12th Anniversary Stout With Cherries
Fremont Brewing Company

Pulled from my cellar, this is a beer that has aged quite well.

The beer pours a blackish brown color with pretty good head retention and light lacing. The beer looks slightly viscous, which is never a bad sign. On the nose I'm getting a complex aroma of cherries, bourbon, light vanilla, chocolate and brownie. There's a lot going on just on the nose with this beer. However, as good as it smells, the beer tastes even better. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely, but there's just more of everything. The mouthfeel... I'm not sure it gets any better than this. The flavor profile is full bodied and soft on the palate, with a long, almost creamy finish. There's definitely some sweetness, but the bourbon and tertiary flavors keep that sweetness in check. Alcohol is very well integrated into the flavor profile, though you can tell it's up there. It's not hot on the finish, but the beer is so rich and full bodied, I was surprised to see the abv. was only 11 %.

Really impressive beer, even by Fremont's lofty standards. Also, I feel like this beer has benefited from the additional aging. The cherry flavor was a bit too prominent in its youth, but today it blends in seamlessly with the base beer. This is good stuff.

(review from February 2022) Exceptionally flavorful, complex & unbelievably well balanced BA imperial stout w/great mouthcoating palate heft & such a smooth fooler of an 11%er! Big cherry nose up front that fades as it warms + so many layers of cherries/whisky/vanilla/chocoish/roasty/malty fruity notes & a slightly woodyish/cola aftertaste.

Review: 258
Name: 12th Anniversary
Brewery: Fremont Brewing
Location: Seattle, WA
Style: Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
ABV: 11%
Canned: 2021
Date: 8 April 2026
Initial Impression:
I grabbed this one from Fremont Brewing—they’ve put out some spectacular beers, so expectations were high. With some age on it, I was hoping for a smooth, contemplative sipper after a long day.
Appearance:
Served at 54°F in a tulip. Pours inky black with no visible highlights (SRM ~38). A creamy, dark tan head forms but dissipates quickly—expected given the age and elevated ABV. Visually appropriate for a barrel-aged imperial stout.
Aroma:
Malt-forward with strong barrel presence. Rich roasted malt leads, followed by bourbon, oak, char, and caramel from the barrel. Layers of dark chocolate, medium-roast coffee, molasses, anise, leather, and dark fruit (raisin, fig) build depth. There’s a light smokiness and some earthy character.
The cherry adjunct comes across more as dried cherry—subtle and somewhat muted. On the back end, a noticeable soy sauce/Maillard note emerges, along with a faint phenolic edge, suggesting oxidation and extended aging.
Flavor:
Big, dense, and warming. The malt backbone is robust—roasted malt, dark chocolate, coffee, molasses, and toffee up front. Mid-palate brings leather, tobacco, anise, earth, and dark fruit (raisin, date), along with barrel-derived bourbon, oak, and caramel.
There’s a clear oxidative component—soy sauce, slight umami, and a hint of “fire”/heat—that adds complexity but also pushes the beer toward heaviness. The cherry character remains subdued and dried, never quite integrating as a bright counterpoint. A light herbal/floral note flickers on the finish but gets overshadowed.
Mouthfeel:
Full-bodied, heavy, and chewy with low carbonation. Coating on the palate with a pronounced warmth. Viscous without becoming overly sticky, but it leans thick.
Overall Impression:
I’m a bit conflicted on this one. There’s a lot to like—the barrel work is well done, and the malt complexity is deep and layered. But the combination of high alcohol, oxidative notes, and that dried cherry character pushes it into a slightly medicinal, almost cough-syrup-like territory.
It’s not a bad beer—there’s clear craftsmanship here—but it drinks heavier than I’d want, and the cherry never quite lifts it the way I hoped. With a fresher, brighter fruit expression, this could have been something special. As it stands, it’s more of a slow, one-and-done sipper than something I’d revisit often.

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like tobacco, black cherry, a sort of herbal roast character, vanilla, bourbon, and mint.

The age on this has maybe upped the herbal, almost minty character that this has. The cherry is subtle, and well-integrated, appear more like dried cherry leather rather than the overtly Robitussin vibes that cherry stouts can sometimes give. There’s lots of oakiness, some bourbon, and a slight little vanilla creamy sweetness on the back end.

This is medium bodied, slightly creamy, with a pleasant roasty bitterness on the finish.

This has aged quite well, I’m not sure if some time softened the cherry character, as I saw some reviewers said it was very reminiscent of cough medicine.

 

 

 

Appearance: Pours espresso colored with a thin layer of tan foam that fades to a collar and land bridge; very leggy with speckles of lace dripping

Smell: Black Forest cake aromatics with subtle Bourbon tones underneath; a bit of oak, as well

Taste: The cherry flavor dominate from start to finish with the Black Forest cake aspect building; subtle Bourbon flavors are not far behind; all elements are held in check to blend together nicely

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with low carbonation; slight warmth in the gullet

Overall: Looking over previous reviews, I think a little aging has helped this beer as I didn't detect any "cough syrup" aspect to complain about; I thought it was well-balanced and enjoyable

 

 

 

 

Tastes like cough medicine got poured into my stout. Horrible. Anyone giving this a high score just doesn’t want to admit they spent almost $30 on an awful product. All other Fremont beers I’ve had have been outstanding, but this one should have been canceled after taste testing at the brewery

Pour from the tap into a 12 ounce tulip glass.

Look- Black, dark brown frothy head, average head retention and lacing.

Smell- Bourbon, Smoky, Cherry, oak.

Taste- Bourbon, smoky, Cherry, sweet.

Feel- Full body, smooth, average carbonation, moderately mouth coating, sweet.

Overall- Wonderful beer! Great bourbon/cherry/smoky bouquet and flavor with a perfect feel.

 

Bottle Date: 2021
Palate Contaminants: none

Dark brown (what a shock) color. The head is very fine, although very little head.

The smell is Black Forest cake, with semi-sweet chocolate, discernable sugar, flour, and cherries. Maybe a little walnut on there, too. If the intensity was more, the score would be even higher.

Pungent cherries right away on the taste, and the dark chocolate is there to compete. The cherry verges on being medicinal. The sugar I'm struggling to really tie to a source. It's sorta brown sugar, sorta molasses, sorta cane.

Alcohol heat is moderately detectable. Aftertaste is cherry, and it leans toward the medicinal, but again not excessively. Lots of fine carbonation, lightly prickly.

Black with creamy and compact beige foam. Scent of chocolate, toffee, cherries, vanilla, oak and whiskey. Taste that fully reflects the olfactory sensations. Fattening with chocolate and vanilla, black cherries that give a slight sour note, gentle bitterness and warm notes of aging in ex bourbon barrels. Full, round and velvety body with low and fine carbonation.

 

 

Pours dark black. Aroma is dominated by vanilla with cherries, chocolate & some bourbon. Taste follows the nose and is incredibly complex and very well balanced. Mouthfeel is medium though I'd prefer it to be a bit fuller. Thoroughly enjoyed this stout.