The Rusty Nail
Fremont Brewing Company

The Rusty NailThe Rusty Nail
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From:
Fremont Brewing Company
 
Washington, United States
Style:
Oatmeal Stout
Ranked #1
ABV:
13.3%
Score:
100
Ranked #95
Avg:
4.56 | pDev: 5.92%
Reviews:
172
Ratings:
809
Status:
Active
Rated:
Yesterday at 09:55 PM
Added:
Mar 28, 2014
Wants:
  230
Gots:
  116
The Rusty Nail begins life as The First Nail, an oatmeal stout of epic proportions with brewer’s licorice, smoked barley, and pale malt and is then aged on cinnamon bark. She becomes The Rusty Nail after spending 15 months in 12-year old bourbon barrels.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by John_M:
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Reviewed by John_M from Washington

4.68/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Many thanks to Larry for the chance to sample this great beer. I'm in your debt sir.

The beer pours a blackish brown color, and I have to say this beer just looks dense/thick. The beer has very good head retention and light lacing, which is about what I would expect from a stout that's seen this amount of barrel aging. As for the nose, perhaps it's the amount of time spent in bottle, but it's quite complex now. There's still noticeable dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and milk duds, but the bourbon now seems to have imparted something of a caramel-like aroma as flavor and well, that's really quite enjoyable. There's also something of liquid licorice aroma and flavor, which thankfully is completely dominated by the vanilla, chocolate, dark coffee and bourbon flavor. Mouthfeel is extremely full bodied, imparting almost a thick mouthfeel. Alcohol is well integrated into this excellent beer, and the finish was quite long.

Excellent stuff, obviously. Wish I had a few more bottles of this, as I think the beer could stand a bit more time (or at least a little more time wouldn't hurt it). Sampling this beer, one can see where the brewer likely got the idea for KDS and First Nail. Impressive.


Edit from 7/14/16. Just got to try the current 2016 release, and it's pretty delicious as well. Who knows how well it will age (based on comments one sees on the label, the brewer obviously thinks it will age well), but it's pretty yummy right now. The bottle enjoyed the other night needed a little time to fully open up, but after sitting in the glass for roughly 10 minutes, it was absolutely delicious. Another winner from the folks at Fremont (I know.... shocker, huh?).

Edit from 2/9/17. The 2016 continues to show up on tap in the PDX area from time to time, and I've been able to try it periodically, and so can comment a bit more about the beer's ageability. As it turns out, the 2016 has so far aged amazingly well, and to my palate the beer tastes considerably better than when it was first released. As a result, I see no alternative except to modify my previous review to reflect just how superior this beer is.
Nov 17, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of Orca
Reviewed by Orca from Washington

4.6/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
22oz bottle (2020 vintage) into a tulip. Pours a deep oily black with a half-finger mocha head. Beautiful.

Aroma is heavy on the cinnamon with chocolate, roasted malt, molasses, and booze all abundant. Smells kind of like Mexican chocolate.

Taste is so rich and complex. Again with all the cinnamon, then dark bitter chocolate, anise/black licorice, toasted marshmallows, coconut, bourbon, caramel. Decadent. A dessert beer if ever there was one.

Mouthfeel is smooth and slick, velvety. Heavy body but not syrupy, still maintains good carbonation. Leaves behind a swirl of flavors on the palate. Nice warming boozy heat on the finish.

Overall a truly wonderful beer. Possibly better with age, and I think quite different from the 2016 bottle I had reviewed previously.

Previous 6/9/2017 review of a 2016 bottle below (preserved for posterity)
_________________________
4.59/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Review from notes.

22oz (2016) into a tulip. Pours a deep rich mahogany brown w/ a soft rich layer of dense foam that settles to a narrow collar. Inviting.

Aroma is big dark dried fruits - figs and dates - layered over caramel malt, brown sugar, pipe tobacco, leather. Chocolate and spice, molasses.

Taste follows nose. Sticky sweet, decadent. Caramel, toffee, more chocolate and tobacco. Sweet dried stone fruits. English barleywine-esque crossed with an imperial stout.

Mouthfeel is slick and heavy. Coats the palate and lingers like dessert.

Overall a big rich complex delicious beer. Outstanding and just about the effort (standing in line for more than an hour) to get one.
Yesterday at 09:55 PM
 
Rated: 4.34 by AmeriCanadian from Tennessee

Feb 10, 2024
Photo of SpeedwayJim
Reviewed by SpeedwayJim from New York

4.37/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
22oz. Waxed and capped bottle into a Tree House teku. Props to Fremont for having the best wax in the biz!

Pours thick, black. As much an imperial stout as any I'd ever seen. Super thick and oily legs that brings spotty lace. Nose is tart cherry cola, roasted malt, cinnamon, and chocolate. Quite unique. Prickly, sweet. Very aromatic. Beer opens cinnamon sugar, sweet plum, and chocolate. Some chili, molasses, and fudge in the middle. A touch of spice towards the end with an aftertaste of syrup, tobacco, and booze. Body is full with with low carbonation. Slick and smooth on the palate and goes down rich and warm with a long, lingering aftertaste.

Really good. Great complexity with the body to execute it. At the same time, not so heavy as to wear out the palate.
Jan 02, 2024
 
Rated: 5 by JamesLeung from Florida

Dec 31, 2023
 
Rated: 4.53 by DarrellK from Florida

Dec 29, 2023
Photo of flagmantho
Reviewed by flagmantho from Washington

4.46/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Poured from 22oz waxed bomber into a tulip. This is the 2023 vintage release; this version is 14.1%. I had this beer ages ago when it first came out, but I'm just getting around to reviewing it now!

