Aphotic - Apple Brandy Barrel-Aged
Voodoo Brewing Co.

Thick, inky, slightly syrupy. Notes of tobacco, leather, and molasses. There’s a definite barrel burn to it, an aftertaste of the apple brandy. Not bad, but I was expecting more.

 

poured from a 12oz bottle into a perennial snifter. pours a viscous, tar black with a thin layer of dark brown foam. these aphotic pour the blackest of black and stain the glass like few others do. it’s got a fairly muted nose with oak, tobacco, faint apple brandy and really just a woody spirit aroma / sting to it. not the most impressive nose but i’m somewhat relieved it doesn’t smell like dipping your head into a freshly emptied apple brandy barrel. it seems very well integrated with the base imperial stout and the taste proves that further. delightful medley of apple brandy, damp oak, earthy tobacco and leather with the faintest hints of chocolate. it’s intense and it’s rich but it doesn’t tire the palate. thick, viscous mouthfeel with the perfect amount of carbonation. again, i was slightly concerned this was going to be an apple brandy bomb but it was very well balanced, extremely thick and highly enjoyable. i will admit, i’ve been digging some different spirits barrel treatments on my stouts though - rum, brandy, cognac, etc.

 

 

So much incredibly better than I expected based off of the untapped logs.

This is definitely better than the worst magicks (French oak for sure. Probably wild turkey and blantons too).

I'll agree with other that the barrel is very faint. I'll add thst the apple brandy I do get isn't blowing me away with being melded into the beer. It tastes more like you just took an apple brandy shot and then drank this beer and csn pick up traces of the liquor completely apart from the beer.

The base seems better than I can ever recall it. I loved this beer in rye barrels and it was very good in bourbon barrels. Why they keep fucking with it and not just putting it back in some more classic barrels I dont know. With the variation I've tasted on how incredible or how lackluster a black magick csn be based on barrels it would be nice to see this come out some more bourbon and rye barrels

 

Despite the absurdly thick void black pour, the distinctively sharp booze of apple brandy blooms far above the nose just as the slow to form head displays its dark mocha hue before fizzling out to a thin chain. The fluid stains the glass brown with a tilt.

Coming in closer reveals nutty wafer dipped in dark chocolate fudge. It's a unique contrast between the barrel and malt that I haven't experienced in aphotic before, almost creating a blackberry character.

Just as thick on the palate as it looks, the fine carbonation cuts to a much roastier, smokier cigar tobacco character that the nose seems to conceal. But also, the booze is less potent than the nose suggests, allowing for a lot more damp woodiness to present.

This variant comes to a gently chewy dry finish, where that hint of blackberry then comes out on the exhale, along with a bit of Nutter Butter.