Robert Allen

Detroit Free Press

It's been compared, fondly, to a liquid Mounds bar, with flavors of molasses, bourbon, cinnamon and plenty of dark chocolate.

No Rules Vietnamese porter by Perrin Brewing Co. is an imperial porter made with turbinado sugar, coconut and cinnamon, and it's aged for months in used bourbon barrels. It goes down relatively smoothly for a beer that's 15% alcohol by volume. The 22-ounce bottles are good for sharing, but you may want it all for yourself.

"The release (last year) was insane. The lines were — it's unbelievable to see it," Perrin Brewing Co. director of brewing operations John Stewart said. "We've had discussions internally with this, like, what exactly about this product makes it like that? And it's pretty cool to see it grow every year."

The annual bottle release is this Saturday at the brewery in Comstock Park, and it will begin to appear on tap and in bottles across the state in the following days.

Stewart, who grew up as a beekeeper, said the cinnamon is an "old trick" mead (honey wine) makers use to mask alcohol warmth, and he knew it would help smooth out the brew. The beer shines as a dessert pairing. Stewart said he's had people approach him after beer dinners saying that they're not big beer drinkers, but would like to have it again.

"It's funny, because it's a monster of a beer," he said.

Another key to the flavor is turbinado sugar, "kind of a raw, unfinished sugar" that brings notes of maple and molasses into the mix.

"We wanted those kind of rougher, earthy edges that we could get from using that," Stewart said. "We thought that with the coconut and the cinnamon, it would go together well."

Some brewers add toasted coconut to their beers, or add it directly to the barrel. But Stewart said that after experimenting and consulting culinary professionals, Perrin found that adding it in a natural state, after the beer is removed from the barrels, produces much better results.

The brew was ranked in the top 10 imperial, baltic porters in the world in 2016 by RateBeer.com, with a perfect 100/100 score. It's ranked in the top 10 American porters on BeerAdvocate.com.

"I don’t think they expected that thing to blow up as big as it did," said Tim Costello, owner of the 8 Degrees Plato Beer Co. beer stores in Ferndale and Detroit. "Something that came out of nowhere, and it's booming for them. And it's a great beer."

So where did it come from? Stewart said he and one of the owners were yelling at each other across the brewery, and somebody yelled something about how there were no rules.

"And then it was like, you know what would be a great beer to make? A Vietnamese porter," he recalled of the playful exchange. "Because if there are no rules here, we're in Vietnam."

They brought it to the 2014 Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival, also in Comstock Park, and it was a big hit. By late summer 2015, the beer appeared in the online ranking sites with stellar reviews.

You can recognize the No Rules bottle by the label art featuring a man, mouth agape, wearing a vest and holding a bowling ball. If you've seen "The Big Lebowski," you'll recognize the artist's interpretation of John Goodman's character, Walter Sobchak, who plays a Vietnam veteran who bowls.

The brewery makes a donation to "The Raider Project" for each No Rules bottle it sells. The nonprofit organization helps Marine combat veterans transition "smoothly, peacefully and successfully into the private sector," according to its website.

Another element to No Rules is the unrestrained nature of the bottle release Saturday at the brewery. Normally, high-demand special releases limit customers to only a few bottles or a couple cases per person. With No Rules, there are no limits.

"If the first guy in line wanted to buy the whole supply and take a mortgage out on his house, I would shake his hand and help him load up his semi truck," Stewart said.

Costello said that can leave fewer people happy and lead to black market sales.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Costello said. "The idea is to get the beer out to as many people as possible."

The beer can be very tough to find, even after it is released to stores that may decide on their own limits. Stewart said that as the brewery expands its distribution to other states, the "lion's share" of No Rules will stay in Michigan.

If you find some, pick up an extra bottle and hide it in a cool, dark place for a year. High-alcohol brews like No Rules smooth out more over time, and some of the more subtle flavors will come into play.

Perrin Brewing Co.'s 2017 No Rules release

10 a.m. Sat., Pub Club members; 11 a.m. Sat., general public

5910 Comstock Park Drive, Comstock Park

Available in 22-ounce bottles and 8-ounce draft pours

2017 bottles, $16.99 (while supplies last)

2016 bottles, $18.99 (while supplies last)

2015 bottles, $20.99 (very limited supply)

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Spirits of Detroit columnist Robert Allen covers craft alcohol for the Free Press. He can be reached at rallen@freepress.com or on Untappd, raDetroit; Twitter @rallenMI, Facebook robertallen.news, and Periscope rallenMI