East Bench Whiskey Barrel Aged Stout
Uinta Brewing Company

Look: Pours jet black with a soft beige-colored head.

Smell: Strong on the whiskey barrel aroma. Subtle hints of caramel, toffee, and malt.

Taste: Similar to the nose - heavy on the whiskey and oak up front. The subtle aromas aren’t really there so this is mostly booze to me. Luckily I dig whiskey although I’d have preferred a more complex flavor profile.

Feel: Heavy and feels every bit of the 13% ABV it carries.

Overall: I didn’t mind this but there are better offerings out there for this style. Even if you’re local to the brewery there are better options in Utah - Big Bad Baptist blows this out of the water.

L: Pours a cola-colored brew, forming a moderate espresso head. Slower to fade, leaving behind a

S: Plenty of barrel influence, imbuing the beer with the trademark oak. Hints of roasted malts, maybe some latent sweetness?

T: Follows the nose - plenty of whiskey, barrel-aged oak flavor, and roasted malts. Not much else going on.

F: Medium-bodied. Silky, almost velvet mouthfeel. Moderate carbonation.

O: Good, not great, imperial stout.

Uinta East Bench Whiskey Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, 13% ABV. Pours dark black with a four-finger medium-brown head that left a foam cup of lacing. Aroma is roast malt, whiskey, and oak. Taste follows, faintly sweet, moderately bitter, no burn. Excellent dry mouthfeel, overall excellent. I'm not usually a fan of oaky beers, but this doesn't overdo it.

A new one for me, though Uinta has been in the market awhile, just can't remember ever seeing this one before. Looks like it'll be big, at 13%. A value-buy if its good. Pours dark brown from the 16oz can, with a bigger cap of khaki-colored foam with small and big bubbles. Oaky, roasty malt leads, with a simple whiskey profile, a dusting of cocoa maybe, not really heavy-handed on the chocolate or any one thing, medium-bodied, medium carbonation, overall a quality if simple stout, one that was brewed well considering its size and lack of fiery mouthfeel or finish.