Imperial Avalanche Amber Ale: Aged in Whiskey Barrels
Breckenridge Brewery & The Farm House

Appearance: Pours a rather hazy medium amber with quite a bit of suspended sediment. The head is rather small and of a finely-beaded cream white. , the retention is decent. Finely-beaded, scattered and thin lacing adorns the glass wall.

Aroma: Caramel , whiskey and wood are particularly notable in the aroma. Also present are oak notes, toasted nuts and bitter apple rind. Despite the very high ABV of 11.8%, there are no harsh alcohol notes.

Taste: The taste begins with strong whiskey and wood notes, followed by caramel and brown sugar. The is a fairly strong wave of herbal hops midway through the taste. A gentle warmth is present throughout. Late in the taste, sweet whiskey notes assert strongly along with a distinct oak note. Late on there are flavors of both sweet apple and bitter apple rind. A lingering wave of whiskey and wood defines the finish.

Mouth feel: Quite full, very soft, and pleasant, with only slight carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: Imperial Avalanche Amber Ale is pleasant, and drinkable, but left me wanting more, certainly in the way of complexity. Still, there is nothing to despise, just regret that it didn't live up to its full promise.

Presentation: Packaged in a standard twelve ounce brown glass longneck bottle with a pry-off crown, served in a La Fin du Monde tulip. The "best by" code is "051422", and "BR 0908". I failed to note these when purchasing this less than a month ago.

Poured from a bottle into a snifter
Appearance – The beer pours a clear amber color with a small fizzy off-white head. The head fades rather fast leaving a light level of spider web looking lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is quite strong of a roasted and toasted bready smell mixed with lots of caramel, brown sugar, and nut. Along with these aromas comes notes of cherry and raisin as well as a bit of oak. Rounding out the smell is a nice boozy bourbon smell with a touch of herb.
Taste – The taste begins with a rather roasty and sweeter amber flavor with a good showing of caramel, molasses, and toffee. At the same time there are other sweet flavors of a fruity nature, with notes of raisin, plum, apple, and pear. A touch of vanilla and a moderate oakiness is there from the start as well, with the former fading while the later gets stronger. All the while the booziness increase as the bourbon that was in the nose, augments on the tongue. At the end the sugar sweetness increases, while the fruitiness decreases leaving one with a rather warming and rich boozy taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is thicker and more chewy with a carbonation level that is low. For the whisky and roasty-sweet tastes of the brew, as well as for the big abv, the feel is appropriate and makes for a nice slow sipper.
Overall – It’s got a pretty decent boozy kick on this one. I think this would be nice cool weather warmer on a Fall day.

Reddish amber color with one finger of off white head. Vanilla, brown sugar, toasted pecans on the nose. Oak definitely comes through. The taste is all barrel and whiskey with maybe a bit of toasted bread. The feel is medium bodied. Not much to explain here...just too much barrel and whiskey.

I actually haven't had regular Avalanche and thought it'd be fun to try this first, the barrel is the most prevalent with some light Malty flavor, overall it's mostly the whiskey barrel and it's definitely a warmer and boozy