Solitary Confinement
Skookum Brewery

 

Current solitary confinement bares no resemblance to this beer. Will start a new solitary confinement. Current SC, is an imperial stout aged on oak barrels coming in at 11%, versus the old non-barrel aged American stout.

 

L: Light cannot escape it, but it still appears a dark hue that is nearly black with a short head evaporating to a dark khaki ring with a slow to move lace.

S: Bourbon on the nose with molasses and a slight cherry tartness.

T: Dark and chocolate malts and molasses eek through the bourbon and a touch of vanilla.

F: Smooth and coating but still a touch thin.

O: I’ve had so much worse, but while this brew stitched together some big flavors they felt forced and the mouthfeel was below repeatable for me.

Update: After aging a bottle for a year and a half it settled down nicely. The cherry harshness that I noted previously wasn't present and minor notes of tobacco and leather came into the palate. I would drink this again with some time in the bottle.

 

 

 

 

 

on-tap @ the brewery, half pour

It sounds like the bottled version of this was a trainwreck - always good to skeptical of bottled releases from breweries that don't normally bottle. I wasn't a huge fan of this - not really sour/vinegary as many have complained, but some definite mildly tart fruit notes present. Cocoa powder, mild traces of bourbon and oak. Pedestrian - but given that the other barrel aged offering available (Barren Wood) was pretty respectable, i wouldn't write these guys off on these styles just yet

 

I saw this is offered again in 2019, and decided to give it a chance because I've been quite pleased with Skookum's other brews and barreled dark beers. I have suspected that the 2014 batch was off, possibly infected.
Current 2019 bottle:
Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque in the glass with a thin, dark khaki head that dissipates to patches with light lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, light cocoa and bourbon, a bit boozy. Flavor is dark toasted malt, cocoa, a little molasses, vanilla and bourbon. Nice bourbon finish. Medium bodied with light creaminess. Well, this is more what I was expecting from this style, a pleasant bourbon infused big stout. Has good chocolate and vanilla notes. The bourbon is a bit forward at this young age and the body is a little on the light side, but the flavors are very nice. This was a pleasure on each sip. Glad to know my last experience with this was due to a bad bottle (or bottling). The current Solitary Confinement is totally worthy.


Original 2014 review:
Poured into an Elysian snifter. Pours pitch black with virtually no hint of carbonation while pouring, although there is a slender ring of light brown foam around the glass. Aroma of toasted malt, bourbon, hints of vanilla and chocolate; boozy. Flavor starts OK, with toasted malt and a hint of chocolate, but rapidly changes to a vinegary sour that eventually overwhelms the pleasant toasted malt in the aroma. Finish is too astringent and tart to be appropriate for at stout. Medium bodied with no carbonation. I was very happy to find this bottle from brewery I'd heard about, but never tried. I did not realize that it was a year old until I started my review on BA. Someone earlier commented that they hoped this would smooth out with time. I guess it only increased the character that was already there. Although I got this from a cooler, its storage history is unknown. Hate to leave a poor review for a small brewery, but this was mostly a drainpour. I kept trying it, but could not live with the finish. Since I've never seen anything else bottled, I will have to stop by to find something I can favorably review, which seems likely for the brewery. I would normally have not reviewed an old bottle that didn't seem right, but in this case, a 9% stout should be fine after a year, and the mediocre characteristics appear to have been there when fresh. Bummed.
Score for the 2014 version: 3.5,4,2.5,2.75,2.75

 

 

 

22oz into a snifter. Pours a solid black w/ just a thin film of bubbles on the surface. Not completely still, but carb is lacking to say the least.

Aroma is bourbon, chocolate, and a sour red wine vinegar smell. Some dark fruit aroma on the swirl. Not sure if it's supposed to smell like this, given the various barrels used (bourbon, French oak). Time to taste and find out.

Taste is roasty, chocolatey, bitter - a hint of dry sourness, but not as prominent as the nose. Bourbon, oak, char; hints of tannins & vanilla. I'd give it a 4 but have to dock half a point for that sour element, which I don't think should be here.

Mouthfeel is where this beer really falls flat. No carb, just still and one-dimensional.

Overall this is a real mixed bag. I actually like the taste quite a bit but the lack of carbonation and lousy mouthfeel keeps this beer from being everything it could have been.

Bottle opened on 6.8.12.

A - Pours a dark brown, almost black with a very few dark tan bubbles.

S - Tart Cherry - Sour?

T - Sour, and not as it should be, still drinkable.

D - Low carbonation and a medium to heavy body.

O - Ummm... Keep trying guys. I think this is a bad batch. Sorry.

 

Pours dark nearly black.
Little foam. Light layer of foam around edge.
Bourbon flavors up front and throughout.
A nice sipper with a punch.
Bring your own glass to fully enjoy at brewery.
edit:
From a bottle this time.
Under carbonated. Not as good. Chocolate & bourbon flavors enjoyable enough. Tart aftertaste. A little rough around the edges. Will be interesting to see which way this goes with a little time. Might get worse, might smooth out & get better.
edit:
Time has done nothing good for this beer.
If you have any laying around drink it now if you can or just drain pour it. Pretty bad. Won't punish it too bad though since when fresh at the brewery it was quite drinkable.