Not long ago, I happened upon something in the beer section that I couldn't wait to try, then couldn't wait to share in this segment. It's no secret I am a HUGE Southern Tier fan, and well, what I stumbled across was from my beloved brewery that I hadn't seen before, Vanilla Scoop Imperial Ale and Hazelnut Deluxe Imperial Stout. 

I normally like lighter brews moving into summer, but that won't ever stop me from enjoying a dessert stout. (Southern Tier also has some lighter wheat releases that I will be covering in another That's What She Drank coming soon). 

Now, I made the mistake of thinking I could wait to open one with Vanilla Scoop, so I knew better than to even try after bringing home my treasured 4 pack of Hazelnut Deluxe. Both were released earlier this year in March and hit the store shelves not long after. I read a couple of reviews of Hazelnut Deluxe to get other people's take on the new brew, and the phrase I found most accurate is "complex hazelnut flavor." That really nails it. It's distinctly hazelnut, for me, it's more of a mocha than chocolate, theres a slight bitterness, but it's more of a balancing bitter as opposed to overwhelming. Others mentioned Nutella flavor, which I didn't get (but now, I'm determined to have another and try to get that).

Ultimately, the flavor of Hazelnut Deluxe is typical of Southern Tier brews - the attention to perfecting flavorful detail is definitely there. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves dessert beers or stouts, and as I mentioned in a previous That's What She Drank, Vanilla Scoop is as about as intense a vanilla flavor as you can get, making it not so "vanilla," if you know what I mean... and pro tip: Art from Southern Tier here in the CLE told me about a little secret with the Pierre's Ice Cream collaboration brew, top up Vanilla Scoop with root beer for a perfectly adult summer treat. You're Welcome.