Dyatlov Pass Incident
Alpine Dog Brewing Company

 

a far more ambitious beer than anything else i have ever had or heard of from these guys, which is cool to see. a bourbon barrel aged russian imperial stout, and a fairly traditional and well done one, although i suspect future batches will be even better, there had to be a few lessons learned here. it doesnt have a lot of life from the tap, and is more brown than black. it has a really cool grain character about it, a sour mash or partially sour mash sort of tangy acidity, mostly in the finish, not a sour beer or anything, but there is a real rustic old worldy english old ale or something tannic maturity, i dont know, likely derived in the mash, and intentional or not, i love it. the bourbon is stronger in the nose than the flavor, i dont think this needs a barrel to be interesting, so i dont miss it there. some booze burn from it and a little bit of vanilla, which goes nice with the chocolatey brown ale aspects of this, lighter in color and roast than most in the style, but not hurting at all for complexity. its not sloppy but its not perfect, but its clever and its good. i hope they keep pushing themselves with beers like this, i like it because it doesnt taste like the same stout everyone makes, and the barrel isnt a crutch. i dont know if there is a non barrel aged version or not.