Table For Three
Transient Artisan Ales

A - Pours pitch balck with a fizzy dark brown head.

S - Aroma is dark chocolate, vanilla, caramel and huge barrel notes.

T - The taste is cocoa nibs, vanilla, black coffee, caramel, roasted malts, charred oak and some nice bourbon warmth.

M - Medium body with medium/low carbonations. Creamy mouthfeel with an oily dry finish.

O - Top notch BBA stout. Tons of barrel, but the base stout still shines.

Pours like motor oil into the glass. Pitch black, producing a reddish mocha head that sticks around temporarily and leaves a thin ring of lacing around the glass.

Aroma is big barrel, with bourbon, charred oak, vanillin, and some maple, but also big base stout character which brings roasted malt, dark chocolate, toasted marshmallow, peat, tobacco, slight dark fruit, and caramel.

Taste follows the nose. Huge roasted malt, coffee bean, caramel, big dark chocolate, toasted marshmallow, peat, charred oak stave, vanillin, tobacco, molasses, slight raisin, slight maple, smooth and warming bourbon spirit.

High medium to low full body. Slightly creamy, sticky, slick, oily. Pretty smooth on the palate at 16.5%. Age has done this some good.

Transient is typically known for their adjuncted stouts, but this is a well-executed change of pace for them. They’re in good company too with Phase Three and New Image. They all know their way around a barrel. Outstanding.

This beer pours pitch black, almost like motor oil, and devours light in big chunks, leaving no leakage anywhere and sporting a dark mocha colored head that sashays a bit before dissipating. Beautiful stout.

The nose is all bourbon and oak and roasty char and chocolate and vanilla, with a smidge of stone fruit. This is VERY reminiscent of Goose BCBS.

The similarity to BCBS is present as well on the taste, with the bourbon and oak shining bright, but not overpowering, allowing the chocolate, vanilla, and especially the stone fruit to provide complementary flavors that elevate this beer. Absolutely delicious stuff.

The mouthfeel is substantial and nicely creamy, on point for a beer of this magnitude (16.5% ABV). Transient typically uses adjuncts in their big stouts, but not with this one, and it’s appreciated.

A truly rich, whiskey experience. Back to the basics with Blanton's carrying the load.

I've always known that Transient knows how to make a barrel aged stout but I haven't had too many that were basically clear of adjuncts, so I was super excited to see this beer. I think it's thicker and more viscous than their normal stuff. The alcohol is there but booziness is still subdued given the high ABV. I get tons of chocolate and great dry finish. Transient does the highly adjuncted stouts well because they manage to keep the sweetness low enough. This is certainly not a sweet one. I don' t know if I would taste the maple barrels at all without knowing they were there. I get lots of chocolate and vanilla notes as I should from a well aged barrel stout. I need to find more of these bottles! Don't pass it up.