Clare's Thirsty Ale | Haymarket Beer Co. Pub & Brewery

4.34/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

been looking forward to trying this one for a long time and am stoked to have finally gotten the chance. this is a really neat and sort of unexpected beer, strange to name a strong barrel aged stout thirsty ale, like it implies easy drinking or high volume beer or something, but this is anything but, and it would take a special kind of thirst to want to drink a ton of this one. a rye whiskey barrel aged imperial stout with raspberries, and a wonderful one at that. i go back and forth on the fruited stouts, sometimes they get way too sweet and candy-like with the chocolate in the malt and the fruit sugars, but the raspberries are as tart as they are sweet in this, so while it has some residual sugar and raspberry jam qualities, its also really natural tasting, clean, and fairly acidic from their tartness. its amazing how forward the fruit is in such a dense strong dark beer. sure there is still plenty of dark malt in here, its intensely roasty with a coffee quality to it, and there is some barrel char and earthy wet wood as well, but the summery brightness of the berries lightens it all up and really defines this beer for me. rye is a smart choice for barrels too, its less sweet in this manifestation than bourbon would have been, and the dense slightly spicy rye character makes the grain base seem particularly interesting to me. light vanilla too, but it isnt desserty so much. dark cocoa, a little bitterness, and whiskey, along with old school raspberry jam in the finish, its just delicious and about as well done as something like this could be. this reminds me of an excellent raspberry stout i had from hardywood park a few years back but with the barrel, but other than that beer, quite original. worth the hype!

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4.53/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.42/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.42/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.5/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.25/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.4/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.31/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.71/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

4.69/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Thanks Ryan for sharing a mini growler of this liquid. Poured into a tulip.

Aromas are luscious raspberry-chocolate, vanilla-bourbon. On the tongue is just straight silky semisweet chocolate covered raspberries that are ever present but delicately subtle. Easy, silky body, very thick and rich.

This might be the best raspberry stout I've ever had.. kills BYR.

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4.5/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.6/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.37/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

2014 vintage (Woodford Reserve barrels) - very nice incorporation of the base stout, raspberry and barrel notes. The raspberry adds a nice sweetness and jammy notes to a really well done BA stout.

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4.35/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.1/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

4.38/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.58/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Always though to balance fruits with barrel aged flavor but this one is harmonious. Huge fan of rye barrel flavors already so this templeton barrel is right up my alley though I am not a huge raspberry fan. However this works. Nose is literally a chocolate covered raspberries with subtle sweet rye barrel notes. Dessert beer start with a little booze barrel on the finish. Great beer.

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4.5/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.81/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

3.68/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

4.5/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.62/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

4.19/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

4.25/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25