This year's Art of Confusion is a blend of imperial stouts aged in Willett and Heaven Hill barrels for 19-21 months. Like past versions of AOC, we deconstructed a nostalgic flavor into a bold and impactful barrel-aged beer—this time, German chocolate cake.

To get there, we used Madagascar and Ugandan vanilla, toasted and raw coconut, and a unique Ecuadorian cacao. We work with these ingredients often, but the key was balance: letting them complement each other from start to finish while avoiding over-extraction, which is easy to do with roasted nibs. The result is in fact, reminiscent of German chocolate cake, but with sublayers of rich marshmallow (thank you, Ugandan vanilla), mocha, marzipan, and a backend tannic finish from the barrels that reads like praline and honeycomb.

Our takeaway from beers like this - ratios matter, quality of ingredients matters, and the base beer matters. We love the pursuit, and we hope you enjoy sharing this one with your friends and family.

15.0 % ABV