Imperial Eclipse Stout - Laws Whiskey House Barrels
FiftyFifty Brewing Co.
- From:
- FiftyFifty Brewing Co.
- California, United States
- Style:
- American Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 12.3%
- Score:
- +5 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 4.15 | pDev: 1.69%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Oct 04, 2025
- Added:
- May 16, 2024
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
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-
Now in its 16th Vintage, 2023 Eclipse is our rich Imperial Stout aged to perfection in whiskey and spirit barrels. All Eclipse stars with the same base beer bringing hints of dark chocolate, espresso, and a smooth complexity, with each barrel treatment delivering its own unique character after a minimum of 180 days of aging. Laws Whiskey House Barrel is aged exclusively in Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrels.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by ChicagoJ from Illinois
4.2/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.2/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
3/2/25 - (Bottle - Home) (Chicago, IL) Bottle Notes: Purchased store temperature at Woodman's Kenosha on 7/21/24 for $19.96 including tax. Refrigerated upon returning home before opening this morning. 16.9 oz bottled in 2023, more specifically April 17, 2023 based on social media release day posts. 12.3% ABV, serve in a snifter, enjoy at 50-55 F. 2023 Eclipse Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. Laws Whiskey House Barrel. Imperial Stout Aged In Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrels. Proudly brewed and bottled by FiftyFifty Brewing Company in Truckee, California.
Now in its 16th vintage, 2023 Eclipse is our rich Imperial Stout aged to perfection in whiskey and spirit barrels. All Eclipse starts with the same base beer bringing hints of dark chocolate, espresso, and a smooth complexity, with each barrel treatment delivering its own unique character after a minimum of 180 days of aging. Laws Whiskey House Barrel is aged exclusively in Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey barrels.
Appearance: Poured about half the bottle into a small snifter, yielding a pitch black base and brief creamy white tan head that leaves a creamy with partially large bubbles around the rim, no lacing and a razor thin cover over most of the base. 4.25
Aroma: Not much after 20 minutes, but now on 30 minutes cull a light roast malt and chocolate fudge, and a sweet smelling bourbon. This is sweeter than the Garrison variant enjoyed yesterday. 3.5
Taste: Stronger flavor and excellent taste, not sure why the aroma is so subdued. A tug of war between the rich chocolate fudge and roast malt base, with a backing caramel, toffee and butterscotch which may derive from the base, whiskey or both. Whiskey turns from smooth to stronger as this warms. Not getting the whiskey sweetness noted on the nose, nice smooth easy enjoying but strong whiskey. Really enjoying. 4.5
Mouthfeel: Drinks too easy for the 12.3% ABV. Creamy rich and decadent near full body, light prickly carbonation. Leans sweet plus, but within proper range. Toffee roast malt chocolate fudge with a bourbon topping finish. Really nice body here. 4.5
Overall: This is a very good BA stout. Really like the base, the Bourbon consistently really enjoyable throughout. The luxurious mouthfeel is my primary takeaway, thought both the mouthfeel and taste were just a tad less awesome than the Garrison Brothers variant. Easier today to access the bottle through the wax. Well done as usual with this Eclipse release. 4.25
Mar 02, 2025Now in its 16th vintage, 2023 Eclipse is our rich Imperial Stout aged to perfection in whiskey and spirit barrels. All Eclipse starts with the same base beer bringing hints of dark chocolate, espresso, and a smooth complexity, with each barrel treatment delivering its own unique character after a minimum of 180 days of aging. Laws Whiskey House Barrel is aged exclusively in Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey barrels.
Appearance: Poured about half the bottle into a small snifter, yielding a pitch black base and brief creamy white tan head that leaves a creamy with partially large bubbles around the rim, no lacing and a razor thin cover over most of the base. 4.25
Aroma: Not much after 20 minutes, but now on 30 minutes cull a light roast malt and chocolate fudge, and a sweet smelling bourbon. This is sweeter than the Garrison variant enjoyed yesterday. 3.5
Taste: Stronger flavor and excellent taste, not sure why the aroma is so subdued. A tug of war between the rich chocolate fudge and roast malt base, with a backing caramel, toffee and butterscotch which may derive from the base, whiskey or both. Whiskey turns from smooth to stronger as this warms. Not getting the whiskey sweetness noted on the nose, nice smooth easy enjoying but strong whiskey. Really enjoying. 4.5
Mouthfeel: Drinks too easy for the 12.3% ABV. Creamy rich and decadent near full body, light prickly carbonation. Leans sweet plus, but within proper range. Toffee roast malt chocolate fudge with a bourbon topping finish. Really nice body here. 4.5
Overall: This is a very good BA stout. Really like the base, the Bourbon consistently really enjoyable throughout. The luxurious mouthfeel is my primary takeaway, thought both the mouthfeel and taste were just a tad less awesome than the Garrison Brothers variant. Easier today to access the bottle through the wax. Well done as usual with this Eclipse release. 4.25
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York
4.06/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.06/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap at Churchkey in Washington, DC.
This one pours a very dark black color, with a very small head, and not much lacing.
This smells extremely fudgy and chocolatey, with Rolo candies, and a slight bit of oak.
I don’t get a ton of overt barrel character on this one – maybe the barrel aging accentuated the big fudginess of the base Eclipse stout? I’m not sure if that’s a possibility, but whatever happened, this is definitely a tasty variant. It almost feels like extra chocolate was added. There’s some caramel, and just the lightest hint of oak, especially at it warms slightly.
This is medium bodied, fairly creamy, and pretty drinkable.
It’s rare to see Eclipse on draft anywhere, so of course it’s excellent that I found 3 different variants on draft at Churchkey.
May 16, 2024This one pours a very dark black color, with a very small head, and not much lacing.
This smells extremely fudgy and chocolatey, with Rolo candies, and a slight bit of oak.
I don’t get a ton of overt barrel character on this one – maybe the barrel aging accentuated the big fudginess of the base Eclipse stout? I’m not sure if that’s a possibility, but whatever happened, this is definitely a tasty variant. It almost feels like extra chocolate was added. There’s some caramel, and just the lightest hint of oak, especially at it warms slightly.
This is medium bodied, fairly creamy, and pretty drinkable.
It’s rare to see Eclipse on draft anywhere, so of course it’s excellent that I found 3 different variants on draft at Churchkey.
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