Murmuration
Seventh Son Brewing Co.
- From:
- Seventh Son Brewing Co.
- Ohio, United States
- Style:
- American Imperial Stout
Ranked #640 - ABV:
- 14.52%
- Score:
- 92
Ranked #5,241 - Avg:
- 4.26 | pDev: 4.93%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 10
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Nov 01, 2025
- Added:
- Feb 09, 2020
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 2
SCORE
92
Outstanding
92
Outstanding
A blended barrel-aged imperial stout to showcase beer aged in spirit barrels including bourbon, rum, rye, and others.
Murmuration was named after the hypnotic flying patterns created by Starlings.
1/10/20 Batch 1: 60% Bourbon Barrels, 20% Rye Barrels, 10% Rum Barrels, 10% Nocino Barrels
6/4/20 Batch 2: 90% Bourbon Barrels, 10% Rye Barrels, Cacao Nibs
1/21/21 Batch 3: 75% Rum Barrels, 19% Rye Barrels, 6% fresh Oubliette
Batch 4: habanero, cacao, cinnamon
Batch 5: the minty one.
Batch 6: cherry vanilla
Batch 7: A combination of rye, pumpernickel rye, and bourbon barrels aged several imperial stouts
Batch 8: 7/10/23 Release - A Blended Imperial Stout of Watershed Distillery Bourbon & Rye barrels with cacao nibs, cinnamon, allspice, clove, ginger and cardamom. 14.5% ABV.
Batch 9: Barrels used: 11 YO Willet Bourbon, 5 YO Willet Bourbon, Knob Creek Bourbon, Cruzan Rum, Boulevardier cocktail barrels, Chicory liqueur barrels ABV 13.5%
Batch 10: Summer 2024 release - with vanilla, aged on Watershed Bourbon and Old-Fashioned Barrels, Old Elk, Willet, and Jim Beam Toasted barrels. 14.1% ABV.
Batch 11: Canned 3-20-2025 - Mixed bourbon barrel blended stout.
Batch 12: Release Date ?? - Spiced mocha barrel-aged Imperial Stout. We infused this batch with coffee, cacao, cinnamon, clove and star anise.
Murmuration was named after the hypnotic flying patterns created by Starlings.
1/10/20 Batch 1: 60% Bourbon Barrels, 20% Rye Barrels, 10% Rum Barrels, 10% Nocino Barrels
6/4/20 Batch 2: 90% Bourbon Barrels, 10% Rye Barrels, Cacao Nibs
1/21/21 Batch 3: 75% Rum Barrels, 19% Rye Barrels, 6% fresh Oubliette
Batch 4: habanero, cacao, cinnamon
Batch 5: the minty one.
Batch 6: cherry vanilla
Batch 7: A combination of rye, pumpernickel rye, and bourbon barrels aged several imperial stouts
Batch 8: 7/10/23 Release - A Blended Imperial Stout of Watershed Distillery Bourbon & Rye barrels with cacao nibs, cinnamon, allspice, clove, ginger and cardamom. 14.5% ABV.
Batch 9: Barrels used: 11 YO Willet Bourbon, 5 YO Willet Bourbon, Knob Creek Bourbon, Cruzan Rum, Boulevardier cocktail barrels, Chicory liqueur barrels ABV 13.5%
Batch 10: Summer 2024 release - with vanilla, aged on Watershed Bourbon and Old-Fashioned Barrels, Old Elk, Willet, and Jim Beam Toasted barrels. 14.1% ABV.
Batch 11: Canned 3-20-2025 - Mixed bourbon barrel blended stout.
Batch 12: Release Date ?? - Spiced mocha barrel-aged Imperial Stout. We infused this batch with coffee, cacao, cinnamon, clove and star anise.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by CarolinaCardinals from North Carolina
3.93/5 rDev -7.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.93/5 rDev -7.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Received a cold 12 oz can from @jzeilinger 9-23-25. Canned 3-20-25; consumed 11-1-25. Cold stored since acquisition.
Beer poured black with a very nice brown head with the original pour.
Nose is giving notes of mild roasted malts and a touch of vanilla.
Taste is a mild roasted malt base with an initial blast of hershey's cocoa. Barrels bring a touch of vanilla and cherry. Hopping is lacking and the barrels bring do bring some balance to the sweet malt base but in the end is a touch sweet.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied and smooth.
