Dragon Slayer
Tri-City Brewing Company

 

Good head production and retention, especially considering the ABV and barrel aging.

Wonderful nose that carries the whiskey aging proudly. Brown sugar, sweet mash, oak, leather, red grape, coffee. Really smells quite inviting.

Less sweet on the palate. It's more a straight forward RIS, along with the whiskey influence. Think: BA Old Rasputin anniversary bottles. It's not nearly as thick as the best; it's fairly thin, in fact, for a double digit ABV RIS. Overall flavor profile is quite nice: char, toast, molasses, red grape, oak, whiskey. Char and bitterness grow throughout the sip, especially on the back third.

 

 

12 ounce bottle, undated.

Bottle into snifter with pitch black hue and short lived, half-finger mocha head.

Aroma is primarily whiskey, vanilla, and oak tannins. Underneath all that is a rich Imperial Stout base with chocolate, roasted malt, and dark fruit.

Taste matches up with the nose. Big whiskey, vanilla, and oak again dominate. The base beer is there in the background, but the barrel is really the star of the show. No real booziness, but the finish is reminiscent of whiskey.

Mouthfeel is medium plus with light carbonation.

Overall, Dragon Slayer is a bit overwhelming on the barrel aged aspect of the beer. It almost completely drowns out a seemingly nice base. Maybe leave this in the barrel for a shorter amount of time and this could really hang with some of the big boys.

 

On draft in a Snifter 2013 vintage, dark pitch black with brown edges, nice thin beige head. Smell of oak, cherry, vanilla and sweet malt. Taste of sour lactose and dry sweet malt with background notes of oak and fruit.