Big Bad Baptist - Rum Barrel-Aged
Epic Brewing Company

 

 

A - Dark brown with thin bubbly, toffee colored lacing, nice viscosity on the sides of the glass and very light carbonation.

S - Nice toasted cocoa aroma with Rum and coconut.

T - Lots of oak with nice toasted cocoa and chocolate goodness along with Rum, ends perfectly balanced with nice lingering chocolate toast and oak.

M - Robust medium body with a little bit of warming on the way down.

O - This is a fantastic beer. Period. Recommended.

 

 

 

Why did they STILL use the whiskey barrel? This year's releases...like I can't say they sucked because none are objectively bad but this year of release really feels like they released the same beer 7 times. No rum notes. Nothing different. Boring.

Poured a black body with minimal head and lace. Aroma has notes of booze and wood along with hints of cocoa. Moderately dry beer with notes of wood, booze and even roasted malts like burnt coffee grounds and harsh chocolate and there is a hint of vanilla sweetness but mostly a dry beer with semi-hard finish.

L: Poured from a 500ml bottle into a snifter - Jet black pour with about one fingers length of foam risen.
S: Definitely getting that rum barrel in the first sniff. Getting some chocolate, coconut as well. I think the rum in general translates to a coconut smell/ taste in barrel aging based on what I've tasted. Getting some dark fruits in there as well as some molasses. Slight malts. Smells delicious!
T: Ohh yeah, Definitely getting chocolate up front with some coffee, vanilla, rum. Getting slight dark fruits. Not as much as I was expecting. Not to bad.
F: Medium bodied, kind of thin for what I was hoping for. Easy to drink.
O: Not bad! I was hoping for a little more with this but this is a good beer. Wouldn't say world class but it's a good option to check out what it can be like with a rum barrel aged beer.

Look: Pours a deep black with almost no head. The head that was briefly there on the pour appeared to be a tan color but it was tough to tell.

Smell: Definitely getting the rum on the nose. After the rum I’m getting hints of cacao nibs, coffee, malt, and some chocolate. Really pleasant aroma.

Taste: Just splendid taste here - rum and whiskey, coffee, cacao nibs, cocoa, chocolate, and with the mixture of all this plus the rum, it finished off with hints of what tastes like coconut. Superb.

Feel: Smooth, rich, but heavier feel. Appropriate for the style but not for the feint of heart.

Overall: Really cool iteration of this beer, I’ve had several versions and this ranks near the top. Great complex flavor that feels unique. Pick this one up when you’ve got a quiet night alone with some time on your hands to let it warm and be properly consumed.

From the 1 pt 6 fl oz bottle in a snifter. This monster pours a dark
coal black with a very nice head of kahki foam that subsides to a thin ring with
excellent lacing. Nose of rum, oak, whiskey hints, char, brulee, dark chocolate, moderate
char, and dark berry nuances. Flavors knock it out of the park---dark cocoa, dark coffee,
char, roast, brulee, tobacco, dark fruits of blackberry and raspberry, rum, whiskey, oak, and
toffee. Of note, warmth gives way to a touch of toasted coconut! Mouth feel is full, slick,
smooth, rich, coating, light carbonation, and a warming rich finish that is perfectly balanced.

Overall------probably my favorite of the new incarnations, and as always approachable for
any imperial stout lover!

Cheers

22 ounce bomber - bottle #8926, bought at the brewery in Salt Lake City.
Poured into a snifter and got a fair tan foam over a dark brown, leaning black, stout.
Smell is classic BBB, with a woody spiciness clawing its way out.
Taste is, again, recognizable BBB base stout, coffee, cacao, molasses, and the rum barrel treatment adds a defining enhancement to each element. The nuances build as the elixir warms, transforming into a bounty of booty worthy of its name. Perfectly boozed too.
Feel is full, lightly creamy, just enough carbonation.
Overall, another excellent rendition of one of the best base stouts in America. Well done!

neat variant this year, always thought this would make sense for this incredible and now rightly famous base beer. i liked how the rye has aged better than i liked it new, which makes me especially excited about this edition, because its money fresh. the wood is strong, the rum is more flavorful than sweet in it, and it seems so easily compatible with the coffee, the cacao, and the roasted grains. less coffee and roasted barley bitterness than others, offset some by the natural molasses character of the rum, both in aroma and flavor. i can almost taste the wood being kind of weathered in this, not sure where the rum barrels are from, but its less the new oak stored indoors typical of bourbon, instead more of a rustic, mature, organic wood vibe, less char too, more minerals, really neat, and i love how it doesnt depend on being sweet to be identifiable easily as rum aged. creamy tan head on this, silky smooth mouthfeel, insanely well hidden abv even at temperature, hardly even warm, crazy. its not as viscous as some variants. neat nuance of intense dark chocolate, trace smoke, toasted coconut, fresh tobacco leaf, and raw unrefined sugar, the rum really does a lot for this, and with all the wood this has in nose and taste its incredible. its actually somewhat lighter than many other variants on the swallow, maybe not drier, but somehow faster finishing, cleaner than anticipated, and overall just a sensational showcase of the rum treatment. the coffee has a natural synergy with it that makes this special. i look so forward to these every year, one of the greatest series in all of beer!

 

 

 

You know what, this may be a theme for the 2022 BBB series - this one is solid too, if unremarkable. Rum barrels can go either way for me but this spirit character works well; there is some latent heat/booze but not a ton, nice base beer offering roasty, malty chocolate notes and even some vanilla along with the coffee. Good stuff.