Rare Hare No. 2 - Barrel Aged Sticky Stout
Red Hare Brewing Company

16 oz can purchased and consumed near the brewery in GA. ABV listed as 5.5%.
Pours dark brown with a semi-durable beige head.
Nice mild effects of whisky barrel aging in the aroma.
Flavor: nothing subtle about the whisky barrel influence here, and it's a very pleasant addition of, apparently, some barrels used for fine Tennessee whiskey. Light sweetness with subtle notes of vanilla, dark fruits and brown sugar. Finishes with oak, dark roasted grains and fine whisky.

i wonder if this somehow got a little infected, or if its supposed to have this much acidic tang to it. its not gone all the way off and become super sour, but it sure has a little citric bite to it that really has no place in a barrel aged sweet stout, if its intentional, i think its a bad decision, and if its not, these guys have some work to do. maybe only the second beer i have had from them, i like the idea of putting a barrel aged stout in a pint can, thats cool, and the base beer shows plenty of promise, but this funky aspect just doesnt work. there is a ton of vanilla and whiskey notes in here which are great, and enough dark malt to give it a little roasty balance and also body, but there is a lot of residual sugar here, high even for a sweet stout base, and it makes drinking even half the can a bit of a task. lots of barrel character too though, and the flavors swirling around in here are interesting, i just cant get past the probably infection aspect, it really taints this. lots of potential, but this didnt quite do it for me in its current form.

It's like a faux big beer ... what is the point? It looks thin, tastes thin, and then you're hit with a boozy bourbon flavor. It's like a session barrel aged stout. No thank you.

16oz can from Sprayberry Bottle Shop (Marietta, GA). 2.99. Best by 12/24/16, I assume canned 8/24/16. Served in a Barrel and Barley teku.

Pours a dark, cola brown but rests in the glass essentially black. An initial two and a half fingers of sand hued head gradually fades to a thin haze and fluffy collar. A few trails and dashes of lace decorate the glass.

Smells of roasty malt, chocolate, faint whiskey, caramel and just a mild hint of oaky vanilla. A tad mild but pleasant enough.

Taste follows the nose rather well. Whiskey, dark chocolate, roasty malts, burnt caramel, rolled oats and a mere whisper of vanilla-tinged wet wood. There is a good bit of flavor here for a 5.5% abv brew but far less than most barrel aged stouts.

Smooth but disappointingly light body with mellow carbonation. Faint whiskey, dark cocoa and roast tickle the palate in the finish.

I think I would consider Red Hare's Barrel Aged Sticky Stout a "session" barrel aged stout (which seems a silly notion). It may punch slightly above it's abv class in flavor but lacks the strength, body and robust flavor that I prefer in a barrel aged stout.

 

BEST BY: DEC 24 2016.

Appearance: Pours a very dark brown, near black body with an initial inch of tan-hued foam, though this settles fairly rapidly.

Smell: Whiskey seeped mild chocolate bar with notes of cola, tobacco and dark fruit.

Taste: Dark maltiness revealing a little roast and scant chocolate, moderately sweet, with a ripple of whiskey running through it, delivering touches of vanilla-tinged oak. Hint of rabbiteye blueberry. Slight caramel, chocolate on the finish with one final zip of suds.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Relatively soft carbonation.

Overall: It's alright.