“I am an Imperial Stout fanatic, having had well over 200 different ones, it is not often that one truly blows me away with its complexity and intense flavors. This beer did.”

That’s BA user @HoldensHomebrew talking about today’s 15% ABV maple-infused bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout. Crafted by the GABF Gold-winning Dark Beer experts and aviation geeks at Hangar 24, it boasts booze levels that eclipse Founders CBS and a 4.36 score on BA.

Ready to climb into this beer cockpit? Be prepared to experience a bourbon-soaked, impossibly smooth Stout behemoth. Ascend into the sky with massive aromas of dark chocolate, deep roasts, and sticky caramel. Then divebomb into its jet black depths of maple-spiked espresso, oaky leather, toffee, chocolate-dipped plums, and licorice spice. It’s starting to feel warm in here, are you flying a little too close to the sun? Nope, that’s just the 15% ABV flying under the radar.

Imagine being in the cockpit of a biplane piloted by Han Solo, executing breathtaking aerial acrobatics. This sensation is almost as intense as Pugachev’s Cobra. If you touched down on it last time around, now’s the time for a victory lap -- but if you haven’t, taste the smoothing effects from a year of cellaring on this Imperial Stout thrill ride.

Rated 4.36 on BeerAdvocate; 4.29 on Untappd; 4.23 on Tavour