Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout 2017
Otter Creek Brewing

usually i dont think vintage listings for a particular beer are really necessary here on BA unless there are radical differences from batch to batch, like there are here. this is done in heaven hill bourbon barrels, but i have heard of maple barrel aged years of this as well, this has aged super well, not sure what it was like fresh, but i feel like i opened it at the perfect moment. that said, i kind of need the maple one now! in any event, this is among the best i have had from otter creek, and one of the only stouts like this that i can recall. its super dense from the little black waxed bottle, near black but a whiskey colored ring around the surface, not much head and not a whole lot of carbonation, but its not missing at all either, not overly leggy, but plenty sturdy. it smells like great bourbon, vanilla bean, burnt sugar, molasses, and honey, with some dark chocolate and roasted notes, nothing smoked or approaching bitter to me at all, super well refined, but definitely pretty hotly alcoholic, even after all this time in the cellar. the flavor is also exceptional, maybe a bit less vanilla but still whiskey forward to me. not at the expense of an excellent base stout though, rich and smooth, a bit of sweetness through it, lots of oak and some deep chocolate. its velvet and it warms up super well, even with all the alcohol on it, earthy birch and charcoal notes, light spiciness, and woody the whole time. almost still, and not as sticky sweet and palate coating as some of them, mellow to me, its obvious that time has been kind to this, and i absolutely love it. a heck of a specimen from these guys, gotta find the maple one now!