Works as a float but doesn't completely mesh with the vanilla custard.

Five years was just a bit past its prime. Great to know. Maybe just this vintage or this bottle, but no reason to sit on this for longer than 4-5 years.

Thick and rich, but definitely improves with a few years under its belt.

I missed recording a bottle of this somewhere.

Not as good as the regular. As usual, subtraction by addition. Still quite good but I'm not buying 8 cans of it.

Works as a float but doesn't completely mesh with the vanilla custard.

Still the same massive (almost bittersweet) cocoa, this time none of the "sour taste" from my notes, although less spirit. Everything is more balanced, first couple sips were very sweet but I could keep drinking this. Not dry but doesn't fatigue the palate. Nicely done, still excellent after two years.

4217 - Lots of cocoa powder, less viscosity than I remember. The spirits really come through on the back end, with a slightly sour taste that doesn't benefit the overall experience. Label says up to two years in barrels, I wonder if this is exclusively bourbon. No hint of infection, could be the extensive aging, possibly room to grow in the art of blending.

Very heavy on the apple from the Teku glass.

Blows me away, every time. The wrong food pairing can wreck this beer, though. First glass was amazing. After a salad with vinegar mustard dressing, all I could taste was the apples and a little cherry tart and cranberry sour.

Not fair to evaluate this since I mistakenly bought it out of code. Still has nice bitterness, some grapefruit rind and pine, but overall hop presence is very muted.

Not fair to evaluate this since I mistakenly bought it out of code. Still has nice bitterness, some grapefruit rind and pine, but overall hop presence is very muted.