Fudge Bucket - Barrel-Aged With Vanilla Beans
Angry Chair Brewing

Bottle from 2017 (?), drank Feb 2023 - it probably was a decent beer in its time but the aging didn’t do this one any favors. While the vanilla should have held up, it didn’t, there was virtually no head, which isn’t always a big deal for me with heavy stouts - but for this one, it just seemed a little flat, and this probably carried over into the mouthfeel, which, I was expecting more from an Angry Chair beer. Lastly, I’m not sure what kind of barrels were involved, but IMO, this could have been any old stout and didn’t seem to have much of a barrel presence to me. For AC beers - next time I will follow their advice and not cellar!

 

Brownie with charred edges and sweet but luscious vanilla drizzle. The warm exhale brings additional dark chocolate and marshmallow with hints of roasted walnut. The slick medium body has a surprising but light crispness before finishing semi-sticky. I've got my own bottle of this, if I don't trade it I'll kill it off myself and expand upon this review.

 

 

750ml bottle, snifter glass. Darker brown, nearly black body, one finger frothy offwhite head, good retention, no lacing. Smell is big milk chocolate, drizzled in chocolate fudge, a light amount of barrel presence, solid vanilla. Sweet nose, but not cloyingly so- it translates reasonably well on the palate, chocolate fudge with vanilla ice cream, a bit of whiskey on the finish. It's simplistic but delivers the pastry flavours well. Mouthfeel is viscous and full bodied, good carbonation, not much heat, overall a nice sweet pastry stout even if just a little bit too straightforward in execution (which is not a bad thing).

 

Pours out dense and rich looking, The color is black with a thin mocha head on top. The smell of the beer is loaded with vanilla and chocolate. It's sweet but pleasant. The taste follows the nose with some additional barrel notes in the finish. The feel is slick. Overall it's a very good brew!