Overall, i love the concept Seventh Son brings with this series, very interesting going thru the Untappd history of the 12 batches.
Nov 01, 2025Beer poured black with a very nice brown head with the original pour.
Nose is giving notes of mild roasted malts and a touch of vanilla.
Taste is a mild roasted malt base with an initial blast of hershey's cocoa. Barrels bring a touch of vanilla and cherry. Hopping is lacking and the barrels bring do bring some balance to the sweet malt base but in the end is a touch sweet.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied and smooth.
Overall, i love the concept Seventh Son brings with this series, very interesting going thru the Untappd history of the 12 batches.
Reviewed by damndirtyape from Ohio
4.44/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
4.44/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
12oz can served in a snifter. Canned on 01/31/24 09:51:45 #9. ABV for this batch: 13.5%
Appearance: Pitch black, dark tan to brown head that died back quickly and left no lacing or foam.
Smell: Vanilla, bourbon, a bit of a smoky note.
Taste: Quite rich - bourbon, toasted malt, sweet malt that comes across a bit like the bready taste of a sweet danish, licorice, and some bitterness at the finish.
Mouthfeel: Very smooth, creamy thick, just the barest amount of carbonation, a bit sticky on the teeth, and warming at the finish.
Overall / Drinkability: Quite a nice slow sipping beer - definitely want to pair this with a dessert of some kind, but it's lovely to savor this beer all on its own. I'll have to seek this one out again - a nice blended barrel aged stout!
May 05, 2024Appearance: Pitch black, dark tan to brown head that died back quickly and left no lacing or foam.
Smell: Vanilla, bourbon, a bit of a smoky note.
Taste: Quite rich - bourbon, toasted malt, sweet malt that comes across a bit like the bready taste of a sweet danish, licorice, and some bitterness at the finish.
Mouthfeel: Very smooth, creamy thick, just the barest amount of carbonation, a bit sticky on the teeth, and warming at the finish.
Overall / Drinkability: Quite a nice slow sipping beer - definitely want to pair this with a dessert of some kind, but it's lovely to savor this beer all on its own. I'll have to seek this one out again - a nice blended barrel aged stout!
Reviewed by muchloveforhops3 from Montana
4/5 rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12oz can courtesy of @jzeilinger; first from Seventh Son; 'barrel-aged imperial cherry vanilla stout'; digging the label art on this one
Poured into a Big Head's Belgian-style tulip
P deep cola w/ a small tan cap
N aroma of sharp cherries, vanilla, and bakers choc
T big cherry flavors that are equal parts sweet/sharp/tart over cocoa and roast; accompanied by a touch of smooth vanilla; light alcohol heat
Mf med-bodied w/ med carb; on the slick side, but a touch coating as well
O pretty solid imperial stout; was hoping for a bit more sweetness/richness to balance out the cherries, but good for what it is
review date: 06.26.23
can date: not captured
Apr 21, 2024Poured into a Big Head's Belgian-style tulip
P deep cola w/ a small tan cap
N aroma of sharp cherries, vanilla, and bakers choc
T big cherry flavors that are equal parts sweet/sharp/tart over cocoa and roast; accompanied by a touch of smooth vanilla; light alcohol heat
Mf med-bodied w/ med carb; on the slick side, but a touch coating as well
O pretty solid imperial stout; was hoping for a bit more sweetness/richness to balance out the cherries, but good for what it is
review date: 06.26.23
can date: not captured
Reviewed by Oktoberfest from Ohio
4.22/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
4.22/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
This is really good, but I'm not sure I'd ever want to drink it again. Maybe too sweet? Nov 02, 2023
Compared this to Jackie O's Dark Apparition, New Holland Dragon's Milk, and Seventh Son's Fox In The Stout. Murmuration came out on top and it wasn't very close. Rating updated. 5.30.2025.
Nov 02, 2023Compared this to Jackie O's Dark Apparition, New Holland Dragon's Milk, and Seventh Son's Fox In The Stout. Murmuration came out on top and it wasn't very close. Rating updated. 5.30.2025.
Reviewed by UrbanCaveman from Ohio
4.36/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.36/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
12 oz can, poured into a goblet at ~40 degrees F.
L: Pours your usual impenetrable stout black, and forms a finger or so of short-lived dark tan head.
