Maman - Evan Williams 23yr Blue Label Barrel
Perennial Artisan Ales

Pours pitch black with no head. Aroma is really rich, layers of bourbon and wood, vanilla, coconut, and a base of strong chocolate, very indulgent nose. Flavor is not as overpoweringly rich and sweet as the nose suggests, it’s much more balanced, a praline sort of character to the malt backbone, some semisweet chocolate, and then lots of layers of whiskey, coconut and wood - sounds like a typical bourbon BA stout but the barrel character and execution has lots of finesse. A bit of a nutty character towards the finish that dries it out, with a very dry finish and aftertaste, a touch of alcohol heat. Medium bodied but oily and unctuous with very soft carbonation. For an adjunct free barrel-aged stout, this has a lot going on.

Had on Draft at Mikeller and Friends in Copenhagen. Possibly the best BA stout I've ever had. Pitch black pour with a quickly receding mocha head. Nose is strong chocolate, fruit, and caramel. Flavor is chocolate milk up front, oak in the middle, and smooth whiskey on the finish. An incredibly strong whiskey kick on the end, but the richness of the beer holds up well to provide incredible balance. Mouthfeel is viscous and chewy, a very strong resemblance to Cory King's other beers. In all, this beer was a surprising and remarkable experience. Should be considered among the top tier of non-adjunct stouts.

On tap at CBC 2016. Pitch black,no head. Bourbon, cocoa, chocolate and vanilla. Smooth mouthfeel with no carbonation. One of the best beers at this year's festival.

 

Had at CBC 2016. At a 2-day event alongside some other big BA stouts, this one stood out. Probably the best BA stout I've ever had, but admittedly, I've not had a lot of the top rated ones. I cannot imagine it getting much better than this though. The barrel character is just perfect; it's there and it let's you know it with a bit of harshness, but perfectly in tune with everything else that should be there in a big BA stout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beer hits of sticky, syrupy bourbon and toffee, almost like maple syrup was added to the beer. Onto dark fruits with dried plums, dates, and bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, cherry cordial, chocolate fudge. The finish moves onto charred oak with some woody tannins drying the brew out.

The beer is a serious contender with Bourbon County Rare with how soft and deep the nose is along with the intense, yet soft barrel character.

 

 

 

On draft at Perennial's Societe du Chene party. Served in a brandy snifter glass, and got a second pour from my friend who was feeling hungover from our share the night before. Awesome!

Poured a thick, viscous dark black body, one finger offwhite head, surprisingly good retention, a fair bit of leg and no retention. Smell is absolutely wonderful and very much like the base Maman. Nutty milk chocolate, brownie batter, fudge, oak, cocoa, and a fair bit of warming alcohol heat that gives off a little bit of paint thinner (in a good way). Reminds me a lot of Assassin, but the paint thinner isn't as overwhelming. Flavour is on point, with chocolate fudge, brownie batter, milk chocolate, a little bit of char, and a hefty bourbon flavour that honestly is a bit overwhelming compared to the base Maman. If I hadn't drank the base Maman and had an idea of what I was expecting though, I would love this even more. It's a sipper, with a hefty, oily body with lower carbonation, smooth as silk with more heat coming out as the beer warms up. It would be suited to a very cold winter night when you want some whisky on the rocks but would rather open up a beer instead. I think the issue here (only because I've had the regular Maman before, mind you) is that this is a single barrel beer that isn't blended; that is an intrinsic risk you take when you package a single barrel of barrel-aged beer on its own. All things considered, this came out great!