Grand Cru Cuvee Double Barrel Edition
Evil Twin Brewing

11/10/23 draft @ Appalachian Vintner

 

Well it’s a retired brew. So I’ve got one of the last cans. Bought for $8 at my new local favorite store that has more stouts than I can deal with. Poured out dark brown, one inch head. Fast dispersion into nothing. Smell is strong, alcoholic burning my nose hairs, cherry, maple, and of course bourbon. Taste: a wash of flavors like raisin, cherry, wine, a little vanilla and maple, fig, slight bitterness from the hops. The taste is kind of all over the place, lacks any real focus, can’t be brought to a point. Mouthfeel is electric though with bubbles and moderately smooth and non syrupy. Overall it’s an ok brew but a little bit of too much of everything. I don’t taste any predominant notes, no driving flavors, nothing that defines this beer into something I can hold on to. Not entirely bad to taste, but I wish I had a flavor destination with this beer but I can’t seem to find one.

Found in Lexington KY guys is got some age in it, shouldn't matter.

Pours a dark murky brown/black small tan head not much lace.

Aroma is sweet sugar, maple, bourbon, vanilla dark fruits plus vinous notes. Big huge beer loads of sweet goodness.

Taste follows the nose big sweetness, maple, oak vanilla light bourbon, good vinous notes dark fruits. Nice rich complex the 12% isn't noticed at all.

Mouhfeel is only medium didn't taste as big as it is. Carbonation is smooth.

Overall an enjoyable big sweet tasty brew.

 

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

This smells like sweet silky chocolate syrup, port, dark fruit, maple, caramel, tobacco, and oak.

This is big and sweet, but it works pretty well for me. Both barrels play off each other well, with dual sweetness added from sticky maple and the darker fruitiness from the marsala barrels. It feels more stout-like than barleywine, with milk chocolate and coffee, and just a hint of caramel from the barleywine. I get a touch of spicy oak and tobacco, but it's mostly sweet type flavors.

This is creamy and silky, and slightly syrupy, with a lower carbonation level. It's not very boozy at all.

This is pretty tasty stuff, but I wanted a bit more balance. It's still a good beer.

 

 

 

I'm typically a big fan of stout and barleywine blends, and this one has an interesting lineage, being aged in maple bourbon barrels and marsala wine barrels. Not sure what character to expect from the marsala, given that it is a regional appellation that can be dry or sweet, with varying lengths of ageing in the barrels. I don't pick up a lot from it in any case, some minor oak tannins and subtle vinous notes that balance out whatever the maple flavor contributes. To be honest, this has some complexity one might expect from the blend and barrels, but it's a bit of a hot mess from the standpoint of composition. I can get maple, vanilla, grape, tobacco, etc., but they don't all complement each other or result in a coherent whole. This effect gets better as it warms, so I would recommend letting it approach room temp.

 

 

L: Poured from a tallboy can to a pint glass. Had a dark brown color and a thick, opaque consistency. There was a thin, tan-colored, foamy head that quickly dissipated. Not much lacing here.

S: An interesting aroma of a vinous quality, roasted malt, chocolate, booze, wood, dark fruit, and vanilla.

T: Tasted of a good amount of chocolate (a subtle presence), some dark fruit (raisins, plums), a bit of roasted malt (present throughout), a tinge of vanilla, a lot of the vinous quality (a big factor), and some bourbon notes (and its accompanying barrel). This is a smooth and flavor. A well done flavor.

F: A fair amount of carbonation with a smooth finish. Medium-bodied.

O: An interesting and well made beer. Worth a try.

Pours a deep black with two fingers of khaki foam. Head formation is reluctant, but after tipping the glass up to pour straight into the liquid from the can, it slowly rose to two fingers. Head retention is great, with a finger of foam lasting long after the pour. Aroma is deep, dark barrel qualities with a hints of Belgian strong ale and imperial stout underneath. Notes are roasty, toasty, caramely malts with raisins, plum, bourbon, white wine and oak. It's deep and dark, but remains fresh and vibrant thanks to bright fruit notes. Flavor profile is a step darker, hitting those same malt notes - roasty, toasty and caramely - with plum, dark fruits, raisins, molasses, toffee, and chocolate sweeping in afterwards. Malts are up front, and then it decrescendos with the sweet notes mentioned above. A white wine kiss, along with a hint of bourbon breath, finish out the flavor profile. Alcohol remains folded into the mix, but not prevalent. Mouth feel is thick with a velvety, creamy, filling texture. Overall, big and heavy with a lot of light notes in the intermediate.

Served in a 15.5oz Speigalau tulip from a 16oz can.

 

 

Poured into a DFH tulip. Small tan head over a dark brown body. Smell of boozy maple tinged raisins. Complex taste with the flavors mentioned in the aromas going in and out of each successive sip. Mouthfeel was slightly thin but not inappropriate to this.

Evil Twin frustrates me by releasing these one offs that are so damn good that they should be in regular rotation. I'm gonna have to snag another of these before they disappear to try on a crisp autumn evening.

 

L: Very dark brown color, no head, not much of a lacing either, no visible carbonation.

S: Raisins, coffee, chocolate. Wonderful aroma.

T: Raisins, coffee, chocolate, alcohol. Delicious!

F: Medium to full bodied, full flavored.

O: A superb, delicious beer!