3rd Anniversary BA Ethiopia Yirgacheffe
Cycle Brewing

Reviewed from (very) long-standing notes. Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into an El Catador Barrel-Aged glass. Purchased at the brewery on 8/15/16, consumed on 9/12/16.

A: Very, very dark brown, opaque. Minimal visible carbonation and a thin tan head that fades away fairly quickly.

S: Bourbon, oak, and vanilla; with coffee as an undertone. Mild caramel, barrel char, and roast notes from the coffee and the malt bill.

T: Coffee up front – a nice roast with sweet herbal notes. Whiskey and vanilla, oak tannins and chocolate as well. Chocolate and coffee are nearly balanced, maybe a little heavier on coffee. But not nearly as coffee forward as I expected. It finishes with coffee, sweet malts with notes of toffee, and whiskey. A little more roast bitter and barrel char shows up to help it finish less sweet as it warms.

M: Carbonation sensation on the low side. Fairly full body, but honestly I think notably thin compared to some of the beasts that Cycle has put out before. Alcohol restrained for style.

O: Now, understand I’m comparing it to Doug’s very, very high bar that he’s set for himself – but this isn’t as good as a lot of the other Imperial Stouts he’s put out. This suffers especially in the body area, but it just lacks a punch or anything special. The carbonation in this bottle is borderline flat – that does detract some. I don’t know if it was just this bottle (it didn’t "pfft" much when opened), but it’s been refrigerated since I got it on release day. Not what I expected.

 

 

22oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours a deep black with a thin creamy khaki head that has short retention and settles to a ring around the edge

S- oaky bourbon and mocha espresso notes up front, light fruity red berries, vanilla & fudge brownies

T- coffee notes give more of a fruity berry note up front, followed by notes of dark chocolate and caramel. Nice barrel character adds notes of oak, vanilla & caramel

M- medium-light body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel and slightly slick finish

O- this one seems to have a bit more barrel character than the others

Shiny dark brown with more of a dark tan head than Sumatra, fading to a lightly bubbly collar.

Smell is roasted nut, cherry, roasty malt, bourbon heat and acidic coffee, while taste is chocolatey and smooth, but still quite hot of bourbon syrup, accented by peanut and molasses.

We did a 3rd Anniversary horizontal, and needless to say, the "DRINK FRESH!" was not adhered to by my fellow bottle-sharers. As such this probably suffered for it, but nonetheless, it was decent.

 

 

 

 

the last of the series for me...and the 4th of the that I couldn't get opened at a tasting so solodomed. this series gets a lot of hate and it is kind of warranted. they are definitely thin but not bad...that saod, I don't think they warrant the $30 price tag. other than that they are solid beers, bit maybe like $18 compared to what's out there. Eclipse is way better and they hardly warrant that $30.

not having these side by side it 's hard to say where this one fall but I ember some being better and some being worse. the coffee has a stale taste and this is far from fresh in general so could be faded? thick and sludgy flavors without the body to support it. good, not great.

 

 

 

 

Got this one from vanlingleipa. Cheers!

From a bomber into a snifter
Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Edition

APPEARANCE: Clear black pour yields a three finger, thicker looking, creamy, dark tan head with great retention. Black body with no carbonation evident. Head slowly fades to a nice, full, creamy cap and clings to the sides of the glass. A splotchy wisp remains until the end but leaves no real lacing down the glass. Good looking.

SMELL: Big nose on this one with lots of oak, bourbon, creamy, vanilla laced coffee, milk chocolate and some nice pure, dark chocolate as well. Fudge brownies, vanilla cream and lightly roasted coffee beans. Goes really nicely with the barrel notes.

TASTE: Bourbon, oak, vanilla and sweet cream up front, with notes of milk chocolate. More bourbon notes with a hint of lightly roasted coffee at the swallow, moving into a bolder and lingering finish of bourbon, oak, sweet vanilla cream, lightly roasted coffee and some pure, dark chocolate. A bit of booze lingers, as does a touch of fudge along with the creamy coffee notes.

PALATE: Medium-full body with low levels of carbonation. Silky and smooth on the palate, goes down slick and finishes somewhat sticky on the palate. A bit of heat lingers.

OVERALL: Excellent. Pretty much all of these BA coffee stouts are going to be winners and I wouldn’t expect any less. This one didn’t quite leave the lacing that the Vietnamese Edition did, but who cares, really. Lots of nice barrel character with some smooth, creamy, lightly roasted coffee to go with it. A nice fudge and chocolate character here too, especially in the nose. Very enjoyable and it reminds me yet again why I love Cycle so much. Cheers vanlingleipa!