Rare DOS | Cycle Brewing

4.35/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

2018 release. Thick, viscous, with long-lasting legs when swirled. I'll admit to rolling my eyes a bit at the label text emphasizing that it was aged for *over one year*, when so many others do the same. However, this one really is a very heavily oak-forward boozefest, without any of the negatives that could come into play given such a description. Cocoa powder, vanilla syrup, honey, a hint of anise and tannins, and bourbon. All the bourbon. Very full-bodied, tongue-coating, leading to a lengthy finish that sticks around but never gets too sweet or overpowering; it just offers a persistent, polite reminder of what was just experienced.

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4.27/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured into a snifter. Opaque dark brown color with a modest tan head. Great aroma. Chocolate, oak, whiskey, roast. The taste followed with rich base imp stout bathed in a whiskey barrel. Nice vanilla notes. Overall an outstanding beer.

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4.89/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Got this one from 7clutch. Thanks, man!

From a bomber into a snifter
Whisky barrel aged imperial stout

APPEARANCE: Half opaque black pour yields a two finger, medium-thicker looking, creamy tan head with great retention. Black body with no carbonation evident. Head slowly recedes to a full, creamy cap and leaves sticky lacing on the glass. A half ring remains leaving decent lacing as the glass empties.

SMELL: Lovely nose of oak, bourbon, sweet vanilla cream, coconut, milk chocolate, butterscotch and a hint of roasted coffee notes. Bold and enticing stuff.

TASTE: Oak, bourbon, butterscotch, milk chocolate and vanilla cream up front. Flavorful for sure, with lots of sweet barrel components. A bit of booze at the swallow with a bold and lingering finish of bourbon, oak, butterscotch and toffee sweetness, coconut, vanilla cream, milk chocolate and a touch of bitter coffee as well. This is really flavorful with plenty of sweet barrels and bitter, roasted base beer. Lovely.

PALATE: Fuller body and lower levels of carbonation. Enough weight and very silky slick, goes down smooth with a bit of a burn and finishes sticky on the palate, A bit of heat lingers.

OVERALL: Mind-bogglingly good. I first had this one a few years back when they were brewing it at the old location, and it looks like they’ve got it more than dialed in. Just as good as I remember it. Wonderful nose and flavor with superb balance between the sweet barrel and bitter base beer, and piles of all the other good stuff all over the place. Good looking and a top class feel to boot. This is one of my all time favorites for sure. Thanks again, desp! Lovely stuff.

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4.55/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Look: Motor oil black, with thin 1 inch brown head that sticks around for a bit. Low carbonation.
Smell: Fudge, chocolate chip, Bourbon, and faint vanilla.
Taste: Fudge, chocolate chip, and Bourbon heat.
Mouthfeel: Medium with plenty of barrel.
Overall: A very good Bourbon barrel aged Stout from Cycle.

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4.14/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Fantastic smell of vanilla, wood, whiskey, marshmallow. The flavor is hot, chocolate fudge, more oak and whiskey. Only small issue like most Cycle beers is a touch thin but overall a winner.

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3.65/5  rDev -18%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Black with a thin mocha head that dies quickly.

Nose is Tootsie Roll, Vanilla Coke, caramel, a hint of roastiness and light whiskey.

Taste is lighter on chocolate, with some prune and walnut. Oak opens up as it warms. It's light on the booze but still tastes like a Jack and Coke as opposed to a barrel-aged stout. Overall the flavor disappoints from the aromatic intro.

Feel starts out crisp, tangy and tingly, transitioning to a slick and thin fluidity mid palate. It's a little hot, but the thin, tingly body adds an odd cooling effect, leading into a waxy finish. So it's not too intense and as such is very drinkable.

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4.74/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

What a surprise this was. Pours black as oil with minimal head. Coats the glass very well. Aroma is heavy on fudge and Baker's chocolate with some hints of whiskey barrel. Flavor is exactly as it smells. Intense amount of Baker's chocolate finish in each sip. Mouth feel is relatively thick. Coats the mouth pretty well. Overall, I would have to say that this is one of the best cycle beers that I have tried. This held up very well and it tasted absolutely magnificent!

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4.53/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Thanks Ryan for sharing this bottle. Poured from a 22oz bottle into a snifter.

Pours thick, black viscous body with a small brown head. Tons of chocolate on the nose, vanilla and bourbon. On the tongue is rich bakers chocolate, fudgy, whiskey, finishing roasty. Thick rich body, really nice velvety feel.

Great beer, very solid

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4.5/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Enjoyed this at a recent All Cycle tasting. Vintage 2014 bottle which I believe might have been the original batch.
Solid whisky BA Stout with smooth barrel and chocolate notes

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4.75/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

On tap. Black color with brown head. Aroma has fleshy plums, floral notes like violets and also green coffee beans. Taste is quite balanced with bourbon, toffee, green peppers and caramel on the finish. Medium to full bodied with medium carbonation.

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4.33/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured from the bottle into a taster. Chocolate, dark malts and a little char. A bit thin, per the Cycle norm based on my experiences, which holds this one back a bit.

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4.43/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This one was over a year old when I tried it, and it was still delicious. Super creamy thick mouthfeel with tons of chocolate and some subtle vanilla on the finish.

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4.85/5  rDev +9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

Delicious barrel aged stout with an abrasive burn molasses sweetness that some how smooths as it warms and becomes a liquid chocolate bourbon delight big thick mouth feel and roasty coffee through out perfect bourbon aroma and flavor that blends beautifully with the stout

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3.88/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

An insanely generous extra from moose3285, whose boxes will leave you feeling small & emasculated. Thankfully, I don’t know what that means. Trippy black & white 2014 bottle split with my wife.

