Neckbeard Life (2020)
Transient Artisan Ales

2020 vintage; drank 7/11/22 @ the Yarchives.

Black/brown appearance.

An even pour yielded a small dark tan head; decent lace.

Brown sugar, oak, nougat & waffle cone notes in the nose.

Medium thick, smooth mouthfeel.

Caramel, cream, oak & mild bourbon flavors.

This smelled better than it tasted, but was overall enjoyable.

Pours a black color with mahogany brown on the edges, all underneath a creamy tan head. The nose has no discernible booze from the barrels, but includes a graphically discernible hazelnut and maple aroma, as well as some chocolate and a bit of char. There’s a LOT going on here.

The taste has a significant hazelnut and maple flavor up front, but it’s not overwhelmingly sweet, which was a concern, because there’s stone fruit flavor I’m assuming from the barleywine that kicks in, and an appearance (finally!) from the barrels at the very back of the palate as a warming note.

This is not your father’s impy stout aged in barleywine barrels and multiple booze barrels - with a dollop of hazelnuts on top.

The mouthfeel is decadent, rich, and more than a little creamy. I wish I had a keg of this.

Pours pitch black with a finger of a dark tan head that goes away quickly.

Aroma brings roast, char, oak tannin, raisin, plum, hazelnut, dark chocolate, caramel, burnt sugar, what I’m assuming is a bit of chestnut from the barleywine, some maple. Getting both the stout and barleywine characteristics and they’re fairly cohesive. As it warms, the barleywine really shows itself.

Taste follows the nose well. Dark chocolate, char, roasted malt, loads of dark fruit (raisin, plum, fig), caramel, brown sugar, tobacco, some hazelnut, oak and chestnut tannin, maple, vanilla. Pretty balanced between the two beers, but just like the aroma, the barleywine comes through a lot more as it warms.

Medium body. Airy carbonation, slightly soft, sticky, oily, slightly chalky. Dry finish.

A pretty decent blend. The hazelnut and maple don’t overpower the beer and allow the base ba beers to shine.

500 ml bottle into a snifter. Had 1/16/21.

Pours near black and opaque, thick looking, with a short head and some light, foamy lacing. Aromas of chocolate, char, hazelnuts, maple, caramel, vanilla, some wood, light bourbon. Similar flavors with more barrel presence- chocolate, caramel, hazelnuts, bourbon, wood, maple, malt, some vanilla. Has a little bit of a fruity flavor. Smooth, a solid full body, appropriately carbonated.

The blend is interesting- as are the chestnut barrels, and well done. Seems mostly like a stout with a barleywine feel. The nuts and maple show well. Very enjoyable.

A- Pours a motor oil black with a thin tan head. Light soapy lacing.

S - Aroma is hazelnut, plums and dark chocolate.

T - The taste is hazelnut, maple syrup, dark chocolate, toffee, plums, raisins and some light bourbon heat.

M - Medium body with medium carbonation. Syrupy mouthfeel with a soft dry finish.

O - Really tasty. Not as good as the 2019 version, but still darn good. The sweetness definitely makes this a slow sipper.

My thoughts on the 2019 version, "Apparently the neckbeard life is the diabetic life". This is still sweet but the chestnut and hazelnut try to balance at least. Save for dessert! (And keep the insulin handy just in case). Feel is still syrupy and cloys a bit on the finish, thick and sticky, but booze is well hidden. I do however find the nuttiness and maple to be a great combo, especially in the nose where it is not bound by the sweet feel. Would have again only in a dessert setting... and after eating a salad or something

Life...is sweet. And this beer is too sweet. Maple dominates the taste and smell. I get some hazelnut but not much barrel. There is a lot going on here, too much IMHO. The sweetness does dissipate a bit as it warms . It's not bad but maybe too ambitious.