Brewery – MadTree
Beer – Are You Ready For Some Darkness?
Style – Imperial Stout
ABV – 9.6%
IBUs – 22
“Luring those in from the light with it’s silky chocolate, slight nuttiness, and smooth burning bourbon taste, the darkness eventually engulfs everything in it’s path. It’s easy to get lost in this abyss so be prepared because ready or not, here it comes.”
Don’t make this mistake of thinking that the only Imperial Stout from MadTree’s Trunk series that you need to pay attention to is their ‘Axis Mundi’. ‘Are You Ready For Some Darkness’ is a force to be reckoned with, and takes a whole new approach to an Imperial Stout with the addition of hemp seeds.
This beer was first released at MadTree as ‘Are You Ready For The Darkness’ on draft only as a Hoff Stevens Keg back in 2014. The beer was delicious, but I can’t imagine that it wasn’t pretty obvious quickly that it could only improve with some time in a bourbon barrel.
MadTree did just that, stashing some away and releasing it in 2015 as part of their Trunk Series, it got it’s name change and was released on Black Friday in a gift box next to Coffee Vanilla Axis Mundi and a Trunk Series Glass. They released the last 30 cases of the beer in December of that same year – it was extremely limited, and extremely delicious too.
If you need another source to verify how delicious this beer is, you’ll be happy to know that Craft Beer and Brewing scored this beer a solid 91 when they reviewed it in their April/May issue in 2016.
My Thoughts On Bourbon Barrel Aged Are You Ready For Some Darkness
This beer is dark (in case you didn’t already expect that) with a medium tan head on top.
The aromas swirl around with a mix of maple syrup and dusty earthiness. I get a little bit of the boozy notes as I work my way through the glass, but it’s definitely not in an overpowering sort of way.
In the flavor I get a really awesome roasty chocolately flavor with some toasty oak flavors. It’s got a ton more of that wonderful dusty earthiness that I love so much in the aroma.
Really awesome beer… don’t tell Axis Mundi, but I might like this one a tad bit better.