The pour is a moonless night in the Boundary Waters, in your tent, around 4 AM, when you wake up with a full bladder & think you’ve been buried alive. Nose is light but inviting: vanilla, light burn, chocolate, sweet malts.

Rare DOS makes me think sadly of my old Commodore 64, with it’s DOS programmed games we used to type in from…whatever Commodore 64 magazine used to exist. Time has made this a smooth operator. The strongest bit is the roast, which infuses every other taste, including vanilla, a cord of fire-blackened wood, subdued whiskey, residual malt & sugar sweetness, with a finish of bitter cocoa slathered with anise. I’ll have no trouble downing my 11.5 ounces (don’t tell my wife - she’ll start getting out the measuring cups…again).

This bottle matches up with what I remember of Peg’s beers in general during our visit over Hunahpu’s weekend in March 2014 - very good, but doesn’t quite reach the upper echelon. Thanks again Mike!

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4.15/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle from MeadMe, thanks for the opportunity!
Pitch black with a frothy creamy bubbly tan head that persists. Roasty chocolate with a hint of licorice and a bit of oak and vanilla. Solid whiskey presence is never harsh. Earthy hop and light pitted fruits round this out nicely. Thick creamy mouthfeel, light level of carbonation, thick body. That's a very tasty brew right there.

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4.23/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Big thanks to rudzud.
Dark fluffy smaller creamy head, light lacing, super pitch black color.

Nose big fluffy cocoa, fudgey choc, caramel candy, dark mild roast, little roasty coffee, mild bourbon barrel notes.

Taste dark choc, roasty char, cocoa and bitter roast, fudgey notes, little bourbon barrel notes, vanilla, bitter earthy hops and roasty char, sticky. Fudgey cocoa nougat.

Mouth thicker creamy fudgey decent carb.

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4.15/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Shared with JLindros.

A - Poured into a Kate the Great tulip a nice dark black hue with a thin mocha head that fades to leave a thin halo.

S - Aromas of nice dark malts, light dark fruits, and light vanilla, light char.

T - Taste is similar to the nose, nice chocolate , decent char and roast malts.

M - Mouthfeel is lightly carbonated smooth and creamy.

O - Overall this beer was rather tasty, bit thin but still nice.

Serving type: bottle

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4.07/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours one shade shy of black with a quarter inch, mocha-colored head that dissipates towards the shoulders into a frothy band. Nose expresses dark malts, molasses and not much in the way of whiskey, but a light ethanol burn is present in the nares. There's also a trace of artificial sweetener. Taste is very pleasant - vanilla notes are apparent, as well as whiskey; however, it's not overly pronounced. Mouthfeel is light in body (a bit too thin for my sensibilities) with a mild a carbonation and a silky texture. Overall, solid and quite drinkable.

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4.98/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

Great googly-moogly, Batman! A beer worth of a grail. I think I want this as my last meal should it ever come down to that.

Black as a moonless night while wearing a blindfold. Solid ring of dark tan. Zero light penetration.
Smell is rich, malty, boozy, all the wonderful scents of a great fruitcake. Wheat, dark fruits (raisins especially ), roasted malts, hint of anise, too.
98% of maximum full body without being cloying, very light effervescence. Slight dryness in the aftertaste. Get it when you can.

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4.5/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

First time having a Cycle beer. Rare Dos pours dark and a little thin. I was worried at this point. The smell is remarkable. Great blend of cherry and dried figs. The taste follows perfectly. Chocolate, cherry and no alcohol burn. Excellent beer and I'm excited to try more from this brewery! Cheers

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4.44/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from an undated bomber into a snifter. Look was dark black with a small off white head. Smell was sweet, some vanilla, and a bit of caramel. Taste was more complex with chocolate, a strong vanilla, caramel, dark fruit, and a spicy oak finish. Mouth was creamy, but not thick, with a lingering weight. Overall this is a very good BBA Stout, well balanced and nicely done.

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4.75/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

This was amazing let's just say that first. Super creamy, perfect balance of everything. So many dark fruits floating around, great vanilla and bitter chocolate on both the pallet and noise, all rounded out with a great whiskey presence. So glad I had the opportunity to try this!

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4.33/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Bottle with the R on it.

Tan head. Black.

Lots of whiskey. Some molasses and brown sugar. Lots of chocolate. Vanilla and toffee. Big roast.

Full bodied. Decent carbonation. Ends with roast.

Overall, an awesome beer but not as good as rare r dos.

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4.24/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Big bourbon aroma, chocolatey, with a hint of roast. Toasted, nutty malt adds complexity. Hint of specialty fruitiness.

Flavor is fruitier, with a chocolate and lightly bitter roasty malt backbone.

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4.58/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Beautiful, sleek, black pour with one finger head. Aroma is dark chocolate fudge with smoky pipe tobacco, oak, and vanilla. Taste is decadent, chocolate fudge. Imo cycle consistently gets the best chocolate flavor in their stouts. It's not milk chocolate or bitter dark chocolate, but a very rich fudge flavor that isn't overly sweet or bitter. Perfect. There is a nice toffee, caramel flavor and a little vanilla with toasted coconut. There whiskey doesn't dominate the flavor, but provides a nice kick to accentuate the base beer. The barrel character is excellent adding a nice charred flavor that takes it beyond the simple dessert beer category. Mouth feel is not huge and chewy, but it is smooth and balanced with carbonation right on point. This is spot on. Trade for it.

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