Catherine
Four Seasons Brewing Company

One of the BA Russian imperial stouts I had at the Pittsburgh Winter Brew Festival. Pours a murky deep dark black with very little head to speak of. Smells of young whiskey barrel slight smoke hint of chocolate and some roast. Taste is again Bourbon forward really sour mash young whiskey taste similar to Jack Daniels which surprisingly worked. A bit heavy to have at the start of the night but smooth and warming. If I saw it again on tap I would get it again.

my first from these guys, a delicious stout which was aged in a bourbon barrel for a year, really pretty delicious stuff, and has held up pretty well in the bottle for the year or so i have had it in my cellar. its very frothy headed, deep deep mocha colored bubbles hold on a long time, and the beer beneath them is obsidian black and shiny, gorgeous glass of beer. aroma and flavor show a ton of complexity, and neatly, its stout before its barrel, which seems to be less common these days. notes of black licorice, wet tobacco, and bitter cocoa nibs abound, with some sweeter middle malt character, espresso warmth, and hot alcohol only starting to mellow with time. lots of body to this, but its not sticky at all, the heavy dark roasted grain is well ahead of the sweetness, and there is a very cool english yeast layer in this, bready and old worldy, a very thoughtful recipe indeed. the barrel adds in usual threads of vanilla and toffee, but its as much oak and char as it is whiskey itself, which i like. this is super complex, overly alcoholic as it warms, but supremely satisfying and hearty on a chilly fall night. sometimes i forget i have big stouts like this in the collection, and that they dont keep forever. im glad i cracked this, and look forward to getting into some more of them. always seems selfish to do these without beer friends, but this was an easy bottle to drink last night, really quality beer here!

22 oz

Pours opaque black. Dark tan head dissipates to a lacing.

Aroma is of cocoa, coffee, molasses, mesquite, licorice, toast and oak.

Flavor is of cocoa, molasses, maple, brown sugar, mesquite, licorice, tobacco, toasted biscuit and oak.

Full viscous body, light tingly carbonation. Boozy warmth throughout.

Very good rich stout on the dry and bitter side rather than being overly sweet. There's a slightly watery aftertaste which stands out as odd, but otherwise little to complain about and a whole lot to enjoy. Definitely worth trying. Good cellar candidate.