Nikolai Vorlauf - Cabernet Barrel Aged
Funky Buddha Brewery


Beer Geek Stats:
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- Style:
- Stout - Russian Imperial
Ranked #478 - ABV:
- 11%
- Score:
- 90
Ranked #50,727 - Avg:
- 4.12 | pDev: 8.98%
- Reviews:
- 2
- Ratings:
- From:
- Funky Buddha Brewery
- Florida, United States
- Avail:
- Rotating/Seasonal
- Wants
- 2
- Gots
- 1
SCORE
90
Outstanding
90
Outstanding


Notes:
We brewed this Nikolai Vorlauf Imperial Stout to be big, bold and strong, like a bear-hugging Russian wrestler. A thick body using oats and lactose is complimented by plenty of complex chocolate, cocoa, and caramel undertones. This variant is aged in luscious, cabernet barrels for months to add vinous oak and dark fruit complexity.
Reviews: 2
| Ratings: 10
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StonedTrippin from Colorado
4.41/5 rDev +7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
these guys are certainly known for making flavorful beer, and this is about as flavorful as it gets. an imperial stout aged two years in cabernet barrels, yeilding a really special beer. it is absolutely amazing how much of the red wine flavor comes through the huge stout. i wouldnt have thought it could penetrate the base beer this deeply. the stout itself is a big one, heavily roasty and bitter, tons of body, fusel alcohol, char, i would not have expected the wine to permeate like this. there is a beautiful dark fruit complexion now in the nose and taste, totally transforming the beer, highly tannic, even acidic, tons of wood on it too, hints of vanilla with the cocoa notes of the malt are awesome, and the whole thing is just enormously flavorful. it was cool to have had the base beer before this one, it really let me appreciate how much wine there is on this thing. it softens the bitterness a lot too, and the fruit flavors from it really work well with the dark grain here. this is a fabulously unique a potent brew, nothing quite like it out there that i can recall. the extended ageing really makes it, and it is so distinctly cabernet, like, definitely couldnt be another red wine, very defined. surprising its so obvious in a base beer this intense, but the synergy is amazing!
Oct 29, 2016
4.41/5 rDev +7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
these guys are certainly known for making flavorful beer, and this is about as flavorful as it gets. an imperial stout aged two years in cabernet barrels, yeilding a really special beer. it is absolutely amazing how much of the red wine flavor comes through the huge stout. i wouldnt have thought it could penetrate the base beer this deeply. the stout itself is a big one, heavily roasty and bitter, tons of body, fusel alcohol, char, i would not have expected the wine to permeate like this. there is a beautiful dark fruit complexion now in the nose and taste, totally transforming the beer, highly tannic, even acidic, tons of wood on it too, hints of vanilla with the cocoa notes of the malt are awesome, and the whole thing is just enormously flavorful. it was cool to have had the base beer before this one, it really let me appreciate how much wine there is on this thing. it softens the bitterness a lot too, and the fruit flavors from it really work well with the dark grain here. this is a fabulously unique a potent brew, nothing quite like it out there that i can recall. the extended ageing really makes it, and it is so distinctly cabernet, like, definitely couldnt be another red wine, very defined. surprising its so obvious in a base beer this intense, but the synergy is amazing!
Oct 29, 2016
Alieniloquium from Florida
3.57/5 rDev -13.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
On tap at the brewery. Served in a snifter.
Appearance - Flat? Black body. Large bubbles, but it looks flat.
Smell - Lots of red wine. Roasted malts. Slightly burnt.
Taste - Again lots of red wine. More dark chocolate. Roasted malts. Not too sweet. Red wine comes back in the finish.
Mouthfeel - Heavy. Flat.
Overall - Tons of red wine. Really dominates. Could use some carbonation, though.
Apr 26, 2015
3.57/5 rDev -13.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
On tap at the brewery. Served in a snifter.
Appearance - Flat? Black body. Large bubbles, but it looks flat.
Smell - Lots of red wine. Roasted malts. Slightly burnt.
Taste - Again lots of red wine. More dark chocolate. Roasted malts. Not too sweet. Red wine comes back in the finish.
Mouthfeel - Heavy. Flat.
Overall - Tons of red wine. Really dominates. Could use some carbonation, though.
Apr 26, 2015
Nikolai Vorlauf - Cabernet Barrel Aged from Funky Buddha Brewery
Beer rating:
90 out of
100 with
10 ratings
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