Sunny Side Up - Little Amps! (Pappy Van Winkle)
Al's of Hampden / Pizza Boy Brewing
- From:
- Al's of Hampden / Pizza Boy Brewing
- Pennsylvania, United States
- Style:
- American Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 13.2%
- Score:
- 97
- Avg:
- 4.59 | pDev: 6.1%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 3
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Aug 22, 2015
- Added:
- May 12, 2013
- Wants:
- 9
- Gots:
- 0
SCORE
97
World-Class
97
World-Class
No description / notes.
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Reviewed by stakem from Pennsylvania
4.45/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.45/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Enjoyed at Pizza Boy several times during a couple of it's sporatic and unannounced appearances. SSU is currently (and possibly of all time) my favorite coffee stout. So the idea of putting it into my favorite spirit barrel seems too good to be true.
Draft offering at the source served in a snifter. It appears black with a tan head that holds surprisingly well for it's alcohol level. Some spotty lace sticks to the glass and holds in a thin film. When swirled, patchy lace paints the glass.
The smell includes notes of bourbon primarily with an oaked backing. Some caramel, vanilla, toffee-like sugar aspect gets pulled from the barrels during aging adding another layering to this already complex beer. The coffee addition is bright and enjoyable with roasted notes and that all familiar spicy aspect of raw woodiness.
The taste includes plenty of bourbon with caramel sapped from the wood during aging. Lots of roast not only from the grain but also the coffee. A bit of a char feel that blends into vanilla-like sweetness also extracted from the barrel. The coffee is integrated well and perhaps a little more dominating in the flavor profile than what it does in the nose. That barrel presence is quite profound with a spicy almost cinnamon inclusion that I have noticed is present in other PVW barrel aged offerings.
This is a medium to fuller bodied brew with ample carbonation. I went into this expecting a grand slam and its only a home run. (Does that make any sense?) Fantastic stuff with perfect melding of character. Whereas the normal sunny side up is effortlessly drinkable, this one is a bit more angry/bold and a sipper. I dont know what you can possibly do to this to make it better but despite the rarity and draw it has, I didnt find it to be that drastcally superior to the base like I had hoped it would be. Plain and simple, you need to soak this up if you ever are presented the opportunity.
Aug 30, 2013Draft offering at the source served in a snifter. It appears black with a tan head that holds surprisingly well for it's alcohol level. Some spotty lace sticks to the glass and holds in a thin film. When swirled, patchy lace paints the glass.
The smell includes notes of bourbon primarily with an oaked backing. Some caramel, vanilla, toffee-like sugar aspect gets pulled from the barrels during aging adding another layering to this already complex beer. The coffee addition is bright and enjoyable with roasted notes and that all familiar spicy aspect of raw woodiness.
The taste includes plenty of bourbon with caramel sapped from the wood during aging. Lots of roast not only from the grain but also the coffee. A bit of a char feel that blends into vanilla-like sweetness also extracted from the barrel. The coffee is integrated well and perhaps a little more dominating in the flavor profile than what it does in the nose. That barrel presence is quite profound with a spicy almost cinnamon inclusion that I have noticed is present in other PVW barrel aged offerings.
This is a medium to fuller bodied brew with ample carbonation. I went into this expecting a grand slam and its only a home run. (Does that make any sense?) Fantastic stuff with perfect melding of character. Whereas the normal sunny side up is effortlessly drinkable, this one is a bit more angry/bold and a sipper. I dont know what you can possibly do to this to make it better but despite the rarity and draw it has, I didnt find it to be that drastcally superior to the base like I had hoped it would be. Plain and simple, you need to soak this up if you ever are presented the opportunity.
Reviewed by orangesol from Pennsylvania
4.61/5 rDev +0.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.61/5 rDev +0.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Served on-tap at Al's of Hampden.
A - Pours pitch black with a nice one finger tan head leaving small trails of lace down parts of the glass. Nothing overly amazing looking, just the typical stout really.
S - Smells of warm bourbon, chocolate, coffee, vanilla and a bit of booze. The regular version is all coffee and that is still present but the bourbon really helps to round it all out.
T - Starts off with a beautiful mix of chocolate and coffee quickly giving way to the smooth, warm bourbon and some light vanilla sweetness. Some residual sweetness and a bit of drying tannins round things out, lingering on the palate for quite awhile after the finish.
M - Heavy body with moderate carbonation. Smooth, warm feel is remarkably easy to drink. The added feel compared to the porter really seems to help this one out.
O - I absolutely love the regular little amps version but this is on a whole other level. The pappy barrel really helps to smooth it all out and add that nice mellow bourbon note to the equation. Outstanding beer, tastes remarkably similar to KBS. My only knock it that it is a touch hot, if it was bottled I would age it for six months and it would be prefect.
May 31, 2013A - Pours pitch black with a nice one finger tan head leaving small trails of lace down parts of the glass. Nothing overly amazing looking, just the typical stout really.
S - Smells of warm bourbon, chocolate, coffee, vanilla and a bit of booze. The regular version is all coffee and that is still present but the bourbon really helps to round it all out.
T - Starts off with a beautiful mix of chocolate and coffee quickly giving way to the smooth, warm bourbon and some light vanilla sweetness. Some residual sweetness and a bit of drying tannins round things out, lingering on the palate for quite awhile after the finish.
M - Heavy body with moderate carbonation. Smooth, warm feel is remarkably easy to drink. The added feel compared to the porter really seems to help this one out.
O - I absolutely love the regular little amps version but this is on a whole other level. The pappy barrel really helps to smooth it all out and add that nice mellow bourbon note to the equation. Outstanding beer, tastes remarkably similar to KBS. My only knock it that it is a touch hot, if it was bottled I would age it for six months and it would be prefect.
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