Vermont Sticky Maple Imperial Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels with Maple Syrup and Natural Flavors Added

Review Date 4/11/2026 By John Staradumsky

  Style: Spiced Ale   Brewery: The Bruery   Country: USA   State: California   $ Per OZ: $.62 (B)   ABV: 11.3%

So, I’m doing some spring cleaning. Mind you, it’s probably not the kind of spring cleaning that you might think of as spring cleaning, but as with most things in life, with me spring cleaning tends to be about beer. I have a lot of beer on hand you see, cases and cases of the stuff, and I’m going through it and drinking (and sometimes dumping) the older stuff. That’s not to say that the drain pours are a reflection on the corresponding breweries, because they are not. Rather, they are my fault for not drinking the beer sooner.

I do though have plenty of pleasant surprises, and one of those was a can of Vermont Sticky Maple from The Bruery. They call this an Imperial Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels with Maple Syrup and Natural Flavor Added. This is stamped Canned 08/06/20 but hey, if you can’t age an Imperial Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels with Maple Syrup and Natural Flavor Added, what can you age?

From the label:

We scoured the countryside of the Green Mountain State to find the perfect maple syrup companion to this rich barrel aged imperial stout. Sticky and decadent, with a subtly sweet and big bold mouthfeel.

The Bruery Vermont Sticky Maple Imperial Stout has an alcohol content of 11.3% by volume and I paid $9.99 for a pint can from Craft Shack in October of 2020. They still list it on their website, and are one of the few who do, now at $15.99 a can. Now that’s inflation.  

The Bruery Vermont Sticky Maple Imperial Stout pours to a jet-black color with a thick creamy tan head and a nose of decadent sweet real maple syrup. Taking a sip, the beer is full in body, rich and luxuriant as it flows over the tongue. It pops with toasted walnut and black walnut ice cream, milk chocolate, boozy bourbon, and copious amounts of rich maple syrup. The beer finishes rich, dry roasty and warm with alcohol with more bourbon in the finish.

This was a lot like a chocolate bomb from Kentucky was aimed at Vermont and bounced off course into my mouth, where it exploded boozy bourbony with maple walnut chocolate intensity. How to style it? Imperial stout is of course on thee table, but the maple is so pervasive that it dominates, and to me is more of a spiced ale, an imperial stout spiced heavily with maple.

You know I would buy this one again, at least two cans, one to drink and one to age.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??