My buddy Dale grew up down the road from a working grove of sugar maples, or ‘sugar bushes’ as he calls ‘em. The dude is an absolute fiend for all things maple. Only real maple syrup from real trees can sate his sweet tooth, and he puts it on everything.

Drowns his pancakes and waffles in it, of course, but he also adds it to coffee and tea, hot toddies, and bowls of granola. Once, I even saw Dale dip a maple glazed doughnut in a mug of syrup.

Every Fall, Dale gets super excited waiting for the release of Tyranena Brewing’s Tapping the Sugar Bush Imperial Maple Porter Aged in Bourbon Barrels. He says it provides all the maple flavor he craves in a roasty Porter package. And he certainly doesn’t seem to mind the 9% ABV.

Whiskey warmth and mellow oakiness from Bourbon barrel-aging mingles with roasty chocolate and coffee. But this brew is all about the maple. The syrup sings with lightly spiced sweetness, supple butteriness, and gentle notes of molasses.

Dale says it reminds him of standing in that maple grove as a kid, sipping sweet sap straight out of the collection buckets. I’m not sure I’m ready for that, but maybe one day I’ll join him for a trip to the sugar bushes. For now, this Maple Imperial Porter will do the trick.

Rated 4.21 on BeerAdvocate; Rated 4.12 on Untappd

Packaged On October 26th, 2018