2016 Mash & Vanilla by The Bruery

14500564_10103598556605680_3332765650315263375_oRating: 6/6

2016 Mash & Vanilla by The Bruery is a 13.3% ABV Barleywine aged in Bourbon Barrels with Vanilla Beans.

Label:
VANILLOAK

We took our classic release, already oaky, sticky and sweet from extensive bourbon barrel-aging, and amplified that barrel character with the addition of vanilla.

This is our classic bourbon barrel-aged barleywine – kicked up a notch. We took Mash, already oaky, sticky and sweet, and amplified its barrel character with the addition of fresh vanilla beans. This vanilla prominence is complemented by the woody bourbon flavors and coconut notes that are imparted to the beer as part of its extensive maturation in oak bourbon barrels.

==Introduction==
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Released to the public, this beer uses their base Barleywine in bourbon barrels which I have tried different variants of. So far, the best one of the variants was the Mash and Coconut. The other one, Mash and Coffee was awesome too. This time around, we have the vanilla version. Vanilla beers in general are awesome! In fact, when making strong vanilla beers, they typically have flavors of all sorts of sweets like sweetened condensed milk, crème brulee or flan. Essentially, when I think of the Bruery making beers with vanilla, like the White Chocolate, you know it’s gonna be awesome. Let’s see how this is.

Aromas:
Dark fruit figs, prunes, raisins, marshmallows smores, bourbon, oak, fruit cake, toasted coconut, rocky road ice cream, vanilla, flan, sweetened condensed milk, dulce de leche caramel, crème brulee, Jericalla Mexican custard, banana cream pie, grilled bananas, clove spice, toffee, capirotada raisin bread pudding, rye bread, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, plantains, almond joy notes, oatmeal cookies, stone fruit plums, peach hints, brownies and cookie dough ice cream.

Flavors:
Rich Vanilla, Flan, sweetened condensed milk, dulce de leche caramel, crème brulee, Jericalla Mexican custard, banana cream pie, grilled bananas, clove spice, toffee, dark fruit figs, prunes, raisins, marshmallows smores, bourbon, oak, fruit cake, toasted coconut, rocky road ice cream, macadamia nuts, hazelnut nectar, maple notes, cinnamon, capirotada raisin bread pudding, rye bread, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, plantains, almond joy notes, oatmeal cookies, stone fruit plums, peach hints, brownies, cookie dough ice cream, Danish cream, cheese cake, chocolate cherry cordials and chocoflan.

Aftertaste:
Finishing with smooth vanilla, Cheesecake hints, bourbon, toffee, caramel, dark fruit, oak, flan, Jericalla custard and crème brulee. No alcohol in the taste, medium to full deep brown crimson body, syrupy, smooth, creamy and velvety mouthfeel and a sipping drinkability.

Overall:
Damn exceptional! While I agree that I lean more towards the Mash & Coconut, this is definitely at the league or above the Mash & Coffee. So much dark fruit and flan flavors it ridiculous. This is the kind of beer that, especially since it was released to the public, you want to get several bottles of. Some to enjoy whenever and some to just cellar to see how it will do in 5, 10 or even 15 years from now. A high recommendation on this one.
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Anime Corner:
Alia and Megaman X by Capcom was used in this pairing because I wanted to use her and X in a Bruery pairing and I think the colors of them fit well with beer’s label, ingredients and flavors. X would be like the original Mash and Alia by his side is the vanilla. I definitely like to go all out with the different possible pictures to pair well with the characters I choose.
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Sources:
http://keichan411.deviantart.com/art/Aya-Commission-290959370
http://orig01.deviantart.net/0996/f/2007/282/b/f/bfa4cbe2d9101c4c.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/d4/a3/c3/d4a3c3c667c665333f92bd364be6a530.jpg
http://img10.deviantart.net/a37a/i/2008/256/7/7/maverick_hunter_alia_by_louisblack78.jpg

 

Mega Milk by Arcade Brewery

10386964_10102431998971530_1585259680488785642_o 10429436_10102431999360750_6255404506098397491_nRating: 4.75/5

Mega Milk by Arcade Brewery is a 5.3% ABV Oatmeal Stout.

Label:
Batch #10
A Sessionable All-Season Stout for Any Wily Situation.

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
From the depths of space arrives the Mega Milk Stout. An oatmeal milk stout, brewed with debittered black malt, delivers a wonderfully light and sessionable beer with outstanding mouthfeel. Even the most devout pale ale drinkers should take a trip to the dark-side with this one. The Mega Milk Stout will be one of Arcade Brewery’s initial offerings Coming 2014!

==Introduction==

Holy crap, this is freaking awesome and I immediately had to get it as soon as I saw the label for it. It is freaking Mega Man X. I got this one at www.wineandcheeseplace.com and I was surprised. I had never heard of Arcade Brewery but judging by their label’s art work, they are really video game inspired. The fact that they brought Mega Man X into the beer world takes me back to my child hood days of playing lots of video games and all the Mega Man games especially. Maybe my love for the character could make me enjoy the beer better, maybe not, but still, THIS EXISTS! Cheers!

Aromas:
Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, bakers chocolate, chocolate milk shake, Duvalin chocolate, Nutella, vanilla, caramel, coffee hints, espresso hints, cookie dough hints, hints of dark fruit raisins, figs, prunes, cherry hints, chocolate brownies, hints of tobacco, milk sugar and brown sugar.

Flavors:
Dark chocolate, coffee hints, espresso hints, bakers chocolate, milk chocolate, milk sugar, duvalin chocolate, nutella chocolate, oatmeal cookies, mild cookie dought, mild smokey notes, vanilla, caramel, mild dark fruit raisins, figs, prunes, chocolate brownies, chocolate turtle truffles, molasses, anise hints, toffee, tobacco hints, pecan pie hints, rye bread, brown sugar and hints of tres leches/three milks cake.

Aftertaste:
Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, vanilla, caramel, charred notes, earthy notes, dark fruit hints and hints of Nutella. No alcohol in the taste, creamy smooth body, easy to drink and pitch black body.

Overall:
This milk stout is very good and really solid with a pretty good deal of complexity, not too overly sweet but just enough to keep stuff balanced. It is not the best milk stout I have ever had but that does not matter as it is still awesome and it represent Mega Man in the beer world. I saw that they have a Bourbon Barrel Aged one but on tap at their brewery. One day, I hope to try it. For now, if you can find this one and love the Mega Man series, definitely pick this up.

Anime Corner:
Megaman X and Alia from the Megaman X series were used in this pairing for the obvious reasons ofcourse, the label art work that is basically Megaman X. I used alia since she is a bad ass and has the same move set as Megaman X in the 8th installment. Megaman also has a pose like Pancho Pantera from the Choco Milk chocolate milk I used to drink as a kid. Oh yeah and the one here, I did for the lulzs. You see, there is this manga where this girl is wearking a shirt that says Mega Milk, like the name of the beer so yeah you can see, its anime related. Anyways, this beer kicks ass!


Sources:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/d4/a3/c3/d4a3c3c667c665333f92bd364be6a530.jpg
http://eroc2277.deviantart.com/art/Alia-317289381
http://i.imgur.com/PmewDfi.jpg