Twelve Gauge Imperial Stout (Orange Spice)
Payette Brewing

 

cool version of this, a beast of a beer, boozy beyond even its strong alcohol content, hot to drink, but that kind of flatters both the orange and the spice, and all the deep dark roasted malt character of the base beer remains in tact, pretty clever overall and quite good, even if i dont want to drink all that much of it. shiny and black in the glass, a little thin looking in the sense that its not as viscous as it seems like most of these are, and the head is only short and short lived, looks almost a little greasy. the orange and bourbon are awesome in the nose, vanilla and bitterness together, chocolate and coffee and roast from the grain too, a little barrel char, brown sugar, spicy allspice and warming mulling spices, alcohol through the whole thing, super wintery. the flavor is nice, good bitter from orange and roast to balance other malt and whiskey sweetness. lots of oak on this, a little harsh with the alcohol as it warms, but at the same time it seems to enhance the spices. clove and black pepper come out to me, cozy cinnamon, slightly burnt at the end. a little lacking on carbonation and this hangs on the palate forever. its cool beer, a neat mix of flavors to add to this, a fun variant perfect for the holidays. certainly a beer that is better shared...

Draft at taproom. Near black pour, a few bubbles. Aroma is winter spice, anise, cinnamon, clove. Not much orange. Taste continues with more of the spice, plenty of booze and light roasty malts. Would be more apt in the fall than the spring.

19.2oz 2020 canning, poured into a snifter-nonic.

A: Pitch black pour, fairly dense and viscous, with a mocha-colored head that fizzled loudly and quickly away leaving no lacing.

S: Moderately strong impressions of fall spices, even pumpkin spice (though I don't get pumpkin in particular)...definitely cinnamon and maybe cardamom. Vanilla sweetness as well, with a nice bourbon-y quality and a hint of booze.

T: Spicing, vanilla, bourbon, graham cracker, a distinct but fairly mellow citrus quality, cinnamon, chocolate, mild mocha.

MF: Again, a touch of booze brings a bit of heat; fairly viscous and full-bodied.

O: Seems to work well in my opinion. I would prefer a touch less spice, as the size of the brew and the amount of spicing was somewhat fatiguing on 19 ounces, but only marginally so. I enjoyed it overall.