Hellshire VII
Oakshire Brewing

On tap at Roscoe's today. Been years since I last tried this beer, and then it was out of the bottle.

The beer pours the expected blackish brown color with good head retention and light lacing. For a beer that is now 8 years old, this is pretty impressive looking. On the nose, this beer has aged well. I'm still getting considerable bourbon, roasted malt, chocolate, vanilla, light burnt toast and licorice. Lot going on in this one. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely, with the chocolate, vanilla and bourbon really dominating. This is a tasty beer. Mouthfeel is fairly full, with a long finish. It's thinning out just a touch at this point, but is still a very rich beer. Alcohol is well integrated into the flavor profile, and so drinkability is pretty goid. You can tell the abv is up there a bit, but it doesn't come across as hot or heavy on the palate.

This beer has aged remarkably well, and is quite delicious at this stage of its development. Impressive.

 

 

Appearance: Pours the requisite pitch black and is capped by a rather thin head of large bubbles; a streak or two

Smell: Roasty with chocolate and faint Bourbon barrel tones; the mist distinct aromatic is the char

Taste: Roast, char and chocolate forward, with the burnt aspect marrying with the chocolate into the mid-palate; there is a hint of mint and the residual of the 49 IBUs before the Bourbon barrel arrives, with the oak and vanilla; still boozy in the finish

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with moderate carbonation; warmth in the gullet

Overall: I was expecting a big hoppy stout like this to settle in more effectively after two years but it lacks complexity and is really more of an American Imperial Stout than an RIS

Thanks, mintyg8r, for the opportunity

 

 

 

Can't believe I only have one bottle left. Excellent example of the big bold badass imperial stouts aged in bourbon barrels.

Did a side by side tasting with some stout-beer-loving friends and this one was our favorite (along with super nebula from block 15). Beat out some amazing beers like bourbon county stout '16 and '14, kbs '17, parabola '17, and so on. Yes it was a night to remember. Cheers!

I came across a lone bottle of this last year, I think it was $17.99. Smells super boozy, ethanol, sweet malts and stout. Flavor is slight bourbon barrel, thick stout, sweet, pretty tasty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22oz bomber obtained from Mr. B's in Denver. I'm passing through Denver on business, and I had never even heard of Oakshire Brewing, but I asked the helpful staffer if they had any nice "big" stouts or barleywines at the moment. In a store full of local Colorado goodies, I was surprised when he pointed at Hellshire and said that "straight up, this is the best stout we have in the shop right now."

After cracking it open, I can believe it. Hellshire VII pours viscous and dark. A half finger of cocoa-colored head stains the glass. The nose is full of milk chocolate, malt, and coconut. A touch of smoke and barrel char enters on the palate, with some cherry cordials on the side. Very smooth, pleasingly boozy, and a nice surprise!

This beer just gets better every year. For the last several years, Oakshire's been low-key making Oregon's best bourbon barrel aged beer, and this year's vintage is no exception. It compares favorably to world-class, sought after BBA stouts like Parabola; it's so underrated, and not something to sleep on if you see a bottle.