Sticks & Stones Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout
Stoup Brewing Brewery & Taproom

 

 

 

Sampling a 22 oz waxed bottle , 2023 vintage. the beer is at cellar temperature and I am pouring into my trusty snifter. My bottle says 11% ABV , not the 9.9 listed on the site.
the beer pours a dark cola color and no light passes through my glass. there is a dense creamy beige head of about 1.5 cm that foams up from a gentle pour. This foam sticks around as a sturdy surface layer and leaves dense lattice on each sip or swirl of the glass.
Aroma on this beer is what you expect from a BBA stout, even if it isnt the most robust nose. I get some chocolate and coffee grounds mixing in with toffee and a good bit of bourbon sweetness. I dont get any fusol booze nor any hop character here.
First sip reveals a medium body with smooth texture and fine gentle carbonation.
Flavor is also not super robust but it all works well. I find some chocolate mixing with toffee and a good dose of bourbon coming through which lingers on the finish. No hop character and its not boozy or peppery bite. However, I do get a bit of warming booze on each swallow. This is a pretty simple, not flawed and tasty BBA imperial stout. I would like it even more if the nose and flavor profile were stronger, but still am glad to have tried this one.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque in the glass with a fine, one finger khaki head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, whiskey, woody oak, light caramel and cocoa. Flavor is dark toasted malt, woody oak, bourbon, light caramel and cocoa. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A pleasant bourbon barrel aged stout with an emphasis on the barrel; woody and bourbon notes are dominant, and the cocoa and mild toffee are in the background. Even with this somewhat uncomplicated flavor profile, this tastes great, the malt base is unassuming but well supportive. There are hints of toasted malt smoke and a little hop bitterness in the finish that meshes well with the woodiness. I liked their last barrel aged stout and this one has a similar profile. I'll be following their barrel projects in the future. Nicely done. This bottle is listed at 11.1% ABV and has the expected warming character.

Sticks and Stones from Stoup Brewing. 22 fl oz bomber with waxed cap from @snaotheus in NBW BIF 17. Reviewed 21/05/23 (Review 3108). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottle undated other than “2023” on label. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 58.2 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 61.8 degrees F.
Appearance – 3.75
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), slight haze.
Body – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, same with light penetration at the edges – ruby.
Head: Average (Maximum two cm, aggressive center pour), wheat, high density, quickly diminishing, reducing to an undulating 0.45 – 0.8 cm crown and a thin, rocky cap.
Lacing – None - not unexpected at 11% ABV.
Aroma – 4.25 – As the cap is removed, a burst of toffee and caramel exhales. No malt, no yeast. No ethanol (11 % ABV as marked on the label).
Flavor – 4.5 – Surprise! More wood than bourbon, toffee and caramel, background roasted malt. No hops, no yeast. Initially lightly sweet. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Slight gastric warming. Slightly bitter aftertaste.
Palate – 4 – Medium; almost creamy; lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 Excellent Impy Stout, particularly for one so young! Woodiness dominates the bourbon and seems to be a softer wood than oak – little tannin or vanillin but distinctly woody. The toffee and caramel are distinctly there, riding just behind the woodiness. Bourbon, I hardly knew ye.

bottle into glass
IBU: 52
Thin, dark cream colored head. Very dark and murky and thick looking, dark brown appearance. Sweet, dark toasted toffee, a good amount of smooth, deeply roasted grains, some cocoa and spiced caramel, for the aroma. Moderate body for a barrel aged stout. Slightly sweet, deeply roasted, caramel malts, bourbon and a touch of smoke and wood, for the taste.