Barrel-Aged Zatek
Buckeye Brewing Company

Beer Geek Stats
From:
Buckeye Brewing Company
 
Ohio, United States
Style:
Russian Imperial Stout
ABV:
10.4%
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
3.92 | pDev: 6.89%
Reviews:
2
Ratings:
2
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 09, 2011
Added:
Jan 31, 2011
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by jampics2:
Photo of jampics2
Reviewed by jampics2 from Ohio

3.65/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
This was served in a snifter and, every time it was ordered the lights flickered.

The reason? Simple - this beer is the color black that the devil paints his bedroom walls. The glass is daunting at first wit a dense layer of opaque dark beer with little room for compromises except for a stray streak of red in the bottom of the glass. There's little head, but that happens with barrel-aged beers so I wouldn't ding this yet without assessing the mouthfeel.

Before I get there, I get to the best part - the smell. Barrel-Aged Zatek has a wonderful pronounced woody quality that smells rich of oak, vanilla and even a touch of toasted coconut. The base beer smells like you would expect an RIS to smell like - roasted malt is in the forefront, giving chocolate impressions, some coffee, and sugar. Black strap molasses and licorice raise their heads and proceed to the head of the class. The Target hops still lend some bitterness, but the citrus from Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus I noted in the non-barrel-aged version are not present. Instead, the wood meshes well and brings some depth to the table.

The beer also tastes like the wood has imparted some intricacies that were missing in the rather brutish base. The beer has a ton of toasted and oak flavors, beginning with some vanilla and oak. The chocolate, coffee, and hoppy flavors of the base beer work well as the foundation, and the time in the barrel has made this very enjoyable.

So, I mentioned that the appearance had me concerned that the beer was on the flat side. It ended up being rather absent of carbonation, which combined with the base beer's lack of typical RIS heft to make this a bit thin feeling. The drinkability was enhanced by the flavors but a few rough ends made this just average in that regard.
Jan 31, 2011
More User Ratings:
Photo of wyattshotmaker
Reviewed by wyattshotmaker from Ohio

4.2/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap at beer engine, poured into a snifter. Pitch black with a tan head. Looks good.

Tannic nose, oaky, roasted barley, coffee, chocolate in the nose.

Big roasted coffee flavor upfront, slightly sweet cut by oaky tannins. Dark bitter chocolate lingers in the finish.

Pretty big mouthfeel from the tannin and bit of sweetness. Each balances each other out. Overall this is a nice balanced stout. The oak stops it from being overly sweet and accentuates the notes of chocolate and roasted barley.
Feb 09, 2011
Barrel-Aged Zatek from Buckeye Brewing Company
Beer rating: 3.92 out of 5 with 2 ratings