Surly Tiramisu Funeral Bar
Surly’s Tiramisu Funeral Bar is the newest release from the company’s BC Small Batch program. The imperial stout weighs in at 10.2% ABV and is modeled in the fashion of a dessert beer, featuring Jim’s 5-Star Espresso Blend coffee, vanilla beans, cacao nibs, molasses, glucose and lactose.
After reading that list of ingredients on the press sheet, my greatest fear was that Tiramisu Funeral Bar was going to be a cloying, sweet mess. Well, there is a measure of sweetness that lingers long after each sip, but the espresso does a wonderful job of keeping it all in check with an earthy nuttiness. The beer is well-rounded in that regard.
The cacao, vanilla and lactose are all certainly in play from start to drying finish. The higher alcohol content is masked well as the slightly viscous stout glides over the palate. The coffee is in the fore-front, but doesn’t dominate the experience, which I sort of wish it did.
This is a tasty stout, but the flavors sort of compete with one another and don’t quite mesh 100% fully. I love the earthy nuttiness of the espresso and sort of wish it were more present in the flavor profile. As it stands, Tiramisu Funeral Bar will do the job nicely as you lament the recent loss of, say, King Kong Bundy.
This is a review of a promotional sample.