Carpe Brewem Barrel Aged Mochachino Milk Stout
Empyrean Brewing Company

Appearance – Clear dark brown body with a one finger head.

Aroma – Slightly sweet, oak tannins, a little medicinal.

Taste – Bitter coffee, a little burnt barley, hints of oak and a light booziness.

Mouthfeel – Light as a milk stout should be, not viscous or cloying.

Overall – A pretty good one… never had a barrel aged milk stout before. My wife could smell the lactose.

12 oz. bottle

Pours black with a large dense creamy khaki colored foam head. Smells like dark roast coffee, rich chocolate, vanilla, lactose, some bourbon, oak, acidic dark fruits, toasted roasty malt, brown bread, nutty caramel, toffee, with floral earthy grassy pine. Tastes like acidic dark fruits, dark roast coffee, chocolate, vanilla, lactose, some bourbon, oak, toasted roasty malts, brown bread, nutty caramel, toffee, with floral earthy grassy pine. Feels light bodied, creamy and smooth with moderate low carbonation. Overall a nice barrel aged milk stout with coffee and cacao nibs.

Got in a trade with The-Adjunct-Hippie. 12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, best before 5/2017. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big bourbon, milk chocolate, cocoa, nutty coffee, caramel, toffee, vanilla, cream, toasted oak, and dark bread; with light coconut, dark fruits, and roast/toasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt, cocoa/lactose/coffee, and bourbon barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of big bourbon, milk chocolate, cocoa, nutty coffee, caramel, toffee, vanilla, cream, toasted oak, and dark bread; with light coconut, dark fruits, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light roasted bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of bourbon, milk chocolate, cocoa, nutty coffee, caramel, toffee, vanilla, cream, toasted oak, dark bread, light coconut/dark fruit, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, cocoa/lactose/coffee, and bourbon barrel flavors; with a nice roasted bitter/sweet balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Minimal dryness. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth and moderately creamy/silky mouthfeel that is nice. Very slight chalky roast and oak tannin. Mildly warming 7.8%, with no barrel booziness. Overall this is a very nice barrel aged imperial milk stout. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, cocoa/lactose/coffee, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and easy to drink. Very well rounded milk stout complexity; great barrel presence, without being boozy, tannic, or drying. A very enjoyable offering.

A dark brown opaque beer with a quickly fading tan head. A few wispy strands of lacing are left on the glass. The aroma is wet oak, bourbon and sour milk with some vanilla, coffee and cinnamon notes. The taste is a lot of wet, fresh cut oak with coffee and a little bourbon. The mouthfeel is a little thin for a barrel aged stout. This just didn't hit it off with my taste buds as I kept confusing the wet oak for spoiled milk.

Pours a dark brown into the snifter with a finger of caramel-beige head. 100% opaque, head leaves bubbles of lace behind and recedes to a thin cappucino-like ring.

Barrel character is apparent right out front in the nose, with sweet sappy bourbon and whiskey-anise aromas, some dark roast malts and lactose faintly trailing. A little too forward on the barrel for me, but we'll see how it tastes.

Lots of coffee and roast malt out front, just drenched in bourbon hottness. Not much sweetness to speak of, maybe a touch of lactose or milk chocolate, but it's very faint. Some red hots. You feel 100% of that 7.6% ABV. This reminds me a lot of Portland or Seattle. Just tons of peppery coffee and lots of alcohol coming right at you.

Feel is rather thin, and has a cinnamon-like burn as if I just ate a pack of hot tamales. The feel left on the palate is a bit dry and chalky, not something I particularly look for.

Overall, worth its steep 4 pack price, but I don't think I could do it in a bomber. It's very boozy, very red-hots-like; with tons of peppery coffee and a dash of skim milk. Not terrible, but an interesting trial.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sampled this evening on 8/27/15. Comes in a 4-pack for around $10.00 from Hy-Vee. Bottle chilled down to 36 degrees F in my beer cooler and poured in to a "EMPYREAN BREWING COMPANY" pint glass.

Brew pours a pitch black in color with a thin beige head. Some spotty lacing is seen when sipped. Aroma is very pleasant and is of dark cherries, roasted malts, hint of vanilla, black coffee and cocoa. Pretty much is said for the taste with lots going on with a hint of 'oak barrel' type wood taste. Lots of malt, but in a good way. A slight 'black coffee' bitterness is at the end. Tried one back in July at our party here but the 2nd time is much better. Medium-boded with perfect carbonation.

Poured into s Stash tea glass.

Look: Black as coffee with brown hue on the edges. Cream colored head dissipates to nothing with little or no lacing.

Aroma: A nice vanilla sweetness mixed with barrel wood.

Taste: Bitter coffee, vanilla, burnt wood.

Mouthfeel: Medium to light.

Overall: Pretty good on the coffee front, gets a bit woody, but tasty enough, bought a single bottle - worth it.

 

 

 

12 oz bottle. Pours brown with a fizzy tan head that quickly goes to a thin film and leaves little lacing.

The aroma is sweet fruity lactic chocolate. Kind of odd.

The flavor is sweet dark fruits with lactic chocolate and some roast in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and watery with fizzy carbonation.

Overall, an odd blend of fruit and lactic chocolate with little coffee.

I like this beer, but I'm giving it 3.5s for quality control. This bottle (Best-by date notched at JUNE 2015) is infected, no doubt about it - there's an instantly-recognizable acetic sour tinge in both the nose and the palate, which is a shame because you can tell there's a perfectly creamy, satisfying milk stout underneath. Big chocolate syrup notes still come through, though, as does a bit of barrel wood.

Honestly, this is a bit like Floyd D'Rue/Rue D'Floyd: not what it's supposed to be, but not bad. It's no milk stout in this state, but that's not stopping me from enjoying it. Hoping I can try this again in its original, non-infected state.