Kindred Spirits
Innis & Gunn

 

 

 

 

not much head - good irish stout taste - can taste the bourbon aged

 

i grabbed up all the irish or irish related beers i could find today for st pattys, and with the irish whiskey treatment, this made the shopping cart. its been ages since i had one from these guys, nice to see they arent using clear bottles anymore, if i remember right, that was their thing before. maybe they still are, but at least not for this one. its nice and dark, surprised to see such a low abv with the barrels, but this might be done on staves or chunks and not in the barrels themselves, not sure. the head fades fast, but the color is deep, and the aroma and flavor are solid. ive always liked these beers, despite what others say and all, but this is way less sweet than i thought it would be, a drier base beer without a ton of richer middle of the palate malts. its roasty and bitter, lingers with coffee, almost a coffee breath aftertaste to it, subtle brown sugar but not too much residual sweetness at all, light tobacco and autumnal tones, not a whole lot of irish whiskey to me, but thats maybe for the best, cant say its my favorite type of whiskey (god forbid), so i am happy to be getting as much oak itself and barrel char as the spirit, but it does pick up as i let this sit. to me its vanilla, earthy burnt almost volcanic character, and the roasted barley all at once. quite pleasant, and i may well drink the rest of the four pack tonight. dont sleep on these guys...

Poured from an 11.2 oz bottle:

Pours a jet black color with about 1/4 inch tan head that recedes quickly but laces a little.

Aroma: lots of chocolate, molasses, vanilla, coffee, malts, and a bit of malt.

Taste follows the aroma. Overall it is quite sweet, but the whiskey barrel really shines in the middle of the taste. Finish is dry and malty, with maybe a hint of oak.

Feel: medium bodied, low to medium carbonation. Not super heavy.

Overall, a fine beer. I hope I get the chance to try it in Scotland. If it’s this good from a bottle in the US, I can’t imagine trying it at the source.

 

 

 

Poured at fridge temperature from 330-ml bottle into a long-stemmed goblet. BBE date on this sample was "NOV 18," and it seemed none the worse for wear. Deep blackish-brown in color, with a clingy (if short-lived) light tan head that left a bit of spotty lacing. Luscious aromas and flavors of dark roasted malts, chocolate, a hint of coffee, a bit of raisin and prune, a touch of molasses, and a whole lot of whiskey and barrel. Decent carbonation. The mouthfeel is a bit on the light side and there is a bit of sourness lingering on the finish. Nevertheless, a fine stout and highly recommended.

Bottled and purchased from budget supermarket B&Ms so let’s check that BBE- Jan 2020, explains it all really
Pours a jet black body with spotty tan head
Aroma is gunpowder and detergent
Subtle flavours of whiskey, treacle & smoke

11.2oz bottle BBE JAN 20 L 8304 poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp 6.1% ABV. The beer pours dense very dark brown with rusty brown head. The head recedes to a thin cap and leaves a little lacing. The aroma is mild with chocolate and roast malt. The taste is barely tangy roasted malt reminiscent of darkly roasted coffee with a hint of oak before a moderately bitter finish. The mouthfeel is medium to thin bodied with medium carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, good to very good. This beer is over a year old and was aged with Irish whiskey barrel staves giving just a bit of oaky dryness to the beer at this point in it's life. It's a very nice English stout and would probably have a higher BA score if the words "barrel aged" didn’t appear on the label.

 

Appearance: Pours espresso colored with a two fingered tan head; splashy lacing with reasonably good retention

Smell: Chalky chocolate and Irish whiskey; oaky with a hint of coffee

Taste: The Irish whiskey blends in with the chalky chocolate flavors from the outset; modest earthy hop levels appear, in the middle, and combine with the malt flavors to bring home the finish; perhaps some coffee in the aftertaste

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: I like Irish whiskey and think it works very well with this English (or as they call it, Scottish) stout; not something we see on this side of the pond where barrel aging and high ABV go hand in hand

 

330 mL bottle in a carton from the LCBO; best before Nov 2019 and served slightly chilled.

Pours very dark, black-brown in colour with deep red highlights near the edges of the glass; situated atop is more than a finger of foamy, tan-tinged head that wilts within the next five minutes. A creamy collar and thin, frothy cap live on, with an attractive, even coat of lacing also having been left behind. No complaints visually, and the aroma is also appealing, albeit lacking in intensity - roasted malts, oak, molasses and whiskey are all accounted for, with minor notes of vanilla, coffee and alcohol.

Not bad - a down-to-earth, polite experience as far as BA beers go, but that doesn't make it bad, or even below average. Dark malts, molasses sweetness and roasty notes come through at the forefront, with the oak and whiskey flavours starting to permeate the taste buds shortly thereafter. Very light on the vanilla, with more oak and hints of coffee joining the fray towards the finish; mild aftertaste with faint roastiness and smokiness persisting briefly, but no sign of the alcohol. Light-medium in body, with low carbonation levels that gently tickle and froth up on the tongue; feels smooth and soft - not quite thin, but in a BA whiskey stout I'd really prefer a bit more weightiness.

Final Grade: 3.74, a B grade. Kindred Spirits is a good beer, but I don't think I'd call it a great one. A side-by-side comparison is now impossible, but I think I liked I&G's old Irish Whiskey Cask more than this, which may be abv related - this one clocks in at a relatively svelte 6.1%, compared to 7.4% for the IWC, which is a significant difference. I'd consider picking this up again in the future, but $5 for such a small serving is kind of a hard sell to be honest (ditching the unnecessary carton might help in this regard). Give it a try and decide for yourself, especially if you like this company's beers, or Irish whiskey, or both.

Easily one of the lightest bourbon/whiskey barrel-aged beers I've ever had. No off flavors, but overall it is light in flavor and (especially) mouthfeel. Meh.

L: Black with a two fingered thick and dense tan head with decent retention and lacing.

S: Leather and tobacco, caramel, oak, and malt. Sweet.

T: Taste follows the nose. Much oak. Similar to a lot of Innis & Gunn brews in taste but quite good.

F: Medium with appropriate carbonation. Chewy.

O: I love the original cask ale and while many of their other offers leave me wanting - this one got my back to why I love them.