Bring Out Your Dead X - Cognac Barrel-Aged
Bellwoods Brewery

Review: 2404
Name: Boyd Cognac Barrel
Brewery: Bellwood Brewing
Location: Toronto, Canada
Style: Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.6%
Canned: 18 March 2022
Date: 21 May 2025.
My last beer from Bellwoods was given to me by a dear friend. Thank you for the beers. I am serving it at 50 degrees in a tulip glass. The beer glugged out of the bottle, creating a frothy, foamy, half-fingered tan head with average retention. The dissipation left nothing on the glass. The color is inky black with dark rusty brown ebony hues. It is opaque and charting at SRM 36. Overall, it has an average appearance for a stout.
Nosing the glass, I smell dark chocolate, coffee, leather, spirits, dark roasted malts, oak, caramel, molasses, malty sweetness, orange peel, raisins, and a light floral note.
Sipping the glass, I taste dark chocolate, grass, dark roasted malts, light char, caramel, dates, leather, espresso, oak, brandy, vinous, malty sweetness, dark toasted bread crust, raisins, and floral.
The mouthfeel is chewy and coating, finishing soft. The body is medium-plus and has low carbonation.
This is a delicious beer with all the right flavors. I am unsure I can taste the cognac, but I get a brandy vibe with a light wine note, akin to port. The storms that have raged here in Idaho have subsided a bit, and sunshine has come out and warmed my soul. Boyd is warming my soul on the inside. Fantastic finish to a busy day.

Enjoying courtesy of @coronaeus. This pours an extremely thick, deep, deep brown / black. Healthy thick dark beige colored head with good retention. Overall a very nice looking beer.

Aroma packs quite the punch. I could smell it from a couple feet away, but went in for a closer whiff and should have been more conservative in doing so. A deep inhale up close actually made me start coughing the aromas were so strong. This is far from a criticism, as this beer smells great. A more careful inspection revealed loads of sweet cognac and malts that hint at this being a decadent beer.

Some of these characteristics carry through to the tongue, but there's some light roast that combines brilliantly with the cognac & malts. Every sip is a little different. Sometimes I get barrel up front, sometimes light roast, sometimes a little more cognac. Other sips the roast is more on the finish. Regardless of the order in which I detect them, this is really, really good. Little bit of fig, little bit of chocolate, and a whole lot of delicious. Feel is oily and slick, and lighter than I would have guessed.

Overall, this is outstanding.

Review from April 13, 2022 but listed under the regular BOYD entry. Now moved

BOYD X. 2022 Vintage. Bottled March 18, 2022. Purchased from the brewery. Listed at 10.6% ABV. Cost was almost an arm and a leg. Served fairly cold initially but left out a bit to warm into a tulip.

Appearance - Jet black and oily and slick coming from the bottle. A small quarter finger of frothy dark brown head reminds of a mochaccino. Small cap coalesces.

Smell - Cognac, wood, hints of figs, dates and caramel. Molasses underneath all that. Possibly leather too. Well rounded aroma even when cold.

Taste - Damn. Initially chocolate and raisins, reminds me of Glosette raisins from Halloween as a kid, but even better. Some toffee, dates and figs give a well rounded sweetness. Plums and then the cognac kicks in, with a little booziness and woodiness. Molasses and a bit more bitterness at the end. Lots of tasting notes.

Mouthfeel - Lightly carbonated, thick, slick and oily feel. Works great with the flavors. Sticks to your mouth (and your bones inevitably). Nice subtle warmth in the back of the throat.

Overall - A masterpiece. I don't know how this stacks up with previous renditions as there may be small changes year to year, but the 2022 vintage is some truly incredible stuff. Best new beer of 2022 by a longshot for me as the depth here is incredibly impressive.