Single Barrel Angels With Filthy Souls
Bissell Brothers Brewing Co.

 

2018 batch (2020 bottling); consumed on 2/1/2023

Pours a viscous, silky, motor-oil black body capped with a finger and a half of fluffy, off-khaki foam; modest head retention yields a spotty, paper-thin cap, moderate, creamy collar, and no lacing clinging to the walls of the glass.

Aroma opens to intensely fresh, splintery oak barrel, embracing waves of maple ice cream paired with whispering bourbon sensations as it warms; maple taffy lingers to milk chocolate mousse and barrel char residuals while hints of smoked toffee linger through the close.

Taste highlights maple taffy and malt roast upfront, with bits of bittersweet cacao meandering over the mid-palate as smoky char enmeshed with barrel tannins evolves over the back end of the profile.

Mouthfeel offers a lighter body and a moderate-low carbonation, revealing a soft warmth paired with silky textures building to a creamy peak through the mid-palate as a pillowy char trickles in through the finish.

Massive roast absorbs smooth, tempered oak, resulting in deceptively detailed sweetness imparted throughout; a contrastingly intense profile layered in barrel tannins and residual maple detailing is mellowed in largely airy structuring.

 

500ml gold waxed bottle - poured into a balloon stem at 45°F.

Pours an ultra dark chocolate brown, sitting absolutely black as pitch in the glass, with zero head or collar formation. Slow, visible effervescence.

Nose: Right from the start, this is vastly different from the standard 2020 AWFS. The single barrel variant starts with aromas of toasted maple sugar, butterscotch, soft caramel, vanilla, and just a touch of brownie batter. The maple is prevalent, but not nesrly as forward as the standard. The oak has a lot of influence here. Splintery, charred, and woody, with lots of vanillin, coconut, bourbon, and straight up ashy caramelised barrel char. Very little dark fruit, save a hint of blueberry and coffee bean. Tons and tons of barrel.

Palate: The Single Barrel variant greets the palate with a malty hug of dark chocolate, bourbon-soaked brown sugar, caramel, and some berry-driven coffee. Sweet, but moderately so, and very balanced. The barrel influence is immediate, with coconut, vanilla, and a huge bourbon note. Barrel char and bourbon-soaked oak. The maple is subtle, blending in very nicely with the malt and oak, and coming across like real, natural maple. There's a slight acidity, but more like a fresh coffee, rather than direct dark fruit, and there's just a hint of Vanilla Coke. The barrel begins to take over, drying out the malt entirely, and finishing with chocolate frosting, dry toasted oak, vanillin, bourbon, and just a whisper of maple.

Mouthfeel/Body: A tiny bit thinner than regular AWFS, this one possess a medium-full body. It starts out full, with a bit of chew, but soon thins out - remaining full and heavy, with a nice malty richness, but little in terms of viscosity or chewiness. A nice heft, while remaining fluid, with a pretty low, but present level of effervescence. Definite stickiness around the lips.

Overall: This is just a fantastic stout. It's almost unbelievably how different it is from the standard offering. The most recent AWFS is an absolute knockout maple porter (stout), but rather than showcasing the maple, this exceeds by delivering an absolutely stunning display of extended barrel aging. The overall flavour profile is quite similar to 2020 BBT, and the barrel complexity is world class. It may lack body and maple character, but overall, it's an absolutely delicious stout, with zero rough edges, even if a bit subtle.