Buckley Select #1
Transient Artisan Ales

Bottle pour; looked great, smelled great, though the coffee wasn't very prevalent. Cold, the coffee still wasn't around on the palate, but there was maple, vanilla, and barrel. As it warmed, it got pretty bourbon-y.

 

Pours a very dark brown, pretty much black color, with a thin blanket of mocha colored head that dissipates quickly. The beer almost looks still in the glass. Alcohol legs for days.

Aroma brings a significant spirit and charred barrel character, as well as dark roast coffee, maple, vanilla, dark chocolate, brownie, some caramel, molasses, dark fruit, roasted malts. Despite maple and vanilla in this, the aroma is balanced well by the prominent spirit and barrel, as well as the added coffee and dark chocolate notes of the base.

Taste follows the nose nicely. Dark roast coffee, bourbon-soaked vanilla bean ice cream, 90% dark chocolate, fudge, maple syrup, caramelized sugar, slight raisin, big dusty charred oak, significant yet smooth bourbon spirit. The extended aging in Weller barrels shows through on this beer and it does an excellent job balancing the beer out from the sweet adjuncts.

Medium body. Thinner than I'd like for this style. The extended aging probably has something to do with that. Oily, sticky, slick. Even at 16 months or so aged, this still has a nice dose of heat as it goes down.

This is an outstanding BA stout from Transient, which isn't surprising at all. The 18 months of aging in Weller barrels imparts a lot of great barrel and spirit character into the beer and balances the vanilla and maple adjuncts out well. The coffee presence is really nice too. The adjuncts are used tastefully in this one, but for me, the barrels are the star of the show.

Pours a blackish cola color with a dark tan head that fizzes like a rattlesnake as you pour this gorgeous beer. The booze from the barrel is present on the nose, but there’s also vanilla and maple and a bit of rich, earthy coffee. Wow.

The taste is boozy, and boozy, and boozy - yet it’s entirely balanced by the creamy vanilla, decadent maple, and rich, earthy coffee flavors so that you don’t think you’re doing shots whilst drinking this beer. You realize you’re enjoying a world-class beer from a brewery that executes at an insanely high level.

In other words, Transient absolutely crushed this. Phenomenal beer, IMHO.

Excellent

This 18 month Weller barrel aged stout is super rich and smooth. The coffee, vanilla, and chocolate come through along the incredibly smooth bourbon flavors

Fizzy and boozy dark brown head. After several minutes, a relatively thick ring clings to the edge of the glass.

Boozy nose: whiskey, pecan, caramel, coconut, coffee, maple syrup, vanilla, cream, brown sugar, molasses, toffee. The alcohol is not hidden on the nose, but that's not at all a problem in a beer this big.

Layers and layers of rich, deep, satisfying flavors. Sweetness is imparted from multiple directions: the heavy malt base, the vanilla, the maple syrup, and the whiskey mash - but it's not remotely cloying. Instead of hitting like a dessert stout, it occupies a niche more like a strong port wine: appropriate post-dinner, but not a pastry stout.
The whiskey impact is impressive. It's not dominant up front, but as soon as the initial sweetness from the maple syrup fades, the whiskey takes its place, sweet, rich, potent, grape-like.
Coffee is most prominent on the back third and through the finish with a roasty bitterness, accented by lingering creamy vanilla notes.

Not at all boozy up front, but there's a lingering and growing heat, culminating in a strong chest and throat heat. Full bodied and sticky.

An absolutely astounding beer. Stunning and delicious.