Oort Imperial Stout (Linzer Torte Edition)
Ecliptic Brewing

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with a half finger khaki head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, raspberries and a hint of cocoa; quite raspberry forward. Flavor is dark toasted malt, raspberry, lemon zest, cinnamon and light nuts. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. I regret not having tried the base stout for this one (I've had the barrel aged version), but based on this I have to put it on my schedule. This delivers on the listed adjuncts, with raspberry being the dominant flavor. It is reminiscent of a raspberry torte, with pleasant lemon rind and cinnamon character. A bit of nuttiness, but the hazelnuts are not able to burst through the fruit notes. A good, semi-dry finish that exhibits a mild nut shell and cinnamon astringency, but raspberry is the lingering flavor. I'd like to see a bit more hazelnut, which would balance this out a bit, but it's fine as it is. Flavorful and different.
I'm not a fan of sour flavors in stouts and the lemon and raspberry skate on the edge of tartness, but the base stout malt holds everything together. Well done.

absolutely absurd, another banger from these guys so good it makes me want to move north to a place where this kind of beer is distributed on the regular. i have to say two things. first, i am down on pastry stout, everyone does it and its all adjuncts and no base beer character or quality. second, i have no idea what a linzer torte is, never heard of it before today. that said, this base beer impresses me a lot, good espresso beans, fresh brewed, milk chocolate, earthy minerals, coal and carbon and char. the first adjunct i smell and taste is hazelnut, but the last one is raspberry, pushed on by the added acidity and freshness of the lemon, impressively dynamic right away. also notes of dark chocolate, maple, winter spices, vanilla, and molasses, some yeast in the stout as well, and a weird drying push at the end, like this isnt sweet at all in its later stages, i wish more breweries would ferment their beers in this style this dry! so soft to drink too, nice and full but not heavy to me, not on my teeth later on, and with all sorts of warming depth rising, raisin, clove, roast, its gorgeous. what a treat to encounter on tap, a presumed rarity, and something special from ecliptic, who never seems to miss. i feel lucky to be able to drink their beer from time to time, definitely one of the best in the country when it comes to just about anything...

16 oz. Can
Canned On: 01-20-21
2021 Edition (Special Release)

Poured into a Trillium glass a very nice dark brown/black color, with some very nice carbonation, with a very nice thick/creamy two-finger tan head, which also leaves some small islands, and some pretty nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is pretty nice, malty, hoppy, with a pretty nice touch of chocolate/toffee, with some raspberries, cinnamon, cloves, hazelnuts, slight nutmeg, slight lemon, vanilla, licorice, pretty nice roastyness. The taste is very nice, malty, hoppy, with a very nice touch of chocolate/toffee, pretty nice touch of raspberries, cinnamon, cloves, hazelnuts, nutmeg, lemon, vanilla, licorice, pretty nice roastyness. Medium Body, ABV is hidden pretty nicely, with a pretty nice dry/bitter finish, a very nice sipper. Overall, this is a very tasty beer. Glad to see it around here.