Imperial Eclipse Stout - Elijah Craig (20 Year)
FiftyFifty Brewing Co.

Imperial Eclipse Stout - Elijah Craig (20 Year)Imperial Eclipse Stout - Elijah Craig (20 Year)
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From:
FiftyFifty Brewing Co.
 
California, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
ABV:
9.5%
Score:
99
Avg:
4.48 | pDev: 8.04%
Reviews:
162
Ratings:
593
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Oct 15, 2022
Added:
Nov 22, 2011
Wants:
  303
Gots:
  261
White wax.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4.5 by MDDMD from Pennsylvania

Oct 15, 2022
 
Rated: 4.5 by bigred89 from Maryland

Aug 10, 2020
Photo of Jayman931
Reviewed by Jayman931 from Mississippi

4.43/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
2011 Eclipse aged in 20yr Elijah Craig Barrels.
White wax #4680. Stored in Eurocav since bought. Served in a snifter 11/26/2019
Look- Very dark as expected. Held at the right angle a faint deep brown/amber is visible on the edges. Very little to no head.
Smell-mild bourbon, cocoa and mildly sweet...teenie tiniest alcohol smell at the end but not a bad thing.
Mouth Feel- Mildly thick that coats the tongue. Very nice mouth feel.
Taste- it held up well. Little bitter dry cocoa taste up front and bourbon, a little bourbon tang that tingles on the tongue and a little sweet.

All and all I'm very pleased with how it held up.
Nov 28, 2019
 
Rated: 4.66 by ThatAmateurBeerDrinker from New York

Apr 26, 2019
Photo of SHODriver
Reviewed by SHODriver from North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2012 Vintage

A: Poured into a snifter to a black beer topped by a dense finger of tan head which fades slowly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing.
S: Smells of intense oak and wood with some coffee and chocolate. Nice roasted malts in the back as well with just a little vanilla.
T: Taste is pretty heavy on the oak in the front with some chocolate and coffee coming in. Slight butterscotch as well with some more oak and a little vanilla. Slight molasses note as well along with some roasted malts along with some more chocolate. On the swallow this beer is creamy vanilla and chocolate with some more roasted malts and a little more wood with some slight woodspice.
M: This beer has a pretty full and silky body. Carbonation is light but adequate for the style while the beer has a drying finish.
O: Overall this one is really nice. It has some great flavors and complexity while being very well integrated. Just a decadent and delicate beer for the most part right now. Not tasting too much over aging on this one so I chose a good time to crack it open.
Nov 26, 2018
 
Rated: 4.65 by edthehead from Maryland

Dec 29, 2017
 
Rated: 4.18 by rab53 from Washington

Mar 30, 2017
 
Rated: 4.5 by jeff1973 from California

Feb 09, 2017
 
Rated: 4.23 by cyrushire from Florida

Oct 10, 2016
Photo of Furlinator
Reviewed by Furlinator from California

4.46/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
2011 vintage. Bottle #2882. Consumed on 09/15/16.
Pours opaque near black. A thin beige head forms and quickly disappears completely leaving no lace. The smell is of burnt sugar, oak, spice, leather and pipe tobacco. The taste is of booze soaked plums and apricots, toffee, caramel and faint cocoa. Full texture with low carbonation. Very good.
Sep 15, 2016
 
Rated: 4.5 by calcnerd from Pennsylvania

Jun 21, 2016
Photo of davidperez
Reviewed by davidperez from Mexico

5/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Bottled in 2015.

Served in a snifter, it pours black as a midnight with a coy moon, for the rim of the glass unveils a dark brown, slightly diaphanous. In fact, if a sunbeam hits the beer directly, it turns ruby-like.
Decent amount of carbonation visible, as the pour formed a one-finger head, dark brown, that dissipated quickly. A small trace of such head is left visible as a thin ring, decorating the rim.
Swirling the glass provokes some very nice lacing combined with alcohol legs.
It definitely looks very peculiar for a BA IS.

The bouquet is delicious.
The bourbon character is definitely there, but subtle. Assertive yet not overpowering, compared to other BA IS's. Such trait makes this bouquet probably the most enjoyable I've experienced so far within this style, as there is an equilibrium to it. The coconut note is also worth mentioning, since it is not as overpowering as it often is.
Bourbon, vanilla, lots of chocolate, oak, charred wood, coconut, espresso, caramel, prune.
Scrumptious.

What an incredible delight.
The subtle character from the bouquet is equally perceivable in the flavors.
They are all there, but at ease, without quarrels for protagonism.
I don’t enjoy a high or decent carbonation in this style, and judging from the look of this beer, I thought this was one of those cases, but the first thing that stands out is a very low carbonation. Somehow they managed to keep the proper look of a beer without hampering the mouthfeel of the style. The high ABV is well disguised.
The bourbon hits first, followed closely by vanilla; then, chocolate overruns your palate. Afterwards, coconut, dark fruit liquor, oak, caramel and molasses.
Another stunning characteristic: after the bevy of sweet notes enrapture your senses, a slight bitterness enters the frame, and then you realize, the sweet notes in this beer are not overly sweet, they are balanced.
The aftertaste has a decaying sweetness in the form of vanilla, bourbon and caramel, but short after, it becomes dry. Such balance and dryness add a layer of complexity to an already superb beer.
Velvety, full body, silky, but not chewy. The texture of the beer is as subtle as its bouquet and flavor.

The complexity, balance, and subtlety of this beer is second to none. Beer at its finest. I liked this even better than BCBS.

World class beer for sure.
May 27, 2016
 
Rated: 4.5 by AndyCowles75 from Netherlands

Apr 24, 2016
 
Rated: 4.58 by sposter4 from Pennsylvania

Mar 12, 2016
 
Rated: 4.6 by DVMin98 from North Carolina

Feb 21, 2016
 
Rated: 4.48 by NJB145 from Michigan

Jan 15, 2016
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

4.57/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Black pour, cherry cola color head on the top. Mix of chocolate, booze, bourbon, roast that makes up the aroma.

Taste just pours on the decadence, the Elijah Craig barrels always seem to impart the most chocolate of any of the barrels. Plenty of vanilla on this one too. Mouthfeel smooth and chewy. Sticky. Easily one of the best Eclipse beers ever made.
Jan 09, 2016
 
Rated: 4.67 by pnelting from Texas

Nov 24, 2015
Photo of TheCuriograph
Reviewed by TheCuriograph from New York

3.99/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2012 Vintage. In an Other Half snifter.

Same impenetrable black (largely headless) appearance of the other Eclipses I've had. Nose full of vanilla, milk chocolate, hazelnut and oak. The taste is a nice blend of chocolate malt and vanilla barrel. It also has the cola notes I detected in the High West bourbon version. Mouthfeel is full but light for a bit imperial stout. This is a good example of a series I rather love and falls resolutely in the middle of the Eclipse pack. Curious how the 12 Year EC compares. Wouldn't search this out again, but I'd be pleased to see it at a bottle share.
Sep 28, 2015
 
Rated: 4.53 by mwd57 from Equatorial Guinea

Aug 09, 2015
Imperial Eclipse Stout - Elijah Craig (20 Year) from FiftyFifty Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 99 out of 100 with 593 ratings