Imperial Eclipse Stout - Grand Cru (2017)
FiftyFifty Brewing Co.

Ebony with a 1/2" tan head, slow fade. Moderate lacing.

Aroma of caramel, molasses, cocoa, coffee.

Taste is molasses, caramel, coffee, cocoa, oats. A bit if astringency.

Full body, light carbonation. Sweet, oily finish.

Excellent stout. Good across the board. Opened on this eclipse day 4/8/24. Going to view eclipse in my back yard.

2017 bottling

Appearance: Pours fudge brown with a khaki film that slowly fades; leggy with spots dripping down

Smell: Charred malt, dark chocolate, vanilla and Bourbon

Taste: Surprisingly sweet and boozy with a strong honey presence complementing the dark chocolate; rather charred, in the mid-palate, with Bourbon and vanilla bringing up the rear

Mouthfeel: Full bodied (but not as full as I expected) with low to moderate carbonation

Overall: A bit sweeter than I would like but with five years of age it may not be what was intended

A: Poured into a snifter to a black beer topped by a dense and slightly rocky two finger tan head which fades slowly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of dark chocolate, roasted malts, oak, and a hint of vanilla.
T: Taste is dark chocolate, roasted malts, hints of spicy oak, a little bit of spice from some potential rye influence, and a little caramel and vanilla. On the swallow there's caramel, vanilla, honey, roasted malts, and dark chocolate with some lingering oak.
M: This beer has a moderate amount of heft on the palate with a silky sooth feel. Carbonation is slightly effervescent with more than adequate carbonation while the beer has a drying finish.
O: Overall this is a more interesting iteration of this beer than they've done in the past. Really interesting mix of flavors that sometimes don't come across well. Not sure how this one drank fresh but I don't know if time was as kind to it as past iterations.

 

 

Sampling a cellar temp 22 oz bottle poured into my snifter. Part of a trade with @mikeoxlong.
The beer pours into my snifter a jet black color with no light passing through the glass. A creamy khaki colored head foams up 2 cm even after my gentle pour. This foam remains as a thin surface layer throughout my sampling.

The aroma is some dark chocolate and brown sugar predominantly. I also get a little bit of coffee and roasted malt, but dark chocolate is the lead. No real hop presence and booze is hidden.
First sip reveals a light to medium body, but amazingly silky soft texture, almost creamy. Carbonation is gentle and soft also, this beer is a physical pleasure and goes down waaaay to easy.
Flavor is similar to the nose with some brown sugar and roasted malt notes. I also get a little booze and some oak notes and again the dark chocolate comes through heavy here. The roasted notes and dark chocolate dominate and linger after the swallow.
Again, hops are absent from my perspective. I do get some booze but it isnt a hot beer at all and is very drinkable.
this is a very smooth imperial stout. The body could be a bit thicker, but the smoothness counters this issue. I am glad to have tried this one, but honestly liked the apple brandy variant more. I would drink it again, but wouldnt chase it.

**
05/04/2020

2017 Bottle to snifter. May the Fourth be with You. Getting ready to watch Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.

LOOK: jet black color, zero visibility, head is foamy light brown, lots of legs, very good retention.
AROMA: healthy mix of charred malt, bourbon, oak and coffee.
TASTE: Charred malt, wood, mineral, whiskey, cocoa, some dark fruit, hint of chalk,
FEEL: smooth, with a heavy thick body, slight pastiness. as good of carbonation as can be expected for the heaviness.

Very nice. Was not expecting this variant to be amazing, but this is pretty damn good. My few gripes are minor.

**

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and light lacing. Aroma of black chocolate with some woody barrel –aged notes and residual sugar. Taste is also a mix of chocolate notes with some residual sugar and light woody notes with some faint vanilla notes also perceptible. Body is pretty full with good carbonation and light alcohol notes are also apparent. Enjoyable but barrel-aged notes are not as dominant as I was expecting.

 

 

 

The beer pours out the darkest brown/black color, with 2 fingers of light brown colored head------------ the aromas are of chocolate, dark fruit, Carmel, spice, lesser coconut, cognac and cinnamon------------ the flavors are of fudge, chocolate covered raisins, vanilla and lesser tobacco, the beer has a medium mouthfeel with a medium roasted bitter finish---------------- overall this was a delisious complex barrel aged stout, I was picking up a lot of brandy and bourbon notes, this beer was super smooth for 11%

 

Poured into a tulip glass via draft @ Alewife 10/16/2018

color is a nice jet black
smell is bourbon and chocolate notes
taste follows the nose exactly with bourbon up front and semi-sweet chocolate on the backend
alcohol burn is minimal
not a top shelf BA Stout, but it's good just the same

 

 

it's losing it's great flavor.... i'm done 'cellaring'.... it's a fraud for most brews

Hittin' up these grand cru reviews. The grand cru looks pretty much spot on like the overwhelming series of the Eclipse beers: Pours black but not dark AF black, it goes dark brown to the edges and has a brown 1/2" head. Aroma hits the usual suspects: chocolate roasted malt, bourbon, oak, coffee roast like tendencies.

The taste is the culmination of everything in the nose and otherwise Eclipse. A nice mellow slight sweetness accompanying a hearty dose of bourbon influence. Slight bitterness, slight charred effect. Light nuanced smoke and dark fruit notes even, very light, this is clearly not a Russian Imperial Stout despite that descriptor, its just a barely there influence. Very light caramel influence (maybe it was the salted caramel Eclipse influence) that you generally don't see in the other Eclipse beers. Once again, they've made a very good, albeit very expensive grand cru. I dunno, tough to pay more for a bottle of this than you would for a 4 pack of KBS. . .

Impressive, tantalizing and in truly seductive fashion, the FiftyFifty Brewing Company never disappoints with their Imperial Eclipse Stout series. And the 2017 Grand Cru version sits at the crossroads where all of the other varieties converge for a well balanced, well rounded and highly complex session.

Pitch black and rolling into the glass like syrupy espresso, a light creme of froth soon dissolves and leaves a rich, robust and spicy sweet scent behind. Chocolate, molasses, dark roast coffee, toast, whisky and a savory sherry scent swirls on the nose in a truly mesmerizing aroma. But the savory display is just getting started as chocolate covered espresso beans, the slightly burnt edges of brownies, blackstrap molasses and a robust nature of black walnut ensures a rich and roasty taste throughout.

With the sweetness applying a firm grip on the middle palate, the dark and roasty taste of espresso brings a slightly burnt, slightly smoky taste to the sweetness for balance and depth. A more savory collection of flavors roll onto the tastebuds with a strong suggestion of sherry, madeira and port wine that hinge on soy sauce, but backing off to favor the taste of red grape, currant, blackberry and black cherry- all on the aggressively grilled side. A moderate bitterness brings up the late palate with a taste of caramel sweetened coffee once more.

Full, lavish and unapologetically rich, the beer foregoes any attempt to become drinkable, smooth or soft. Jam packed with a plethora of culinary art, each sip brings new flavors as the stout warms and the palate slowly acclimates to the beer's strength and complex flavors. A long, savory and brandy-like spice lays tracks of fortified wine, rye whisky and coffee liquor on an extending aftertaste.