freaky (imperial shake sour)

Freakshakes are an ingenious invention that first appeared almost ten years ago. Suddenly, they popped up on the menus of cafes, ice cream parlors, bars, and snack bars, and for a while, they were all the rage. The base for this outlandish creation is a smooth, creamy milkshake in a tall glass. Stacked on top, like a Jenga tower, are all sorts of sweet treats: whipped cream, brownies, cookies or even whole slices of cake, sauces, pretzels, gummy bears, donuts, ice cream cones, sweets, chocolates, fresh fruit, wafers, sprinkles – in short, anything that can be balanced on the glass. One of these shakes has about 10,000 calories and so much sugar that just looking at it risks diabetes and tooth decay.

Vault City Brewery is embracing this indulgent trend and creating a beery tribute to it. Freaky is a hoppy take on the dessert: a milkshake sour enriched with blackberries and blueberries, sweet cherries, lactose, cookie crumbs, and butter. Critics will say the result has precious little to do with beer, but we thoroughly enjoy the explosion of flavor.

Besides its numerous extra ingredients, Freaky delivers a mood-boosting 8.0% alcohol. The thick, deep red brew smells and tastes of blueberry pie, blackberry jam, buttery cherry strudel, freshly baked cookies, caramel, and vanilla ice cream. Sweet with expertly placed fruit acidity. This beer isn’t just a single dessert, it’s a whole buffet!