Carpe Brewem Barrel Aged Nibbed In The Barrel Oatmeal Stout
Empyrean Brewing Company

Carpe Brewem Barrel Aged Nibbed In The Barrel Oatmeal StoutCarpe Brewem Barrel Aged Nibbed In The Barrel Oatmeal Stout
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From:
Empyrean Brewing Company
 
Nebraska, United States
Style:
American Stout
ABV:
7.4%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.77 | pDev: 20.42%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
27
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 09, 2017
Added:
Dec 18, 2014
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  6
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Phocion:
Photo of Phocion
Reviewed by Phocion from Minnesota

4.22/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
12 oz. bottle with a "Enjoy By" date of March. March what? I don't know, but it's January now, so it should be fresh! Extremely dark (only the tiniest reddish-brown hue when held to the light) body with a thick, frothy beige head. Good retention and thick, sticky lacing. I am a little turned off by the many small pieces of sediment floating around in my glass.

Aroma is more or less exactly what I had expected from the unambiguous name of the beer. Relatively mild sweet bourbon aromas, bittersweet dark and milk chocolates, vanilla, and light woody notes. Touch of lightly roasted coffee. Complex and full of aromas, but not nearly as overpowering as many BA beers out there.

Tastes like boozy chocolate milk. Dark chocolate that balances the line between bitter and sweet dominates. Sharp almost lactic sourness as the beer is cold is slightly unpleasant, but it slowly disappears as the beer approaches room temperature. Bourbon flavors are very noticeable but hardly dominant, just the way I think they should be. Lightly roasty finish helps to cut through some of the sweetness.

The beer is thickened by the relatively high ABV and oats, leading to a good medium-heavy body. Moderate levels of carbonation. Very warm and a little chewy. My earlier concerns about visible sediment don't seem to have any impact on the mouthfeel. Very low astringency from the dark malts and cacao nibs.

Being in the middle of North Dakota and seeing a brewery I'm completely unfamiliar with, it was a bit of a gamble grabbing this beer. Overall I'm quite pleased. Very delicious and relatively mild BA beer. It's not the most extreme, but a great everyday stout.
Jan 05, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.75 by Scott17Taylor from Iowa

Feb 09, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by Whiskeydeez from Kansas

May 05, 2016
 
Rated: 3.74 by WDJersey from Colorado

Mar 12, 2016
 
Rated: 3.85 by jwmoore from Iowa

Mar 01, 2016
Photo of hoptheology
Reviewed by hoptheology from California

3.55/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Nibbed pours out a light brown color, walnut even, into a chalice and develops into a deeper darker brown color. The head is towering and overflows the glass, leaving webby lace and a creamy ring.

Smells like trash, sweet trash...perhaps waffles and maple syrup mixed with drained grease, banana peels, and compost. On the positive, I guess it smells like maple oatmeal with bananas in it. Touch of stinky cheese.

The flavor is much more complex, and actually quite delicious. Lots of bourbon and oak in the flavor, a niced aged flavor with a touch of smoke, with molasses, chocolate syrup, roasted nuts, a bit of maple, and finally a sweet boozy bourbon finish.

Feel is super carbonated, buzzy even, but then it morphs into a sweet, sticky medium to heavy bodied feel which compliments the flavor profile nicely.

Overall, anyone who knows anything about the five senses knows that the olfactory is connected to what you taste. If they could improve on the aroma, this would be a much better beer. Still, I'm convinced that I like it and would have it again. The aroma is just so much like old trash that it's hard to really give this high marks - but perhaps that's just a byproduct of aging an oatmeal stout such as this.

I recommend you try it if you aren't sensitive to off-smells. This may be infected.
Feb 08, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by iRun2Beer from Minnesota

Sep 01, 2015
Photo of JuicesFlowing
Reviewed by JuicesFlowing from Kansas

3.72/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.5
Poured into an Ommegang goblet.

Look: A black body with a lot of brown on the edges -- it's a very thin looking beer. The cream colored head recedes to only a small patch of wisp, no lacing. A cream colored collar around the edge of the beer.

Aroma: Bourbon oak comes out the most with a little bit of chalky cocoa behind it. A touch of vanilla in there as well.

Taste: The beer starts with mostly bourbon oak and black coffee bitterness. A very faint chalky cocoa powder is present just before an oaky-vanilla finish.

Mouthfeel: Thin, watery, and dry.

Overall: The thin mouthfeel and look really brought the score down on this. I prefer my oatmeal stouts to be a little more hearty.
Jun 11, 2015
Photo of mastershake4413
Reviewed by mastershake4413 from Kansas

4.6/5  rDev +22%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
I heard some people got an infected batch. Mine seemed right on point. Nice notes of vanilla and oak with a big, dry chocolate finish.

Light on the palate which allows it to be very easy drinking with a great flavor.
Apr 04, 2015
Photo of BatManuel
Rated by BatManuel from Kansas

4.69/5  rDev +24.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Pours with a minimal head.

Creamy with hints of vanilla and oak with a nice dry chocolate finish.

Really enjoyed this beer
Mar 29, 2015
Photo of SammySamuelson
Rated by SammySamuelson from Missouri

4.89/5  rDev +29.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
intriguing shapeshifting deliciousness

bitterness from the cacao dances with the booziness
Mar 26, 2015
Photo of dcscientist
Reviewed by dcscientist from Colorado

4.14/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
This was a surprisingly good stout. I wasn't enamored with the idea of cocoa nibs in the bottom of my glass, but it worked out fine. The chocolate flavor added a bit of sweetness to what is normally a drier style of stout, so it was nice and balanced. I hadn't heard of this brewery prior to drinking this beer, but if I see them again, I'll give them another taste.
Mar 02, 2015
 
Rated: 3.49 by beersgud from Kansas

Feb 19, 2015
 
Rated: 4.3 by beer1979 from Nebraska

Feb 19, 2015
Photo of Beer187
Rated by Beer187 from Nebraska

4.54/5  rDev +20.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Good Bourbon aroma with hits of chocolate

Malty backbone with dry sweet finish

Very smooth
Feb 15, 2015
 
Rated: 3.47 by Travitten from Iowa

Feb 15, 2015
Photo of IPAchris
Rated by IPAchris from Pennsylvania

1.84/5  rDev -51.2%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
might have been infected....smelled like port wine cheese, taste not much better.
Feb 02, 2015
Photo of Jasonrm72
Reviewed by Jasonrm72 from Colorado

3.44/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
12 oz bottle. 4-pack for $10

Pours a dark brown, not much light comes through, so it's dark, but it looks a little thin in body.
Smells malty with a touch of chocolate and lighter touch of bourbon.
The body is a bit thin for what I like in an oatmeal stout, but it isn't watery.
There's some chocolate in the taste, followed by a hint of bourbon that strengthens some the more I drink, but never becomes strong. The cocoa nib bitterness makes a brief appearance at the end and is followed by some astringency that disappears pretty quick.

Overall this isn't a terrible beer, but it doesn't make me want to come back for more. I'll be one and done on this 4-pack.
Jan 29, 2015
 
Rated: 4.03 by LukeGude from Iowa

Jan 27, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by mrn1ceguy from Illinois

Jan 25, 2015
Carpe Brewem Barrel Aged Nibbed In The Barrel Oatmeal Stout from Empyrean Brewing Company
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 27 ratings