Arborescence
Bottle Logic Brewing

 

 

 

 

Pours thick and black, with a half-finger of foamy head. Smells a bit confusing, with herbal juniper notes accenting agave, black raspberry, and shortbread. Very biscuity for a stout, derived from the hazelnut and allspice that give the impression of a snickerdoodle. If I was served this without a description, I would have assumed it was aged in tequila barrels, rather than bourbon. That said, the oak character is punchy and gives a subtle twang that complements the blackberries well. Very interesting experiment.

500 mL bottle. Pours black. Looks flat. Smells of whiskey and herbal notes that are reminiscent of a scotch barrel. Allspice is a hard one to pin down, but the hazelnuts are pretty distinctive. Tastes of whiskey, spice, hazelnut, and fudgy chocolate. Heavy, sweet, boozy. Buy very tasty all around. It's an interesting take and a nice combination of flavors.

Thank you BartS for this
500 ml bottle poured into a tulip

A- Black with a small dark mocha head

S- Hazelnuts, chocolate, touch of berries, whiskey, oak, roasted malts, some allspice.

T- Chocolate, hazelnuts, whiskey, oak, allspice, roasted malts, some blackberries, some caramel.

M- Smooth, full body.

O- A great barrel aged stout, get a lot of barrel without being overly boozy or unbalanced. Berries and hazelnuts are a nice touch.

 

Glossy black with a moderately fluffy, level mocha head that slowly disperses to a short but creamy curled collar.

As it pours out of the bottle, the aroma is fairly bready, but coming in close it becomes impressively whiskey forward--syrupy, peppery and assertively spicy at first. This then recedes to what I initially thought was that breadiness, which turns out to be a very softly savory, almost powdery character of hazelnut. Just behind that is a faint hint of herbal evergreen spice that must be the allspice, which is thankfully not as expressive as it often is with even only a slightly heavier hand. Finally, an even fainter hint of brightening blackberry peaks in here or there. The longer I sit with it, the more hypnotizing it is. An absolute 5/5 stunner of a nose that I could smell forever and not dare to sip, because it just couldn't possibly get any better from here, could it?

And in not so disappointing a way, my bold assumption turns out to be true. Taste also starts with whiskey, but it's more softly woody, with a more dampened oak presence and a nicely mild char. The whiskey even continues to develop further from here, folding in several dark fruits from prune to fig and cocoa dusted raisin. Caramelized malt and barrel caramels combine forces from this point and the adjuncts respectfully reveal themselves in a way that's like having a sort of toasted chocolate-hazelnut flour bread with a few small dabs of blackberry jam.

Feel is exceedingly soft while deftly avoiding being too full, thick, sticky, sludgy or gloppy. It's got an unbelievable roundness to it, gliding super silky smoothly on the palate, but then an assertive heat comes up on the exhale after the somewhat prickly, semi-dry finish. At the same time, a really nice unctuous char also emerges in the exhale as it warms.

 

 

Shimmering black body, brown collar and surface lacing. Smell is the clear star of this beer: toasted and sugared hazelnut, whiskey and bitters, dry rustic oak, brown sugar, blackberry compote, hints of mulberry and cinnamon, and lush with chocolate and vanillins. Taste was more muddled, whiskey is pretty warm which accentuates the berries more where the beauty of the beer is the barrel and hazelnut interaction in my humble opinion. Feel is very warm, thick, viscous, and smooth. Great for a cold fall evening

 

 

Me too. I don't understand the low ratings from a few folks on untappd. To me, this is world-class. Reminds me alot of 2015 BCBS Regal Rye variant. Delicious Berry flavor with an absolute beautiful Whiskey Barrel character. Get some nuttiness, but cannot pick out the Hazelnut specifically. Nice spice notes on the finish. Warm, but not hot. Good mouthfeel and not too sweet.

Bottle Logic really hit a home run on this one. Job well done.

Grabbed 2 bottles, one now, and one for later, say another year. There weren't many left of this, so I will run back to see if I can get the last 2 bottles I saw. I can see why it is selling good now.

If you tried BCBS 2015 Regal Rye and loved it, I highly encourage you to track this one down.

i dont understand the mediocre ratings on Untappd... i love this one! aroma is so wood-y and the flavor is sweet around the sides of the tongue. lots of berry flavor and nuttiness, although it's not evident it is hazelnut. wood on the flavor also, a bit like a whiskey and moreso that their other 'barrel aged' offerings. personally, i love this! the 'finish' is long and sweet, but not overly sweet. this is far exceeding my expectations which were garnered from early Untappd ratings, and may be one of my most ultmate favorites of all their stouts. seriously. and if you're reading this, please bring back Byzantine! that one was amazing even though i imagine pistachios dont impart a lot of flavor.... not detecting the advertised allspice which is fortunate as i F ABHOR allspice.... Stone's 777 ruined allspice for me FOREVER!!!! still saw availability two hours after on-sale started which surprised me as i thought the description meant 'small batch' = less produced than usual? maybe it'll hit distro!!!
also, maybe give some added karma to the FIRST review in addition to the guy who runs to add the beer and then offers no review?