We've Been Out There In Orbit (Apple Brandy Barrel Aged)
Other Half Brewing - Center Street

Viscous but hot, this variation is nutty and cocoa-forward, with a lactic milkiness and a very, very woody barrel character under the bubbly, crackly fizz that finishes with a dry heat of red fruit spirits.

 

 

 

 

 

Had a bunch of buds over the other night and we ripped through a dozen other half stouts side-by-side for science.

The list included:
In Absentia Luci (2016 Bourbon Barrel Aged W/ Coconut, Vanilla & Cardamom)
In Absentia Luci (2016 Bourbon Barrel Aged With Vanilla)
In Absentia Luci (2016 Bourbon-Barrel With Coffee Hazelnut And Cocoa Nibs)
In Absentia Luci - Red Wine Barrel
In Absentia Luci - Rum Barrel Aged
We've Been Out There In Orbit (Apple Brandy Barrel Aged)
We've Been Out There In Orbit (Bourbon Barrel Aged)
We've Been Out There In Orbit (Rum Barrel Aged)
Cane Life (bourbon Barrel Aged Version)
Cane Life (conditioned On Cocoa, Cinnamon And Ancho Peppers Version)
Cane Life (conditioned On Coconut And Coffee Version)
Cane Life (conditioned On Tahitian Vanilla Version)

The Orbits were the highlights across the board for me. The apple brandy was not as well integrated as the rum, but still a nice treatment of one of other half's better stouts in my opinion.

 

This is a solid, but doesn't match up with some of the great Apple Brandy BA stouts out there, such as Apple Brandy Noir. The Apple Brandy barrel character is present, but doesn't blend all that well with the beer, so there is a sharp, astringent flavor of spirits.

Picked this up a few weeks back, as well as the other variations of the bottles released in this series. I’m not a big brandy or brandy barrel aged fan in terms of what I tend to drink but somehow, this was like the others in that it turned out really well and was easy to enjoy. In spite of it's potency and tendency to feel more like liquor than beer, I savored this for what it was worth and how different it was than anything I ever had before!

Good pour to this as the beer had a dark hue, thin but lovely head of mousse-like brown, and a slick viscosity to it that made it appealing from the get-go. Not a lot of lacing left behind as this was fairly thin in consistency. The aroma to this was wonderful as it had plenty of apple, brandy, candied sugar, booze, and tart fruit. Sweet, slick, and tart, this almost felt like it had raspberry juice, apple cider, and barrel-aged brandy in it as there was wonderful range of flavors to be had once it warmed up. Slightly sticky like a Scotch Ale, there was enough fruit, juice, and alcohol in this to take it to another level and act as a reminder that indeed, this was beer!

Certainly, this was strong but in line with everything else that this beer had to offer. Brandy tends to be sweet, sticky, and potent and those aspects translated over towards this beer. The apple gave it color while there was an underlying warmth and juice to it that made this quite appealing. Really impressed with this as the only thing missing was a cold night to snuggle up to as I sipped this beer. Props to Other Half for going out on a limb and excelling as a result of it!

Not as apple-brandy and sweet as I would want it, but very good nonetheless.