Barrel Roll No. 3 Pugachev's Cobra
Hangar 24 Brewing

2018 vintage. Poured from 500 mL bottle into snifter. Bottle 2293/6500.
A: Pours an extremely dark black-brown hue with 1 inch finely bubbled dark tan head that quickly recedes to a thin skim.
S: Potent sweet bourbon aroma from a couple feet away. Roasted malt, dry chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and subtle dark fruit and spice notes.
T: Super smooth dark chocolate, vanilla, and dried cherries/berries hits first, followed by maple syrup, sweet bourbon, coffee, molasses, and hints of barrel char and almonds.
M: Heavy body, but extremely velvety and smooth feel makes it seem a touch lighter. Roasted and sweet malt elements. Touch of fruit sweetness as well. ABV is extremely well hidden. Lingers and matures nicely on the palate.
D: A superb barrel aged brew. Maple syrup is present, but plays a supporting role perfectly. The mouthfeel on this beer is phenomenal.

 

 

Pours black with a thin tan head that recedes quickly. The nose has booze up front, with caramel, dark chocolate, roasty char, and maple notes. Smells magnificent.

Loads of rich caramel, dark chocolate, maple, roasty char, and bourbon on the taste, in perfect balance. Truly delicious stuff.

The mouthfeel is just the slightest smidge watery for an imperial stout, but that doesn’t really detract from the experience of enjoying this beer. This is truly a pleasure to drink.

2016 version poured from a bottle. I see I tried this back in early 2018 and did not love it as apparently it was slightly bitter and more coffee than I preferred. I probably need to revisit this beer now almost 5 years later.

 

Look: It pours very dark brow with a dark brown head that has low head retention.

Smell: It has a strong bourbon aroma up front. There are also roasted notes with a slight burnt whiff. It has a bit of caramel and vanilla with dark cherry and very low raisins. There is also a hint of almonds as well.

Taste: The bourbon is strong up front with roast and dark caramel. There is a bit of licorice with a light burnt note that includes almonds.

Feel: It has a full body and is a bit strong with the bourbon but the alcohol warming does not have any burn to it.

Overall, a complex beer in both flavor and aroma.

Dec 2015 bottle.

The beer is dark, color is black. The foam is thin but fine, beige color. It smells like brownie, chocolate, vanilla, maple syrup and bourbon bottle. It’s a very pastry stout nose, shows intense dark chocolate and brown sugars smell. The beer is full bodied, no surprise. It’s not very sweet, it’s dry for an imperial stout. The beer starts with brownie’s chocolate bakery flavor, with a strong Bourbon whiskey flavor following which stays strong through the experience. In another sip, I get a funky soybean sauce aroma which then turns to umami satisfaction. The beer shows dark chocolate, espresso shot, vanilla, burnt sugar, Bourbon and oak aromas. The aromas is exactly as the bottle’s tasting note suggested. The aftertaste is hoppy, like classic American hops like Centennial hops aroma. The after taste also shows oak wood, leather and tobacco aromas, which is elegant. The beer is powerful with the high alcohol content, and because it’s dry so the boozy feeling is stronger than normal. The taste is not that pastry alike as the nose suggested.

It’s a complex beer. But it’s not as complex as imperial stout / barleywine like recent years. I found the Bourbon character is intense in this vintage bottle, which is very nice. You get chocolate, vanilla and coffee which is a classic them in imperial stout. But because it’s dry, so the beer feels bitter in overall. I like the hoppy ending, which is not very common for imperial stout. The dryness might be related to over-aged? But it’s definitely drinkable, it’s not gone bad or anything like that. The only thing I’m disappointed about this beer is the over-powered booziness, I hope it hides the alcohol flavor more.

In overall it’s a good beer. And I like the feeling of time travel. I must can’t wait to open it back then. But drinking a strong beer have different schedule for me today. You can’t drink a strong beer every day!

 

 

Had a cellared bottle. Pitch black pour with brown surface lacing, collar, and lacing on the glass. Aromas of warm bourbon bring out huge notes of leather, dark chocolate, maple, molasses, roasted malts, wet earth, vanillins, and rustic wood. Right up there with the best tasting RIS I have ever had, hype met! Take everything from the smell and add trace amounts of anise, caramel, and char. Incredible depth and variance with impeccable balance. Robust, warm, roasty, sweet, chewy, bitter, and decently viscous without being overly thick. Amazing

 

 

04/17/20 bottle @ home (2016 vintage)

2013 Vintage

A: Poured into a snifter to a black beer topped by a dense and slightly rocky finger of dark tan head which fades quickly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of intense roasted malts, coffee, and chocolate with some slight barrel notes, charred wood and oak.
T: Taste is coffee and chocolate up front withe some toasted marshmallows, oak, roasted malts, slight oxidation, charred wood, and some burnt sugars. Slight caramel and vanilla as well but very subtle. On the swallow there's more bourbon barrel goodness, coffee, chocolate, oak, charred wood, and burnt sugars with some lingering roasted malt notes.
M: This beer is big and silky on the palate which is what you'd expect. Carbonation is on the low end but adequate for the style while the beer has a drying finish due to the ABV.
O: Overall this is a fantastic beer. It has some great flavors and a killer amount of complexity that make it a true joy to drink. It is showing some signs of age but it's still drinking quite well. This one is worth trying if you can get your hands on it.

 

 

 

 

This is a 2016 bottle so consumed at almost 3 years old. I've been told it holds up well so I'm still posting this but know that this is not a fresh bottle, but has been cellared properly.
Pours a deep brown/black with a modest coffee colored head that never rises high but hangs around well.
Aromas of prune and raisin and molasses dominate, along with lightly stale coffee and holiday black bread.
Taste has wonderfully bright chocolate notes and a moderate bourbon burn. Chocolate covered raisins and charred wood/hard roasted malts lie under. Remarkably strong chocolate flavors for a stout not brewed with chocolate
Mouthfeel is pleasantly modest bodied with a great balance that doesn't become a syrupy mess.
Overall this is a great beer, would've loved to try it fresh. The chocolate notes here are amazing for a stout brewed without chocolate. Really nice big beer that is way too easy to drink.