Judge's Review: 96 Rating - Stranger Danger by Monday Night Brewing

Stranger Danger by Monday Night Brewing is being evaluated as an Experimental Beer (2015 BJCP Category 34C) with a base beer style of an imperial milk stout. It also contains peanut butter powder, vanilla, chocolate and is aged in a bourbon barrel.

It pours viscous and black with garnet highlights when held up to light. Eventually, a small, finely textured brown head forms and lingers for a while around the edge of the glass. The intense aroma is quite complex and features moderately high roasted peanuts, dark chocolate and earthy coffee with support from lower levels of bourbon, vanilla, oak, toasted and caramel malt. A light cherry ester forms in the background as it warms. No hops were present.

The flavor is similar to the aroma with dominating chocolate and toasted peanuts. A low level of bitterness is all that’s needed to support this malt-focused beer since the excellent attenuation allows it to finish medium-sweet. Lingering far into the aftertaste is additional fruity dark chocolate, earthy coffee, bourbon, oak tannins and nuts. The medium-low sweet alcohol is noticeable but drinks like an 8 percent beer and not the 13 percent that was listed on the label.  

Stranger Danger is best enjoyed during cooler weather as a post-dinner treat. The unctuous, medium-full bodied beer is exquisitely complex and really highlights both peanuts and the complexities that a well-crafted imperial milk stout can bring. It’s definitely a must-have for the beer shelf.