Popinski - Rye Barrel-Aged - Vanilla Beans
Angry Chair Brewing

 

 

 

Big thanks to Freezing_Balls for this 750ML bottle nestled among a few of its similarly lovely comrades. Split with my wife.

Black on black pour with scarcely a bubble as far as the eye can see. The nose is deep, dark malts overlaid with heavy helpings of vanilla. No barrel in the nose at all.

Rye Barrel Aged Popinski with Vanilla Beans is a vanilla cornucopia. As vanilla forward as Nicole Kidman it comes very close to drowning out the other brew’s components. The malty thickness gives this booming gravitas & the rye barrel, though subtle, provides another layer with a shadow of spiciness.

A bit of a letdown – the vanilla is Hagrid-strong & subsumes other (assumed) subtleties in the Popinski. Looking forward to the non-vanilla version to compare. Good beer.

On the pour, you're greeted with loads of vanilla aromas. The carbonation is very mellowed, with only small groupings of it lazily rising to the top of the glass.

As mentioned, great vanilla component to this right off the bat on the nose. It's rich, it's sweet, it's pastry; and honestly if it were done blind, I would probably not even guess this was barrel-aged based on the aromatic profile.

The palate greets immediately with more of that vanilla, but in contrast to the nose the barrel really plays a part here as well. I've actually had Wild Buck Rye before out of Weeki Wachi, and really was impressed with its awesome balance of rye spice and overall smoothness. It comes out very well in this beer, with the rye not punching too hard to where it overpowers the vanilla, but instead complimenting at just the right level. It finishes with a bit of a twang, but at only 10.5% doesn't leave you with any punishingly boozy warmth on the tail.

Good weight to the beer; I'm typically someone who likes a higher-grav stout but wasn't upset about this one although it was a touch on the thin side. Popinski is a great RIS base to begin with, so I knew what to expect going in. Overall, very impressed with this Angry Chair offering. These guys can be very polarizing in my thoughts on their beers, but this one definitely sits towards the higher-tier side of the spectrum IMO.

 

 

 

 

This presents with hefty bourbon barrel and charred oak that's dry, woody and nutty. Then in comes sticky vanilla sweetness and caramel. Toasted malt works to lean away from the cola-like angle this sometimes takes, with its bubbly effervescence, before a strong heat brings out some dark fruit, like dates.