Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout (Chipotle)
Rogue Ales

massive barrel aged stout aged nine months in chipotle whiskey barrels from their distillery, pretty epic idea for a beer, and while i have never had the original rolling thunder to the best of my memory, this version really takes it, and the style in general i suppose then by extension, to the next level! its thick and viscous from the tap at the brewery, has a decent head on it too for a few minutes before it settles back, tan in color, good shine to this. the nose is a lot of smoke, a little dried pepper heat, but a lot of sweet whiskey character and newer oak, vanilla and chocolate, honey and toffee, a baked element, and some nice roast thats short of burnt or smoked. the flavor is killer, first its a delicious, regal, and strong imperial stout with a ton of barrel character on it, sweet and velvety, then it moves into the pepper part, which is almost all on the swallow, warming in the throat but not hot, i bet the whiskey is hot though, and i am itching to taste it now too. the wood on this is mellowing which is nice, its pretty alcoholic too but it doesnt burn, and there is a ton of body here, palate coating and dense. lots of nuance too from cola to dark chocolate covered raisin to maple and brandy and cognac. i love the pepper on the finish, its not too much, and its obvious how good this base beer is. i need to get my hands on a bottle of the regular one, but it was a treat to be able to try this rare variant, especially at the source! as good a pepper stout as i have had, and neat that its all from the barrel treatment, i dont believe any additional peppers are added, so cool!