Sometimes the advent beer calendar hits you with a very big beer (11.5% ABV) … but you just have to take one for the team and enjoy it, as ordered, in order to keep up with the calendar :)

Appearance: Pitch black and opaque. Pours like ink. No ruby or amber highlights. Maybe some very deep brown ones around the edges. Quickly dissipating dark brown head.

Aroma: Boozy on the nose. Bittersweet chocolate, dark chocolate. Perennial adds dried coconut, but it’s very mild, aroma-wise. Whiff of Almond Joy.

Taste: Mostly mild chocolate bitterness with a chaser of lactose sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Lactose here, too, that coats the tongue. With a beer this delicious and decadent, though, I’m not mad about that.

I’ll keep my eye out for the bourbon-barrel-aged version of Fantastic Voyage (aged on barrels from Old Fitzgerald, Jim Beam, and Heaven Hill). For tonight, I’m quite content sipping this one while admiring the tree I brought home yesterday and trimmed today, eating spiced pecans, and watching Frozen with my mom.