The Long Dark
Pike Brewing Company

Inky dark brew with plenty of beige foam in the mini Chimay chalice. Indulgent aroma of whiskey and vanilla. Unctuous mouthfeel, sweet but not syrupy. Flavors of chocolate and dried figs, with a pleasant boozy note. Barrel taste is smooth and not overly woody. Surprisingly not alcoholic tasting, but a little heat. Overall this is one of the better huge stouts I've had-- and a reminder why they don't need the addition of peanut butter or mint. From the 12 oz can purchased at the Northwest beer store. Canned 12/19/22.

I was surprised and happy to see this beer. Like @LiquidAmber, I've got fond memories of earlier Pike Brewing barrel aged beers, so it's good to see them back in the game.

Liquid Dark is a better than solid barrel aged stout. There's whisky for sure, and some cocoa. It's not at all sweet. The ABV is surprisingly not "in your face", considering it's 13.3%. I'm not saying there's no apparent ABV, just that it's milder than you might expect. The roasted malts give you some coffee in the aroma and taste. This is good stuff. I'm going to find some more cans before it disappears.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque in the glass with a thin, dark khaki head that dissipates to patches with light lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, woody oak, chocolate, coffee and mild vanilla. Flavor is dark toasted malt with light char, chocolate, whiskey, woody oak; oaky mocha coffee finish. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess. This is a very nice barreled stout. Pike has been off my radar for a while as they a historic local craft brewery that makes many standard styles that are well brewed, but not standouts. I remember now that I've always been quite happy with Pike's big barrel brews, particularly the old XXXXX Stout and BA Kilt Lifter and this one shows they still have the chops (or are redisplaying them as the brewery is reinventing itself right now). This is rich, full flavored and has nice oaky character balanced with chocolate and mellow whiskey. The barrel character is solid, but does not dominate the base malt flavors. I'm going to be paying attention to Pike again, nicely done. Sensible 12 oz. bottle for this big stout.