Black Maria is a Black Milk IPA – at least it lists lactose in its ingredients – that’s been aged in Chardonnay barrels.
Or, it’s a barrel aged Milk Stout with a hop overload.
It could be any combination of the above, but however you want to describe it, it’s super.
The aroma is chocolate in a damp shed, sour dough and flower beds, and the malts are dry cocoa powder, coffee and forest fruit.
There are a lot of hops in here too – Galaxy, Centennial, Columbus and Cascade – They’re needle sharp, immensely dry, lemon leaves and satsuma skins, all pithy, zingy with zest and beautifully bitter.
And wrapped around all this is an oaky woodiness and a green grape skin coat that adds a lovely extra depth to the finish.
When ageing a beer works well it really works well.
Source: The Beer Hawk