Imperial Eclipse Stout - George Dickel Barrel
FiftyFifty Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

Outstanding, no frills, BA stout. The sweet vanilla flavors of the barrel compliment the roast of the stout perfectly. Smooth mouthfeel. Really great beer, but at over a dollar an ounce, this will probably be my first and last.

 

10 oz pour at Lures Bar & Grille. Pours pitch black with a small tan head. Decent lacing. Aroma and flavor feature dark slightly sweet malt, vanilla, bourbon, and a hint of earthy coffee. Mouthfeel is full and creamy. Not boozy despite the elevated abv. Overall it's an excellent non-gimmicky BBA stout.

Had this at the Eclipse party, like a dozen years running now. So this is a draft review.

Pours the usual dark brown/black appearance with 3/5" brown head. The aroma kicks down the obvious bourbon barrel forever intertwined with the brand. Usual aromas of chocolate malt, bittering hops, warmth, wood, but not much in the way of heat.

Taste imparts even more bourbon barrel, caramel, toffee, roasted chocolate malt. We are talking ultra light brown sugar sweetness here, like a literal .5 on a 10 pt scale. Just the right amount heft to levity in the mouthfeel to avoid any realistic assertions of being thin or sludgy. Similar to the miniscule sweetness, is the amount of vanilla. These are both good proportions. Seems to lack a charred oak portion, perhaps this is Tennessee Whiskey, light fractional almost rye like sweetness grows as it warms (but the party was also so cold that you had to keep it in your hand to warm). Carbonation on point. This is pretty middle of the road as far as Eclipse goes, which is to say its pretty good.

22 oz bottle into a snifter.

Excellent Eclipse variety. The relatively dryer aspects of Dickel whiskey work nicely with Eclipse’s base flavors, but still plenty of butter-rum rich sweetness. As usual, chewy, velvety, chocolatey, roasty-toasty, goodness.

Of this year’s batch I’ve reviewed so far, not as good as the 3-year vert, but MUCH better than Tiramisu.

Aroma dark fruits, raisins, wet wood, musk, chocolate, coffee, licorice. Taste is more chocolatey rounded off by the bourbon barrels. Feel is silky smooth and perfectly carbonated.

2021 Vintage

Appearance: Black with a generous sized, thick, beige head that slowly faded. Suits my preference for appearance nicely.

Smell: Prominent Whiskey Bourbon aromas, moderate coffee/roasted malt aromas, with moderate brown sugar and mild vanilla notes.

Taste: Upfront Whiskey notes, moderate roasted malts, moderate brown sugar and tannic oak notes. The flavor elements work well together but the Whiskey notes take center stage. The beer has a tiny bit of initial sweetness, but the roasted malts and tannic oak notes quickly dry the beer out resulting in just a tiny lingering bit of sweetness.

Mouth-feel: Medium bodied with a fairly generous level of carbonation. Not the thickest bodied stout but not a bad mouthfeel in this beer.

Overall: First 2021Eclipse variant for the year and it's a good one. The barrel influence isn't as sweet as some of the other variants I've had but the flavor profile is nice and all the flavor elements works well together.