Rating: 6/5

Blackwater Series Crème Brûlée by Southern Tier is a 9.5% ABV Imperial Milk Stout brewed with Vanilla Beans.

Label:
The British founders of burnt cream & from Spain, crema catalana, both stand byt heir creative originality & we respect that. But it was the French crème brulee that survived history.

A Stout of Great Contention

How would a brewery determine a likeness to hard-coated custard? Our response is simple resilience & finesse. Pour Creme Brulee into a glass. The incredibly dark & opaque beer reveals a thick head. Aroma leaps forward; sweet, creamy & uncannily true to the namesake dessert. Enjoy with – or as – your favorite after-dinner treat.
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This one is a rare treat in these parts of Southern California. I was lucky to find a bottle of this magical treasure at Ramirez Liquor Warehouse in Boyle Heights. I have seen this beer in many reviews like my friend Aaron’s page www.beermetaldude.com and some other sites but I never seen it around here before. So yeah, I definitely decided to get it. I figured, Chocoklat was one of the best chocolate beers out there, this one must be just as delicious. In fact, many of the Southern Tier beers are just phenomenal for sure. So here we go, I finally bring this beer to a review at the place where anime and beer meet up. Cheers!

Aromas:
Vanilla syrup, Dark chocolate, maple syrup, super rich butterscotch, crème brulee, custard, dulce de leche caramel flan, Jericalla Mexican custard, Tapioca pudding, Milk chocolate shake, hints of anise, dark fruit raisin bread pudding, pecan pie,Tres Leches, sweetened condensed milk, hazelnut nectar, vanilla pudding chocolate pudding, mocha coffee, Kahlua coffee and Irish cream.

Flavors:
Tres Leches, sweetened condensed milk, Vanilla syrup, Irish Cream, Creme Brulee, Dark chocolate, Dark fruit raisins and figs, marshmallows, coconut, maple syrup, rich butterscotch, toffee, pecan pie, Tapioca pudding, Vanilla and chocolate pudding, Jericalla Mexican custard, dulce de leche caramel from the wooden box, anise hints, earthy dark roast coffee notes, pecan and raisin bread pudding, walnuts, peanut butter hints, honey bourbon hints, Kahlua coffee, mocha frappuccino, Chocolate Milk shake, Mild all spice, nutmeg and burnt sugar caramel flan.

Aftertaste:
Butterscotch, pecan pie, vanilla, flan, crème brulee, dark fruit, Irish cream,Mild earthy and roasted bitterness. No alcohol in the taste, syrupy and creamy mouth feel, Pitch Black sludgy full body, moderate to sipping drinkability. Despite the ABV, there is a level of smoothness that simply works way too well at hiding that alcohol that you probably start to think you can drink several of these.

Overall:
Oh My God!! This is way different of a dessert beer. Unlike many of the beers that are generally complex due to some form of aging in certain spirits, this is just added with vanilla beans and lactose and it totally changes the whole aspect of the beer. This proves that aide from the awesome love of chocolate and caramel, there is a level of vanilla that is on a league of its own. This beer is so ridiculously good I have to add it to that bucket list of beers that people should definitely try if you are lucky to find it for sure. Just like their Chokolat, an absolute favorite for me now.

Anime Corner:
Mai Hasegawa (Konoko) from Oni was used in this pairing because I wanted to show the potency of this beer with respects to flavor complexity, ABV strength, colors and cow of the label. To start, the dark purple hair on Motoko as well as her being represent the dark fruit aspects, flan, caramel, maple syrup and crème brullee of the flavors as well as other complexities. Her sexyness and artillery represent her strength in keeping everything hidden in terms of ABV, smooth and delicious but then dangerous since you would want to drink several of these beers. The tattered clothes in different sections of the body are like the spots of a cow. Yes, she gives the milk . Sorry… what was I saying? Yes, and finally, colors of her gear and her pair well with the colors of the label. So yeah I think in my crazy crazy mind, I made it work some how. Still though, get this beer!!

Sources:
http://i2.imageban.ru/out/2013/10/25/aa432aef7c3b9e72c7b2fa7cf33e6d72.jpg