The balance on this beer is a thing of beauty. The crispness of the apple is balanced perfectly with light notes of baking spices. This beer is an absolute treat.

What a tough, and sloppy, ball game. But Alabama came out on top. Yay! Now it's time for Ryan and I to have this two in a box edition of a Martin House barrel aged ale. Intense aroma from the moment you pop the can. Pouring it into the glass gives an intense aroma while the color is shocking. Looks like a yellow orange slushie. Nose in the glass feels like you've walked into a home decor store where they have cinnamon brooms at every turn. Almost burns the nose. Texture is heavy and syrupy. Flavor, intense cinnamon burn and so sweet that it makes you shutter. Ryan, being diabetic, says he's done. Americans will relate this to the small red hot cinnamon candy they enjoyed in their youth. I know I do. It actually burns the mouth, but in a youthful pleasant way. But..... that level of sugar and sweetness is too strong even for my welcoming pallet. A sip every 5 minutes would be my maximum, and the 17.1% alcohol is not the reason. This may receive the most unusual rating I have ever given since it's so unique, so different, so good and bad, that I'm not sure what to do with it. OK. The good is that it's delicious, and the aroma is something that I absolutely love. Now the bad. I can't drink this. It's so sweet, so intense, that it would be like taking a mouth full of candy red hots at once. Just can't do it. Taking a small sip every 5 minutes is not the way to drink a beer. Beers Must Be Drinkable!! So, as to flavor, this is a 4.7. Drinkability is a 2.5. I'm going to give this a 3.3 for no reason at all. As to a flavoring over vanilla ice cream? That could be interesting. P.S. I'm not pouring this out. I'm putting it in front of a fan in my bedroom for the fall October aroma.

This is another one of Martin House's special two beer limited release boxes. Ryan buys all of these because they are perfect for our duos, like this one. Rating this while we watch a good LSU versus Florida State ball game. Geaux Tigers! So many coconut beers go cheap and use the squeeze bottle stuff. The can says "shredded coconut" with vanilla beans and then aged 3 months in rum barrels. Oh, the expectations!! Small head, disappeared quickly. Dark brown color. Aroma, wow! So much coconut. Again, so much coconut. Nice bit of rum mixed in. First sip, uh-oh! This beer is for real. No artificial coconut here. This is pure coconut, deep dark milk chocolate and the rum adds the perfect alcohol booziness. Even the vanilla bean sits in the background complementing the overall experience. Velvet soft and lasting finish. If you've ever had a candy bar called Mounds Bar then you have a good idea of what this tastes like except for the added rum. From the moment this entered my mouth, I was in love. Pure heaven. Hope they decide to brew this again.

This is like melted ice cream. Wild.

Okay beer haven't at a good Martin house beer

A Duo beer with Ryan that he gave me from Texas. Another one of Martin Houses special two beers in a box, 2023 limited edition. These are normally really good beers. Nice deep colored brown head. I have always enjoyed the aromas of a beer and this one is outstanding. First, boozy bourbon alcohol, but not overpowering. Then an abundance of pure vanilla and cinnamon. Flavor conveys vanilla, cinnamon, a dash of graham cracker, cocoa powder, and of course the barrel aged bourbon. The mixture of these flavors is so well balanced with not one trying to dominate the pallet. Each flavor blends. I love that they substituted vanilla for the marshmallow that most S'mores beers have. It seems that all marshmallow flavors are artificial additives, and you can tell. Using real vanilla escapes this flaw. The 12 1/2% Bourbon alcohol gives the mouth a warm tingle but doesn't influence the other flavors. Now I will tell you the most remarkable part. They smoked the malt, and you can taste it. It really is as though you had this S'mores over a real campfire. No other S'mores thought of doing this. The finish, same as the beginning. Even as the beer warms, everything stayed totally consistent. Balance is perfect. Don't believe I've ever had a beer with a more appropriate name, "Campfire". Ryan gave it a 5.0. I told him I was giving it a 4.9. After writing this review, and revisiting the total package of characteristics l've experienced, I was wrong. They did a great job with this beer, from natural flavors, to barrel aging, to smoking the malt, to the perfect name. Such total flawless effort deserves the 5.0.