Imperial Eclipse Stout - German Chocolate Cake
FiftyFifty Brewing Co.

 

Not getting much of anything except the bourbon barrel. Good but not the flavors of any chocolate cake that I was expecting. 2019 vintage was a let down. But although it doesn’t taste like chocolate cake the bourbon tastes so incredible I bumped my rating up to a 4.

2019 vintage. Definitely one of the better variants I’ve had of this beer. Chocolate syrup and coconut cream on the nose, w/ the palate more malt & barrel-forward. Oak & Bourbon heavy, with undertones of vanilla and hints of oxidation. Dark fruit emerges as it warms.

So yeah man, learned a lot about German Chocolate Cake at this party, twas not what I thought it was.

Pours black, brown head, 1/3", you know the drill with Eclipse appearance wise, nothing different here, still solid example of style. The aroma got to me, why is there so much coconut in something that is chocolate? Ah shit, here comes the GCC lecture, informative, but thanks.

Anyhoo, the taste gets more complex, you're getting massive waves of coconut and chocolate, but there is still plenty of barrel, caramel, vanilla, oak and nuttiness going on. Definitely chocolate and coconut forward, in a good way, without being overly sugary or at the expense of the bourbon barrel. Hides the alcohol very well.

Again, this was delicious AF, but $25 for a 500ml? Glad to crush these at the release party instead. I'd hit it for half that price, but I still think there are much older Eclipses still haunting the 50% rack at my gas station. Dude, how TF you gonna say the mouth feel is extremely thick, hard to swallow, then give it a perfect 5 in mouthfeel? Ugh. This is ideal viscosity relative to what the beer is, shit.

 

Look: As you'd expect very black & opaque, ruby coloured around the edges (Teku glass)
Smell: is malty, bourbony and hints of coconut.
Taste: follows nose but with vanilla and german chocolate cake!
Feel: is thick & unctuous. For only 6 months in the barrel, and this a very tasty pastry stout.

 

6 December 2020 - Beer #212

Price: $24.99 at the brewery

Appearance: 5 - very black. The head hangs around like melted butter in a frying pan.

Nose: 5 - bourbon and coconut. Two wonderful things.

Taste: 4 - not much barrel here. Still plenty of coconut, and quite tasty, but it's actually a bit bitter.

Mouth: 5 - extremely thick. Not easy to swallow.

Overall: 5 - I wish they'd age these longer. $25 for 6 months in the barrel? I guess folks keep buying them. This one might be the best I've had in the series, but still.

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like toasted coconut, barrel spice, bourbon, fudge, and roasty malt.

It’s cool to see FiftyFifty stepping lightly into the pastry game. There’s a nice balanced level of coconut, sweet and toasty, with some dark chocolate. It’s definitely a little thin, but the barrel is nice. It’s more oak than actual bourbon, with a nice spicy finish.

This is medium bodied, with basically no booze, but it finishes fairly thin. It’s still pretty drinkable.

Like most Eclipse, this isn’t quite worth the price tag, and it’s pretty thin, but the coconut is done well.

 

 

2019
Pours a very dark basically black beer with no real light coming through, large tan foamy thick head with moderate retention, fair soapy lacing

Nose explode with dark chocolate and sweet German choc cake, rich velvety moist cake and dark chocolate frosting, vanilla layers as well, then as I get closer I get more imperial stout, heavy dark roasted malts, black malt, chocolate malt, roasted coffee, a bit of charred malt with slight smokey note to it, plenty of vanilla and some baking spices, a bit of toasted oak barrel and light bourbon in the background, but coconut is barely there

Taste brings lots of rich flavors again, layers of chocolate, fudgey choc, cocoa, dark chocolate frosting with some moist chocolate cake and baking spices, into char and roasted malt, some coffee but a sweet Brazilian coffee with sweetened condensed milk and caramel kinda thing going on, coffee ground notes, with layers of vanilla again, even a touch of cinnamon maybe (but from the roast or barrel not actual spice), light toasted oak, a little buttery even, cookie dough, with fair bitterness from roast and spicy hops, coconut is there, not very strong but at least it's there, smooth and rich, chewy like even, bourbon is there but also on the lighter side, drier finish but a bit sticky, a flash of warming alcohol but mostly smooth, bitter roast and spicy hops lingering with layers of chocolate

Mouth is fuller bod, smooth rich chewy and a little lush, light warming alcohol but mostly smooth esp for 12%, medium foamy carb

Overall pretty solid beer, I really like the chocolate and vanilla aspects and even tricks my brain into moist German chocolate cake, leche condensada even, alcohol was smooth, roast levels were done well, very nice beer, but coconut and bourbon were on the light side keeping this from really high numbers,

 

500ml bottle into a goblet. 2019 release.

Looks excellent in the glass. Black as night body, allowing no light to penetrate. Initial pancake on the griddle head shrinks to a ring and faint covering.

Aroma lightly of bourbon, some chocolate and dark skin fruit.

After allowing the beer to warm, I get the chocolate, vanilla, and coconut. There is a warming bourbon background. One of those rare beers that delivers exactly what it claims to.

Mouth is full, finish a warm vanilla chocolatey wash.

Overall, really enjoying this sipper of a beer. Far better balanced with the barrel aging than some other brewers manage. And all the advertised flavors come through.

 

2019 Vintage
500ml bottle

Appearance: Very dark brown bordering on black with a medium sized foamy beige head that slowly faded. The head was fairly long lasting and stayed thick for a while. so far so good.

Smell: Moderate Bourbon, coffee/roasted malt aromas, moderate coconut and chocolate aromas. I also pick up some mild vanilla notes.

Taste: Bourbon, coconut, chocolate, roast malts, moderate vanilla, caramel/brown sugar and some drying tannic oak notes. Fifty Fifty did a good job in creating a German chocolate cake profile. The finish is fairly dry with Bourbon, roast malts notes, dark chocolate notes and mild oak notes. Very cohesive taste profile.

Mouth-feel: Medium bodied with a moderate level of carbonation. Not the thickest Imperial Stout but not bad.

Overall: A tasty good beer. Fifty Fifty did an admirable job in crafting a German chocolate cake inspired imperial Stout. I hope they re-brew this one.