3 Candles
Side Project Brewing

 

 

 

 

Wow. Thick, dark, very sweet and the barrel is very balanced. At serving temp this beer was just chocolate bourbon sweetness but as it warmed to room temp the coconut came to the front. Just a huge sweet coconut bomb!

 

 

Good god, Man!!!

Seriously, on second pour... amazing.

L: Dark almost black, but being still has a true motor oil look and appears to be nearly as viscous.
S: when cold, has a boxier character. Chocolate character comes out boldly in malt as it warms and blends with vanilla and coconut in the nose. Boozy chocolate.
Taste: coconut creeps through, but the same chocolate in the mice prevails. Literally like a chocolate on chocolate cordial. Vanilla sweetness goes right with long Barrel character. Little alcohol heat, but it IS 15%. Man, this is freaking good...

Feel: Liquid velvet. No better way to explain it. Has to be as viscous as motor oil.

O: up there with Handjee and Barrel Aged Abraxas as best stouts I have ever drank.

 

 

On tap at Beavertown Extravaganza. Pitch black color, no head. Aroma has intense malt, burnt sugar and wood notes. Taste has intense sweetness, dried figs, burnt sugar and sweet bourbon. Sticky and heavy body.

5oz draft pour into the typical SP cellar chalice snifters (i hate these glasses). they thick black with no head. subdued coconut sweetness with bourbon barrel on the nose. taste follows but the coconut / vanilla sweetness is more pronounced than the nose. full mouthfeel. really interesting. now sure how i feel about this being served still but it’s still a really good barrel-aged imperial stout.

L: Pitch black, zero head.
N: oak, bourbon, brown sugar, toasted coconut, vanilla on the back end
T: Milk chocolate, graham cracker, Marshmallow, fudge, a little smoke.
F: Not crazy thick, but a nice sticky, creamy mouthfeel
O: This is very complex, layered stout. A lot going on here, but overall fantastic.

 

 

Extremely dark, served still, beer. The beer is quite heavy on the tongue...nearly cloying. Toasted coconut nose was very pleasant and easily my favorite part of the beer. Hint of vanilla, which is somewhat masked by the toasted coconut. Taste was very good, with the oily coconut notes proving additive, but some effervescence perhaps would have helped clean up the finish and round out the drink. Or, the non-still version could be complete shit...they are the brewers, so I'm sure they would know. I would have really enjoyed a slightly better balance of vanilla notes to combat the coconut, but the toasted coconut is just too heavy to be overcome by "smaller" flavors. A really fun and dynamic beer, but just a shade under the best ever class.

Consumed on draft at the only location it will ever be on draft... the cellar

A - Black with no head, dark as night. Nice legs and lacing as you stir the glass even without the carbonation

N - Sweet chocolate vanilla and coconut with some barrel presence on the nose as it warms

T: Cloyingly sweet, coconut and vanilla seem to meld in flavor and sweetness almost dampening the 32 months it spent in the barrel. Tough to finish the pour of this but comes around as it warms. I think a few more months in the keg will either make this beer a mess or mellow out the sweetness as the adjuncts and barrel meld.

M - Medium to Full bodied that coats the mouth

O - Doesn't seem to fit in with the other candles.. one was possibly the best stout I've ever had, 2 rivaled '14 kbbs, 3 is just a sweet beer that is hard to enjoy more than a couple ounces of.

 

So, bubbles. No bubbles? Why not?
I don't get the agenda, but it works here as well as it's ever going to work anywhere. This sweet chocolate caramel fudge is deeply satisfying--I'd say despite the lack of bubbles more than because of them. Sure is sweet, too. I'd guess fg to be around 1.025. But the balance of the other flavors--toffee, nougat, slightest hint of bourbon and burn make a 5-ounce pour a lovely afternoon treat. Better blow that stuff out!

L: pitch black no head
S: sweet vanilla and slight coconut and barrel.
T: oh wow! The coconut and barrel racer up to match the vanilla on taste.
F: fluffy/creamy smooth feel. Super easy drinking.
O: just amazing!