Aphotic (Bourbon Barrel-Aged)
Voodoo Brewing Co.

 

Huge thank you to noblepudding for dropping an absolute, killer-quality box-bomb on me, which included this 12 oz. black-waxed monster. It’s life in my home is very short. Marker on the label: 8/11/21.

The pour is straight black, no head, looks a bit like a murder weapon. Nose is bourbon-first, with bits of cocoa, smoke, & unfocused sweetness.

Aphotic is surprisingly smoky; whether this was intended or a function of aging. The smoky edge mixes with the opposing bourbon edge. Hard roast defines the interior with a finish of light smoked cocoa. As thick as it appeared. One 12 oz. bottle could have been shared out for maximum enjoyment.

Nothing like some of Voodoo’s legendary stouts, but a worthy entrant & good beer nonetheless.

 

 

 

Bottled on 12/18/2019; consumed on 7/20/2022

Pours an oily, midnight-black body capped with a finger and a half of frothy, mocha-hued foam; solid head retention leaves a rich, creamy, ⅓ of a finger of cap, large, fluffy collar, and minimal-no lacing holding to the walls of the glass.

Aroma highlights a substantial roast eased with fresh bakers chocolate as a lighter smoke grazes the bouquet; subtle vanilla and caramel espoused from saturated oak evolves to interwoven bourbon increasingly influential as the beer warms.

Taste opens to dry, dark bakers cocoa melding into tinges of smoke and pure, oaky barrel; residual bourbon lingering past the mid-palate washes over the back end, accentuating an already fervent roast profile with toffee and shades of burnt caramel.

Mouthfeel offers a medium body with a prickly, moderate carbonation easing to silky textures and a creaminess drying over the mid-palate; wispy char finds a quasi-bitterness on the back end for a pillowy yet robust finish.

2.5+ years in the bottle have done well to settle pronounced char and flush bourbon imbuement and oaky sensations over the profile, leaving an approachable balance of roast and bittersweetness as a steadily encroaching barrel takes hold.

poured from a 12oz bottle into a snifter. pours an insanely deep black with a dark chocolate foam head that dissipates into a thin collar around the rim of the glass. beautiful looking imperial stout - almost intimidating how dark it is. heavy bourbon on the nose followed by plums, coffee roast, malty roast, with a bit of chocolate and ash and more bourbon. taste is a little more chocolate than the nose leads on, but there’s also an earthy spice from the barrel treatment. i get vanilla, caramel, graham cracker and even a hint of honey and cherry. it’s quite the complex brew. mouthfeel is on the thicker side. definitely sits heavily on the tongue and finishes as thick as it begins. big focus on barrel, chocolate coffee base stout and how well integrated the two are. this is fantastic.

Probably voodoo's thickest stout......pours pitch black. Aroma is full of roasted malt, molasses, and of course barrel. Taste is more of the same. Thick body. Overall, there's a lot to like about this beer, but if you don't like stouts on the roasty side, you would probably prefer some of voodoo's other stouts like black magick, zangief, or hot garbage.

Void black with a short but super creamy dark mocha head that features amazing retention. A beautiful brew more than fitting of its name.

Having had Rye BA Zangief before this, Buffalo Trace Aphotic is a little brighter and lighter of body on the palate by comparison, at least at first. It begins slick and sharp, featuring a splintery, almost hickory sort of woodiness, but not in an uninviting or unpleasant way as may come across in other brews. This continues to develop further into a pleasantly toasted oak with dark caramel, bitter cacao, and acidic espresso before finishing dry but lightly sticky, there becoming numbingly tingly.

This is a very smooth yet mature brew, and even becomes thicker as it warms, as new expressions of amaretto crop up.

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Regarding the 2022 release, which was also aged in Buffalo Trace barrels, but even longer:

The used motor oil pour builds a short but dense mocha blanket that clings in a beautiful rolling hill ridge.

Shockingly identical to my experience with batch 1 enjoyed on draft two years ago, this viscous ode to black is ridiculously rich, woody, dark chocolatey, nutty and even acidic like espresso, finishing similarly chewy dry. It perhaps becomes a little boozier than I remember of b1 midpalate, but that dissipates before the swallow. Some raisin and smoke emerge as it warms.

The consistency between batches years apart, likewise each aged over several years, is incredible.