Imperial Eclipse Stout - Jack Daniels
FiftyFifty Brewing Co.

 

Black leaning brown toward the edge, 1/4" beige head. Substantial roast of totality runs deep, hits with the whiskey notes plenty strong too.

More whiskey and chocolate notes in the taste, for whatever reason this barrel seems to allow more of the toality robust roastness to jump through. Still has a little bit of chocolate, oak and plenty of whiskey input.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bomber into a matching Eclipse snifter. This is supposedly the 300-day version as opposed to the 200-days in the barrel version. The brew appears black in color with brown around edges and a spotty head and lace sticking to the glass. The cap holds firm with a webbing across the top and patchy lace that forms when swirled.

The aroma is tangy from that expected unique JD sourish whiskey note. Some musty oak blends with alcohol and almost a citrus quality all intermingle through the middle. Some stale coffee notes and roast integrate with a mild cardboard-like oxidation towards the back. Unique nose on this to say the least.

The taste is boozy with a tangy alcohol component that is somewhat expected from the unique character of JD. Some earth, must, raw oak and chocolate are caught midpalate while there is a noticasble amount of cardboard-like oxidation blending with the mustiness in the aftertadte. A faint afterthought of soy comes out if you ponder the oxidation too long.

This is a medium bodied brew with a light amount of carbonation. It is better than expected but shows the alcohol more vibrantky than most of the other treatments. I can see this one not exactly passing as a crowd favorite especially if you dislike JD. However, the age to this is starting to make it complex and interesting enough to keep you going back sip after sip. We approached this almost ready to laugh and say it sucked after drinking the glorious PVW version but honestly, I was surprised and enjoyed this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From 11/17/12 notes at our big Eclipse tasting. I brought this one and it was the worst of the night...oh well, was kind of expecting that. 2009 vintage, 300 day version, bottle #33. Poured into a tulip.

a - Pours a pitch black color with less than an inch of dark tan head and low carbonation evident. Less head and carbonation evident than the other versions but otherwise looks the same.

s - Smells of clay, hot bourbon, nailpolish remover, roasted malts, chocolate, plastic. Nose is not good; lots of offensive alcohol to it. Surprised it doesn't mix very well considering the other versions doso great.

t - Tastes of bourbon, alcohol, sweet dark fruits, roasted malts, sweet chocolate, clay, and some caramel. MUCH better than the nose, though still not very good. Doesn't taste off really, just very alcohol-y.

m - Medium body and low carbonation. Same body as the others with some heat.

o - Overall by far the worst version we had, as it just does not mix well together like all the other versions. The nose is pretty bad, though the taste is much better; nothing offensive in the taste, just not BA'ed well. It tastes to me like a badly barrel aged stout, which is surprising because the other versions and amazing and some of the best I had. Perhaps over the years they have just perfected it and this was one of the earlier versions, but this one is worth skipping.

"300 day" version, no wax. Bottle shared by Dan, thanks! One of the "rarer" beers of the night, also one of the worst. Sorry Dan, served in a FiftyFifty eclipse snifter.

Beer is black / dark brown with nearly no head, no lacing, no retention, and the lowest carbonation of them all.

Aroma is offensively bad, seriously fucking gross. I described it as apple flavored nail polish remover. I seriously considered whether I should go on with this beer after the aroma. I ultimately did.

At least it doesn't taste as bad as the aroma but this is by far the worst of the night out of all of them. It is mildly solventy and has this OK roast and whiskey flavor in the front and back but the whole thing in the center is sort of a disaster. not a repeat, something went wrong with this beer and its not going to get better.

300 day version. 2009 vintage. No wax. Served in a FiftyFifty Eclipse snifter.

The beer appears pretty much the same as the other Eclipse stouts - dark, nearing black, with a small beige head. The aroma brings oak, booze, and an odd, buttery sweetness. The flavor is another step down from the questionable aroma. Buttery toffee, sweet booze, and just not on par with the usual quality one would expect from an Eclipse stout. Medium to full bodied with moderately low carbonation. My least favorite of the series. There were several ounces left in the bottle at the end of the tasting.