Imperial Sponge Candy Stout (Bourbon Barrel Aged)
Resurgence Brewing Company

Aggressive pour yielded very little head and minimal lacing. Flavor places bourbon up front and that’s fine in my book. Chi Kate and bourbon dominate the nose. Medium mouth feel and effectively no carbonation balanced by the bourbon. Liquid chocolate bourbon… what’s not to like?

Pours an effervescent hazel tinged mahogany with a thumb of mocha colored head. Traces of lacing & no head retention

S: Picking a lot of Brandy/Port notes, very woody

T: Burnt/caramelized sugar, a little dark fruit & brandy booze bite up front, pretty dry. Some cola notes, along with Rum, plus plenty of woody dryness & a little vanilla as this warms, plus just a hit of that Sponge Candy plus woody hops. Finishes with charred sugars, Rum& Coke notes & dry of course

MF: Medium body, a little sticky with minimal carbonation. Warming

Interesting Imperial Candy Stout. Never got any Bourbon, but otherwise no flaws really to speak of

 

 

Got this in a very generous trade with @micada

Appearance: Very dark brown with a generous-sized dark beige head that faded fairly quickly. A good looking Imperial Stout.

Smell: Moderate Bourbon aromas, and mild brown sugar aromas. The Bourbon aromas are the star here.

Taste: The taste profile follows the nose featuring Bourbon notes, moderate roasted malt notes, and mild brown sugar notes. The beer starts off mildly sweet but dries out with some tannic oak notes and some lingering roast malts notes. There is a unique aftertaste that I can't identify, possibly the sponge candy addition? The beer has a mild alcohol presence for it's listed 10.0% ABV.

Mouth-feel: On the lighter side of medium bodied with a medium level of carbonation. Not bad but I would love to have the body a bit thicker.

Overall: A good bal-aged imperial Stout. The bal-aging is definitely present but not overpowering and integrates nicely in the taste profile. The only thing I would change is to thicken up the body a bit.

2020 12 oz can version. I do not like the base sponge candy stout, and have not yet tried the imperial base version.

That said, this BBA version is pretty darned good. Poured fridge cold, hard to a tulip glass. Two or three finger mocha head that burns down to a thin ring. Nose is a bit subdued, but you get some bourbon hits. First sips are nice blend of bourbon with a quick hop tip, followed by a light caramel sweetness, with a chocolate malt finish. Body is medium, fitting the profile well. I don’t get a lot of sponge candy flavor, other than the chocolate, but thankfully I have some of the actual Watson’s sponge candy to supplement the beer! Resurgence has a lot of misses for me, but I’d buy this again.

2025 Brewer’s Reserve version update: holy shit, this is light years better than any regular previous BA version. Great aroma. Silky mouthfeel. Flavor mimics the sweet orange sponge twang followed by milk chocolate. All 5s. What a banger!

 

 

Delicious! For me, it's similar to what I like so much about goose island BCBS.

 

 

 

 

Bottle purchased at AJ's Beer Warehouse in Henrietta, NY.

This one pours a pretty dark black, with a small head and no real lacing.

Smells like caramelized chocolate sweetness, super sweet sponge candy, some slight bourbon, and vanilla creamer.

This is pretty solid, but it's a little too sweet. You definitely get the sponge candy, and lots of caramel and chocolate, creamy and quite sweet. There's a pretty subtle barrel character, a little bit of bourbon but no real discernible oak. There's vanilla, but it feels less oak derived, and more just like vanilla coffee creamer.

This is medium bodied, not thin- but it could definitely stand to be thicker.

This is one of the better local(ish) barrel aged stouts I've had, but this area is not exactly a Mecca for the style. It's too sweet, but I enjoyed it.