Very Old 19
Voodoo Brewing Co.

Pitch black pour. Very little agitated head, however a nice tan ring of tight bubbles forms around the body of the beer.

The nose is sweet and dry, predominantly characterized by dark chocolate and toasted oak. With time and temp, there are emerging undertones of toffee and vanillin. The bourbon influence becomes increasingly present.

The palate is a barrel feature - while there's still that dry, chocolatey base, the larger notes of boozy, astringent oak, toasty vanilla, and roasted malt really shine through. This is the epitome of a no-bullshit barrel-aged imperial stout.

The mouthfeel is great. Medium-full, thinned out a bit from the aging. Carb is low but sharp on the tip of the tongue. The finish has a touch of astringent bitterness but is alarmingly smooth for nearly 13% and given the amount of barrel character the beer has overall.

 

Stark black with a fluffy mocha brown head that spreads out to a persistently thick collar.

The oak creeps up a little more splintery and chewy here relative to VO 18, but even still the chocolatey indulgence of the base continues to impress, almost going from brownie batter to fudge with its vanillins, while contrastingly quite dry yet delicately warming.

Again the delicious vanillins here, as with 18, are sustained at absurd levels throughout, growing ever more prominent with time. A slight black peppery char emerges as it warms.

The body has a more medium-full heft than the prior two in the set due to a frothier carbonation, all the while finishing cotton dry.

This was my favorite of the set this New Year's Eve.