Barrel Aged Imperial Defender
Haymarket Beer Co. Pub & Brewery
- From:
- Haymarket Beer Co. Pub & Brewery
- Illinois, United States
- Style:
- American Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 11%
- Score:
- 92
- Avg:
- 4.27 | pDev: 4.92%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 3
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Aug 04, 2015
- Added:
- Jan 12, 2015
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 0
SCORE
92
Outstanding
92
Outstanding
Aged for 13 months in Woodford Reserve Bourbon Barrels!
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by Gregaroo from Pennsylvania
4.24/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.24/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
On tap at the brewery. Barrel aged version of their already awesome stout. Had a few of these just to be sure I really enjoyed them. I did. Not as boozy as others in this class, which is just fine. Come in and get some right now.
Jul 07, 2015
Reviewed by kevanb from Illinois
3.96/5 rDev -7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
3.96/5 rDev -7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
32oz growler, poured into a Haymarket Globe glass, enjoyed on 1.20.15, reviewed from Tasting Journal.
The beer pours a deep jet black color, oily, viscous, inky and insanely opaque with 2 fingers of caramel head, decent retention with touches of soapy lace. The aroma is huge on the barrel, oaky, strong whiskey, toffee, chocolate, spice, coconut and brown sugar. The flavors mirror the nose well, big coconut presence from the barrel, quite enjoyable, strong charred oak, bourbon, spice, chocolate, brown sugar and toffee with some stone fruits than linger nicely. Creamy mouthfeel, thick, coating, rich, super smooth and easy finish.
Verdict: A nice barrel aged stout from Haymarket, simple, plenty of barrel with a nice coconut presence, though the Woodford Reserve barrels aren't my favorite, the bourbon profile just doesn't sit with me. A nice sipping beer with a good backbone, good for dessert.
Jan 25, 2015The beer pours a deep jet black color, oily, viscous, inky and insanely opaque with 2 fingers of caramel head, decent retention with touches of soapy lace. The aroma is huge on the barrel, oaky, strong whiskey, toffee, chocolate, spice, coconut and brown sugar. The flavors mirror the nose well, big coconut presence from the barrel, quite enjoyable, strong charred oak, bourbon, spice, chocolate, brown sugar and toffee with some stone fruits than linger nicely. Creamy mouthfeel, thick, coating, rich, super smooth and easy finish.
Verdict: A nice barrel aged stout from Haymarket, simple, plenty of barrel with a nice coconut presence, though the Woodford Reserve barrels aren't my favorite, the bourbon profile just doesn't sit with me. A nice sipping beer with a good backbone, good for dessert.
Reviewed by RMelyon from Illinois
4.05/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.05/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
5oz snifter @ Haymarket's "beerthday." Plenty dark with a little more head than expected from a BA stout. If any lacing was there, I didn't notice it.
Smell isn't memborable. A run of the mill BA stout. More bourbon than I'm used to, probably because it's so fresh.
Sweetest stout I've ever had, flavored or not. More tart than sweet, actually. I expected vanilla/toffee but instead got a bunch of white grape. Interesting, but not really in a good way. Not much heat, but a lot of bourbon. The tartness faded out and a little more vanilla/toffee was present by the last sip.
Thinner than I expected. Carbonation's definitely present, but there's a little "stickiness" too. Nothing spectacular.
This is a good beer that I'd purchase again if Haymarket bottled it. A year or two to mellow out the wiskey could do wonders. The last sip was better than good, but overall I expected more.
Jan 13, 2015Smell isn't memborable. A run of the mill BA stout. More bourbon than I'm used to, probably because it's so fresh.
Sweetest stout I've ever had, flavored or not. More tart than sweet, actually. I expected vanilla/toffee but instead got a bunch of white grape. Interesting, but not really in a good way. Not much heat, but a lot of bourbon. The tartness faded out and a little more vanilla/toffee was present by the last sip.
Thinner than I expected. Carbonation's definitely present, but there's a little "stickiness" too. Nothing spectacular.
This is a good beer that I'd purchase again if Haymarket bottled it. A year or two to mellow out the wiskey could do wonders. The last sip was better than good, but overall I expected more.
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