Houtenhamer (2025)
Burial Beer Co.
- From:
- Burial Beer Co.
- North Carolina, United States
- Style:
- American Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 15%
- Score:
- +7 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 4.39 | pDev: 5.24%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 1
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 24, 2026
- Added:
- Dec 21, 2025
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 1
NO SCORE
-
-
Double Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout Aged Twice in Bourbon Barrels
This fitted veil settles over a myth we still dare to revere. Here we stand, at the thirteenth passage of a journey that refuses to conclude. Carved into the chambers that hold our antiquities and offer a guiding light for our path toward. We offer this behemoth implement of soil and stone only once per earthly rotation, as an offering to reign in the new year. Forged from barrels formerly containing Willet Rye, this blended Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout was then aged for an additional year in fresh bourbon barrels. Welcome to our 2025 Houtenhamer Cuvée.
This fitted veil settles over a myth we still dare to revere. Here we stand, at the thirteenth passage of a journey that refuses to conclude. Carved into the chambers that hold our antiquities and offer a guiding light for our path toward. We offer this behemoth implement of soil and stone only once per earthly rotation, as an offering to reign in the new year. Forged from barrels formerly containing Willet Rye, this blended Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout was then aged for an additional year in fresh bourbon barrels. Welcome to our 2025 Houtenhamer Cuvée.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by StoutSnob40 from California
4.07/5 rDev -7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.07/5 rDev -7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Having the majority of previous vintages of this beer, I had high hopes coming into this. Burial continues to keep this pure, letting the beer and barrels take center stage.
Look: Opaque black with a quick, tight tan cap that fades fast. Slow legs and moderate viscosity on the swirl.
Smell: Big bourbon-forward aroma with vanilla, caramel and toasted oak. Under that, fudge brownie, caramel and dark fruit. Can’t really place it, but something is missing.
Taste: This vintage leans noticeably sweeter than prior years. Up front it’s marshmallow, caramel sauce and milk chocolate before the roast and oak can really take over. Barrel character is still present, but it comes across more like vanilla-heavy bourbon and confectionery notes than the classic stout-and-oak backbone I associate with other Houtenhamer vintages. Roasty bitterness shows up late, but it never fully reins in the pastry-stout sweetness. There’s a good stout in here, it just feels buried under a thicker dessert profile.
Feel: Medium-bodied with a slightly watery finish. Carbonation is low, warmth is present but mostly smooth. The residual sugar makes it feel heavier and a bit sticky compared to earlier vintages.
Overall: A unwelcome departure. Houtenhamer has traditionally been an expression of stout and oak, a darker, more structured barrel-aged profile. The 2025 drinks closer to a pastry-leaning barrel stout, with sweetness taking center stage and the roast and wood playing support. It’s good, but it’s not what I expected.
Jan 24, 2026Look: Opaque black with a quick, tight tan cap that fades fast. Slow legs and moderate viscosity on the swirl.
Smell: Big bourbon-forward aroma with vanilla, caramel and toasted oak. Under that, fudge brownie, caramel and dark fruit. Can’t really place it, but something is missing.
Taste: This vintage leans noticeably sweeter than prior years. Up front it’s marshmallow, caramel sauce and milk chocolate before the roast and oak can really take over. Barrel character is still present, but it comes across more like vanilla-heavy bourbon and confectionery notes than the classic stout-and-oak backbone I associate with other Houtenhamer vintages. Roasty bitterness shows up late, but it never fully reins in the pastry-stout sweetness. There’s a good stout in here, it just feels buried under a thicker dessert profile.
Feel: Medium-bodied with a slightly watery finish. Carbonation is low, warmth is present but mostly smooth. The residual sugar makes it feel heavier and a bit sticky compared to earlier vintages.
Overall: A unwelcome departure. Houtenhamer has traditionally been an expression of stout and oak, a darker, more structured barrel-aged profile. The 2025 drinks closer to a pastry-leaning barrel stout, with sweetness taking center stage and the roast and wood playing support. It’s good, but it’s not what I expected.
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