Appearance: dark as a moonless night with a starless sky. Impenetrable. Head is a thin layer of tan foam; that could be a little nicer.

Smell: cinnamon right up front, but with enough vanilla from the bourbon and a dash of licorice to really give the feeling of a sweet bread. I mean, this thing is as sweet as summer days are long, but the overall vibe is "great big hug from a panadería" and I am very much into it

Taste: sweet, of course, but with a very bakery-like sensibility, as in the aroma. The licorice and alcohol give the otherwise sweet cinnamon-roll flavor a more mature dimension. I really love the complexity of flavor and juxtaposition of elements here. It's diabetes in a bottle, but hey, I don't really need these feet!

Mouthfeel: rich body with a good carbonation and a smooth, satisfying creaminess. Maybe not perfectly silky, but damn fine.

Overall: the drinkability for a 14.1% BA stout is truly astounding. This beer is a sugar bomb; I'm really going to have some explaining to do after my next A1C evaluation. However, that doesn't mean this beer isn't goo-ooo-ood.
Sep 13, 2023
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

4.11/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Yet another time to be alive pour, this one also came during the tap takeover for BeerNV right before the Alabama show at Lake Tahoe. This was the 2022 version.

Pours black. Even though its the same color as a stout, I expected greater viscosity. Didn't amass much of a head. Some brown cherry cola like head but it was thin, 1/6". Blew a hole down the middle. The aroma didn't yield much in the way of roasted malt, it put a much heavier influence on the barrel(s). Sweet bourbon and/or whiskey notes dominate.

The taste gets a little more complex, perhaps its the stuff I loathe like licorice or cinnamon bark, actually making a yield that is more enjoyable than the sum of its parts. The mouth feel isn't hot or bitter like I was expecting, its a real smooth showcase for a pretty big beer, but it doesn't have that challenging edge that extreme advocate seems to desire.

Its a pretty nice big beer and I don't like big beers that much lately.
Aug 07, 2023
 
Rated: 4.46 by Hopheadhiker from New York

Aug 07, 2023
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Reviewed by RaulMondesi from California

4.48/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
I haven’t had a tetanus shot in a while, and the nail might be rusty, but I’m still going for it. Like Hemet Kumar lying on a bed of them to get his chill on, I am straight feeling this. It’s balanced and nasty at the same time. And I’m talking good “nasty” to you needs out there.

Anyway, life was meant to be had. Let’s go.
Aug 07, 2023
Photo of Blogjackets
Reviewed by Blogjackets from Ohio

4.28/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a 2022 twenty two ounce bottle with neither head nor lacing, and little carbonation. Starless and Bible black in color.

The nose features the barrel and a wee bit of malty char. Pleasant but unremarkable.

The taste reveals the licorice and cinnamon bark. They pair nicely and do not dominate as I feared. I'm wary of cinnamon in beer, but the deft hand of the brewers keeps things in harmony.

Mouthfeel is luxurious and finish is barrel. Not too hot but the booze is felt. There’s enough carbonation to satisfy.
Jul 23, 2023
 
Rated: 5 by jcoleMA66 from Massachusetts

Jun 13, 2023
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Reviewed by Christianriveraaa

4.7/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Poured into a snifter - dark black pour, not quite jet black but very dark. Lite lacing appearing.
Getting aromas of malts, cinnamon, chocolate, molasses, bourbon.
Tastes follow the nose with a very rich sweetness behind this. Burnt brown sugar, cinnamon, chocolate, licorice, dark fruits such as cherries, figs, apricots, slight coffee and bourbon.
Feel is medium to medium heavy. Not to thick/ oily. Very good feel. Sipper, very easy sipper.
Overall this is a very great beer and I can see why it's ranked number one on here. Easily the best oatmeal barrel aged stout I've had. Cheers.
May 24, 2023
 
Rated: 4.56 by timmy2b from New York

May 17, 2023
 
Rated: 4.36 by Chuckg93 from Oregon

Mar 14, 2023
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Reviewed by MilwaukeeBeerMaker from Wisconsin

4/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2017 vintage bottle consumed on 2/4/23 at a bottle share. Held up quite well; drank velvety smooth and had good flavours of which cinnamon was picked up the most with light licorice notes.
Feb 20, 2023
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Rated by Felgenlager from Illinois

4.44/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
12/15/2019
Feb 02, 2023
 
Rated: 4.53 by Zanico from Ohio

Dec 26, 2022
Photo of Anders91
Reviewed by Anders91 from California

4.88/5  rDev +7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Look: Black with the thinnest of brown heads. Very viscous

Smell: Barrel, chocolate, malty, dark fruit

Taste: Follows the nose, chocolate and fruit on the front, followed by malt and barrel

Feel: Super viscous, with just a hint of carbonation
Dec 11, 2022
Photo of bitterandstout
Reviewed by bitterandstout from Oregon

4.6/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Looks as you'd expect, dark & opaque. Little carbonation or head.
Nose is complex with licorice, cocoa, cinnamon & a smokey note.
Taste follows nose with cherries added & a wee bit of bourbon barrel.
Mouthfeel is thick due to smoked barley & oats. Luscious, really.
Cherries are quite bright in the finish
A very well balanced stout.
Nov 15, 2022
The Rusty Nail from Fremont Brewing Company
Beer rating: 100 out of 100 with 809 ratings