopes. The first sip I could certainly taste the vanilla and a bit of roasted malts with slight nutmeg and cinnamon flavors.

The beer is promoted as an imperial stout brewed with pumpkins. I didn’t taste any pumpkin. On the second and third sips I just tasted more and more vanilla; to the point it overpowered all other flavors. In the end it was disappointing and left an extract waxy coating in my mouth.

I would like to try a bit of the Warlock mixed with the Choklat and see what how they work together. I think the Choklat would help tone down the vanilla in the Warlock.