S: Black bread, a spiciness not unlike a gingerbread confection, oaky-vanilla barrel notes, loam, and sour plum.
T: Cold, this presents as a black bread base over which a cinnamon and ginger spice blend mingles with oaky-caramel-vanilla barrel notes. Something of a rye whiskey tinge to the spicy notes. Chocolate and sour plum emerge as it begins to warm, alongside some ashy loam and raisins. The aftertaste lingers as a spicy barrel burn.
F: Thick, nigh syrupy.
O: An interesting stout.
Feb 21, 2022L: Pours your usual impenetrable stout black, and forms a finger or so of short-lived dark tan head.
S: Black bread, a spiciness not unlike a gingerbread confection, oaky-vanilla barrel notes, loam, and sour plum.
T: Cold, this presents as a black bread base over which a cinnamon and ginger spice blend mingles with oaky-caramel-vanilla barrel notes. Something of a rye whiskey tinge to the spicy notes. Chocolate and sour plum emerge as it begins to warm, alongside some ashy loam and raisins. The aftertaste lingers as a spicy barrel burn.
F: Thick, nigh syrupy.
O: An interesting stout.
Reviewed by WoodBrew from Ohio
4.25/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
I am trying this beer off the tapper at The Daily Growler in Powell, Ohio as part of a six sample flight. It poured an opaque dark with thin tan head that is not leaving much lace. The scent had rum raison and bourbon notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to sip with sweet malt base bolstering dark fruit and bourbon presence. The mouthfeel was fuller in body with smooth carbonation. Overall it is a solid beer.
Feb 19, 2022
Reviewed by jzeilinger from Pennsylvania
4.31/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.31/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
A - Pours dark brown with thin dense caramel lacing and very low carbonation.
S - Roasty chocolate, torched sugar (sweet toasty dessert sugar), toasted caramel, bourbon, and cinnamon.
T - There's a strong cinnamon presence which creates alot of heat on the way down, add the 13.5% on top of that and it makes for a warm trip down the pie hole. There's a small amount of Bourbon notes, plum, roasted chocolate malt, and then more cinnamon and more heat.
M - Thick, viscous, silky, borderline syrupy texture, and lots of warming on the way down. Wet finish and coagulates on the palate.
O - This is a "big 'un". Any heat from the ABV is completely cancelled by the cinnamon heat.
Aug 07, 2021S - Roasty chocolate, torched sugar (sweet toasty dessert sugar), toasted caramel, bourbon, and cinnamon.
T - There's a strong cinnamon presence which creates alot of heat on the way down, add the 13.5% on top of that and it makes for a warm trip down the pie hole. There's a small amount of Bourbon notes, plum, roasted chocolate malt, and then more cinnamon and more heat.
M - Thick, viscous, silky, borderline syrupy texture, and lots of warming on the way down. Wet finish and coagulates on the palate.
O - This is a "big 'un". Any heat from the ABV is completely cancelled by the cinnamon heat.
Reviewed by trevormajor from Ohio
4.04/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.04/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This is a new release of this beer, Batch #3, which is 75% Rum BA Stout, 19% Rye BA Stout, 6% fresh Oubliette. 13.3% ABV
12 oz can, born on 1/21/21, poured into a tulip glass at 46 degrees F:
L - dark like molasses, with a hazelnut head that lingered at the edges of the glass
S - rum booziness, with perhaps a hint of the rye whiskey
T - lots of rum. searching for some malt flavor, some vanilla and cocoa flavor in there
F - medium to thick mouthfeel, slight carbonation
O - Good, beer, but lacking in complexity and balance. Can says to serve cold, but I prefer these types of beers at around 55 degrees F. I will let the next one warm a bit. Also, the beer is very young and may develop a bit over the next few months
Feb 21, 202112 oz can, born on 1/21/21, poured into a tulip glass at 46 degrees F:
L - dark like molasses, with a hazelnut head that lingered at the edges of the glass
S - rum booziness, with perhaps a hint of the rye whiskey
T - lots of rum. searching for some malt flavor, some vanilla and cocoa flavor in there
F - medium to thick mouthfeel, slight carbonation
O - Good, beer, but lacking in complexity and balance. Can says to serve cold, but I prefer these types of beers at around 55 degrees F. I will let the next one warm a bit. Also, the beer is very young and may develop a bit over the next few months
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