Edelleen yksi parhaista oluista mitä olen maistanut. Aivan upea tuo banaani tässä.

Let me close the Midsummer 2024 with a big beer. Both volumewise and otherwise. This is my souvenir from the D.C. a couple of weeks ago. One of them. ☺️ The beer flexes like an arrogant bastard with the exception that it's not arrogant. It looks thick, brilliant jet black, and impenetrable of course. A fawn head grows almost one finger thick and dissipates fast to zero. Bourbon, dark chocolate, cacao nibs, maple syrup and fig can easily be spotted in the air. I was a bit afraid that this might be extremely sweet and overwhelming but it's actually quite balanced and elegant if a Pastry Stout can ever be elegant. Furthermore, vanilla, date, raisin, mandarin, apricot, almond and toasted coconut flakes signal their presence in one way or another, some bolder, the others shier. The tongue is overwhelmed by the taste tsunami: squeezed banana, massive dark chocolate ganache, loads of cacao nibs, vanilla and fruity Bourbon constitute the first set of ingredients. And it's not all. The second wave is composed of mashed apricot flesh, a small injection of maple syrup, ice cream, a suggestion of marshmallow, fig, almond and toasted coconut flakes. A huge list indeed! This is just crazy. Nothing overshadows the other flavors, everything is in a perfect balance. 🖤🖤🖤 The body can't be anything else than full. And it is. Big. The sweetness even exaggerates the body but, anyway, it is big. The end accentuates the molten chocolatey flavors, making it more like a ganache, while many of the above-listed nuances tend to fade to the sidelines or even vanish altogether. Banana survives nicely though. Tomorrow will come, and I can't wait; it's our anniversary, bananaversary; the first thing I'll do is run straight to aftertaste; it's our anniversary, bananaversary. The mouthfeel is full, sticky, chewy, thick, sappy, adjuncted and desserty, no doubt. It's deep, rich, mouthcoating, elegant as much as this beerstyle can be, superbalanced, round and smooth. Warming but not really barrel aged. Incredible! However, I wouldn't call this layered as this beerstyle slams everything at one go and not in sequences like some quality Old Ales or Barley Wines. The confession of this beerstyle is "more is more", and this is the cardinal of the diocese. Amen.

Huh, miten voi olla banaanin maku näin aito! Sellaista yön yli seisonutta banaanikakkua. Aivan häkellyttävän hyvää. Hyvä runko. Kunnon tynnyröinti.