Bourbon Barrel Aged Empire Imperial Stout
Cutters Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

2013 bb edition 22oz bomber into snifter

A- Pours a bit thin with no head. Jet black
S- nice bourbon smell. A bit of of roasted malt
T- not bad bourbon flavor. Not too overpowering. Flavor fades a bit too fast and ends up watery on the end
M- zero carb??? What happened here. Medium mouthfeel

O- I had high hopes since I really like Empire stout. Something went wrong with this batch. No carb, flavor fades quick. Hope they can correct for 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours pitch black with a half finger head. Smells of dark chocolate, bourbon, oak, little tobacco, some roastiness, carmel. Taste starts with carmel and chocolate along with some roasted malts. Then becomes sweeter with more carmel and some breadiness. Bourbon starts to come through as well as some barrel presence. The finish is more chocolate, bourbon, oak, sweet carmel, and some tobacco. Little boozy. Could use a little more age. Mouthfeel is a little thin. Medium body with a slick texture. A pretty good barrel aged stout for Cutters' first try.

 

 

 

 

HUGE thanks to bertram for this little delicacy!

A. Pours a dark, opaque brown. No head to speak of beyond a bubble or two. Flat. Big oily legs rim the glass with each swirl. Looks like a beast.

S. Really good. Melted fudge, slightly singed brownies, warm nougat, caramel, vanilla bean, toasted oats, roasted grounds. This is excellent.

T. Follows the nose and improves upon it. Thick baking chocolate, brownie batter, little bit of smoke, toasted bread, vanilla bean, caramel, some ripe cherry, burnt oak, and bourbon finish. Finish is drying and slightly hoppy. Wow.

M. Carb is low, which the pour hinted at. Definitely would have benefited from more carb. However, it still has great balance and a nice, cloying mouth feel. Each sip is a warming experience, with a cascade of flavor.

O. This is a very impressive barrel aged stout, one of the better ones I have had. The aging was done very well, as the bourbon barrel was well integrated. Lesser stouts would have a thin mouthfeel with the barrel overwhelming everything. In this beer, the base stout shines as much if not moreso than the barrel. Outstanding. Big thumbs up.

Split with the girlfriend while watching some football.

Pours black with a medium sized beige head. Pretty creamy. Good lacing and retention.

Loads of chocolate with a few roasted malts along with some bourbon, vanilla and oak undertones. You can tell this one spent time in a barrel, but the base beer is still there too.

Very chocolately up front with a bit of a licorice flavor as well. Oak and bourbon then come in more toward the back of the palate. Finishes with some brown sugar balanced out by a kiss of bourbon. Also a touch of smoke as it lingers on the tongue.

Nice thick chewy mouthfeel with a very creamy body. Bourbon is well integrated and you can still taste the rich chocolate from the base beer. Carbonation is a bit low, but present which is all that is needed for a big creamy stout.

Great job by Cutters on their first barrel release. Empire is a solid base beer and the barrel aging did this one well. My only thing keeping is from perfection is it got a touch cloying in the aftertaste after reaching room temperature. Make sure and get it down when it's in the sweet spot for optimum flavor.