Barrel Aged Lucifer's Cuvee
Latitude 42 Brewing Company

6/24/2018

 

my first beer from these guys, a chocolate rye stout, barrel aged, and frankly, its not that good. some weird stink to this, a little thin, overly boozy, it seems slopped together, and like the barrel is trying to cover up something that it just quite cant. its hard to explain, i dont get a ton of rye but i do get some chocolate, a bitter nib thing but also a sweet milk sugary thing as well, hersheys syrup density too. there is a light sweatiness to this, a dirty laundry character that just isnt meant to be there, and i suspect a slight infection from the barrels setting in. its got some whiskey and wood elements in it for sure, but there is a thinning note thats moving towards acidic for a second, and i bet if this sat much longer it would be even more that way. that all said, its on tap at a hop cat, so i always wonder about turnover rate and line cleanliness in a place that pours this many beers, but this seems more on the brewery than the establishment. i was stoked to try this, it sounds awesome on paper, but the beer just isnt very good. some appealing chocolate and barrel elements so its not all bad, but they cant all be winners, and this one certainly has a ways to go. not easy to finish. ill revisit this and see if it was just my sample or a more widespread issue...

A - Pours a midnight black with a one finger tan head. Nice amount of soapy lacing.

S - Aroma is bourbon, dark chocolate and vanilla.

T - The taste is dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, bourbon and vanilla. The finish has light char to it.

M - Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel with a soft dry finish.

O - A nice BBA stout.

Received from superspak. Vintage 2015.

Deep dark black with a heavy, frothy brown head. Lots of soapy lace left behind as it recedes, caking the glass.

Aromas of oak and barrel, bourbon, super glue, dark chocolate, and plum.

Flavor is like hot chocolate with a few too many glugs of bottom shelf vodka. It's got an interesting flavor profile starting with large nods towards hot chocolate, lending to a syrupy quality - but not without mudding it up with some burnt wood, acetone, and dirt. It's kind of a mixed bag. Some antiseptic/super glue action. Kinda like chocolate paint.

Feel is very substantial, creamy, properly carbonated, nice dry finish, proper alcohol heat. Very good job in this category.

Overall, I wish the paint/chemical attributes weren't there but it's not a bad beer when the rest is considered.

 

 

I picked up a bottle of Latitude 42's Barrel Aged Lucifer's Cuvee at The Lager Mill. I've been wanting to try this as soon as the I had the original version and I've very interested to see how this one turns out, so lets see how it goes. 2017 Vintage. Poured from a brown 22oz bottle into a snifter.

A- The label looks nice, but it's hardly different than the original and it's still eye catching. It poured a nice dark black color that didn't change when held to the light and it had a little over a fingers worth of slightly creamy darker tan head that died down to a thin ring that stayed till the end and it left some patchy lacing behind. This is a good looking beer, I have no complaints.

S- The aroma starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with a woody aroma being the first to show up and that goes into a bourbon aroma which imparts some nice bourbon, caramel, woody and boozy like aroma and that goes right into the chocolate and it imparts big chocolate aroma that has that signature chocolate syrup like aspect to it. Up next comes a little more sweetness and that goes into the malts which impart a dark malt, sweet malt, brown sugar, charred malts and smokey aromas. This beer has a good aroma, it's well balanced.

T- The taste seems to be pretty similar to the aroma and it starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with the bourbon barrels still being the first to show up and it imparts that noticeable woody flavor at first that goes into the boozy and bourbon flavors. Up next comes the chocolate and it imparts that same chocolate syrup aspect that it did in the aroma and that goes into a little bit of doughy yeast and it's followed by the malts which impart all the same aspects with more charred malts and smokey aspects coming through. On the finish there's a higher amount of medium bitterness with a boozy, chocolate and bourbon barrel like aftertaste. This is a good tasting beer, the stout base works well with the bourbon barrels and the balance is good.

M- Fairly smooth, a little overly bitter, a little crisp, slightly creamy, on the thicker side of being medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel is nice, but I wish it was thicker with a little more carbonation.

Overall I thought this was a good beer and a good example of the style, it had some good things going for it in the aroma and taste, but when i got to the mouthfeel it started to get a little rough around the edges. This beer had ok drinkability, one glass is enough for me, any more than that and it would start to ware on me. What I like the most about this beer is the taste and aroma, they were good and they had pretty much all the aspects that I was looking for. What I like the least about this beer was the mouthfeel, it was pretty easy to see that aspect needed the most work. I might buy this beer again and I would recommend giving it a try. All in all liked this beer, but I didn't love it and I think with a little work on the mouthfeel this could be a pretty good beer. It's not my favorite beer from this brewery and I think i prefer the base beer, it's a nice example of the style. Nice job guys, but with a little more work this could be a very good beer.

 

 

2015 bottle. Pours deep dark. Town with a really nice head. Lots of lacing. Looks like a dark chocolate shake.

Plenty of bourbon flavor, some fruit sweetness with notable hop bitterness. Interesting mix. Sweetness hits first with bitterness lingering after. Some hints of vanilla and brandied fruit.

Creamy mouthfeel. I like it. Someone said they thought it was watery. I would completely disagree. Chocolate shake!

Overall, I like the look, the feel, the complexity but something about the lingering bitterness turns me off a bit. I'd drink it again, but not an all time favorite.

2015 bottle.Pours into a goblet a deep dark fudge color with a thick sticky deep beige head atop.Slight fruity tartness in the nose along with dark chocolate and some of the oaky bourbon barrel underneath.Dark fruit and vanilla upfront on the palate then the big dose of chocolate with a lingering bourbon note in the finish.A fuller creamy feel is spot on for the beer.Obvious age on the bottle but it ages very well.Well done.

 

 

Poured on tap earlier this evening at Red, Wine and Brew in Mentor, Ohio. Cost of $8 for Tulip glass.
Look: Decent, average lacing for the style, dark for sure.
Smell: Somewhat distant but I easily detect the Bourbon Barrell aged notes and I like them.
Taste: Rather average really. Bourbon Barrel aged is there but the actual Stout taste is too thin to give it a higher rating than what I did. I am certainly a sucker for a BA Stout but this one would not inspire me to return (like BA BORIS from Hoppin Frog for instance).
Feel: Probably my least favorite aspect of the beer. Far too thin for my taste. Feel does not linger very long on my tongue.
Overall: A little bit better than fair. I actually think that my rating is enhanced by the fact that is is Barrel Aged (I am an easy mark for BA stouts). I would look elsewhere for a beer of this style.

 

 

22 ounce bottle into snifter; 2015 vintage, released recently after a year of barrel aging. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, spicy rye, vanilla, fudge, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark bread; with light notes of coconut, smoke, charcoal, raisin, cherries, herbal, pine, and roast/toast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt, bourbon barrel, and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, spicy rye, vanilla, fudge, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark bread; with light notes of coconut, smoke, charcoal, raisin, cherries, herbal, pine, and roast/toast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate roast/char/pine bitterness and rye spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, spicy rye, vanilla, fudge, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, dark bread, smoke, char, herbal, pine, light dark fruit, and roast/toast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, bourbon barrel, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a nice roast/hop bitter/sweet balance, and minimal lingering hop astringency after the finish. Light dryness from lingering bitterness/rye spiciness, increasing through the glass. Light carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky, and slightly sticky/chalky/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Mildly warming alcohol for 11%, with zero barrel booziness. Overall this is a fantastic barrel aged imperial stout! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, bourbon barrel, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the big ABV. As with the base beer, this was a little too drying from lingering bitter/spiciness; but the rich malt and barrel complexity were delicious. A highly enjoyable offering.