Bourbon Milkshake - Siren Craft - 11%

Matt Morris
Jul 25, 2017
2 min read

It was Nottingham beer week so I delved into a few pubs after work one day with trips to Brewdog Nottingham, Junkyard Bottleshop and then finally Kean's Head where on this specific day they had a Siren Craft takeover, but the beer that took my breath away was this Imperial Stout coming in at 11%.

This had the classic beautiful stout look, the head was a tan colour, the body black and thick something our Scandinavian cousins have been perfecting for a while now, this beer looked utter perfection which at that ABV is a very rare sight as the alcohol content tends to not allow a head to form. Now the aroma was complex with raisins and sultanas soaked in a barrel of Bourbon like Grandma's boozey fruit cake, with a typical chocolate note, ample of honey chucked in and a touch of vanilla for good measure this had loads going on and the smell was incredible, but this is a sweet one so if you have a sweet tooth like me then this would get your mouth salivating and you just knew it would stick to your lips which it duly did to my delight. The taste was even better than the aroma with very sweet notes with all the fruits, honey and Bourbon I mentioned coming through with a hint of Vanilla leading into a strong boozey taste. It was incredible but while it was strong with alcohol it was so thick and creamy it balanced the beer perfectly although a nice burn down the throat did remain and told you that was not a drink to disrespect and down.

I really am not a fan of Bourbon due a near alcoholic comatose incident in my teens involving two bottles of Barcardi and a singular shot of Jack Daniels that the smell of either turns my stomach, but aged beer especially stouts in Bourbon barrels does amazing thing, with this being the finest of examples - truly breath taking.