Stay Puft - Woodford Reserve Barrel-Aged
Barreled Souls Brewing Company

 

Pours ebony & effervescent with a sliver of caramel colored head. Traces of head retention & lacing

S: Plenty of S'mores, with some barrel, persists throughout the whole bottle

T: Follows he nose, rich chocolate, plenty of barrel, some dark fruits as well along with some woody hops up front. Some marshmallow fights through the Bourbon, as well as plenty of chocolate once this beer is warm. Finishes with warming Bourbon, chocolate & marshmallow

MF: Pretty chewy, low carbonation, pretty warming. Carbonation picks up once warm

If you are going to do this style, Barrel Ages is the only way to go IMHO, everything just tastes more like it should, not forced or artificial. Much to love here

Sampling a cellar temp bottle poured into my snifter. Picked up this beer in October 2021 at the brewery, was bottled on 5-21-2021.
The beer pours a jet black coffee to oil color into my glass. Absolutely no light passing through the glass. A dense tan head of barely 1 cm foams up and fades to a sturdy edge layer soon after the bottle is emptied into my glass.
the aroma is fudge, dark chocolate, vanilla, marshmallow sweetness and some bourbon notes. Hops dont show up here. Booze is well hidden with no fusol notes or spicy hints. While the nose is sweet, it isnt candy like or cloying and is balanced a bit by the dark chocolate.
First sip reveals a medium to thick body with very fine and slightly tingly carbonation. Not very sticky and the texture is smooth.
Flavor is some sweet chocolate and vanilla, then deep fudge and cocoa powder. The marshmallow comes in a bit and the finish allows the rich bourbon to shine through. I also get some warming on the swallow, which is hoe the booze is revealed. I dont get hops anywhere in this beer.
Another fine beer from Barreled Souls and me wishing I had another bottle to sip on. Easily worth the purchase!

375ml capped and waxed bottle into a Founders snifter. Shared with schen9303.

Pours super dense. Thick, oily legs, spotty lace, no head. Marshmallow is apparent in the nose. I also get notes of chocolate, molasses, fudge, and brownie. Coated with an aromatic booziness. Some tootsie roll and cocoa powder too. Beer opens chocolate, marshmallow and vanilla. Sweet and sticky up front. Creamy lactose, sweet cream, and more vanilla in the middle. Molasses stickiness with a touch of roasted malt tartness towards the end. Boozy finish with a lingering, syrupy aftertaste. Body is medium to full with low carbonation. Chewy and oily on the palate and goes down warm. Messy finish with a lingering aftertaste. A touch prickly.

Not bad, not great. Good marshmallow presence but the flavor and body don't quite follow through.

 

Cola black with a large, fizzy mocha head that actually sticks around for a beat before settling into a thick crown despite the fizziness of it. A little clinginess around the edges, but no real lacing.

Marshmallow, chocolate and bourbon in the nose with hints of cherry, amaretto and vanilla.

Smooth tasting with pretty much the same mix of flavors, although perhaps in a different order. The cherry and amaretto are somewhat more prominent; sweet marshmallow, caramel and vanilla combine deliciously mid-palate; and the chocolate adds some slight bitterness for balance in the finish. Strong alcohol heat also contributes to it not tasting overly sweet.

Medium bodied and oily feel with some strong, tight fizz.

Would have to try it side-by-side with regular to see which I prefer, but definitely in the top tier among the handful of variants I’ve tried.

Look - black thick syrup
Smell - chocolate sweet marshmallow graham and a ton of barrel
Taste - chocolate toasted marshmallow graham and a ton barrel, boozy
Feel - thick and creamy with a light carb
Overall - wish the taste lived up to the smell and was thicker

 

 

 

 

 

Whew! The barrel notes on this one are quite strong, with a wonderfully boozy and sweet bourbon mash blending with the thick, sweet malt base.

The sky-high ABV is impossible to completely hide, but it's a relatively easy sipper, less harsh than many of its contemporaries in the 12-18% range. Still, it's definitely a big, bold beer.

The creamy vanilla marshmallow-like notes don't come through quite as well as in the base beer, as the bourbon presence is so strong and tends to both overlap and dominate - not at all unpleasantly. Plenty of chocolate and deep, rich espresso notes.

This is a fantastic, excellent BBA imperial stout. I expected greatness, and I received world class.