Barrel Works Series: Monstrosus
Southern Tier Brewing Company

Barrel Works Series: MonstrosusBarrel Works Series: Monstrosus
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From:
Southern Tier Brewing Company
 
New York, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
ABV:
14.7%
Score:
95
Avg:
4.35 | pDev: 5.52%
Reviews:
27
Ratings:
67
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Sep 13, 2021
Added:
Apr 10, 2017
Wants:
  6
Gots:
  15
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by superspak:
Photo of superspak
Reviewed by superspak from North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 7/2017. Pours dense pitch black color with a small fairly dense tan head with decent retention, that reduces to a thin ring of lace that lingers. Slight spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, fudge, marshmallow, molasses, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coconut, coffee, smoke, char, licorice, raisin, date, pepper, leather, and roast/oak earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt and bourbon barrel notes; with good strength. Mild increasing booze in the aromas as it warms, but not overwhelming. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, fudge, marshmallow, molasses, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coconut, coffee, smoke, char, licorice, raisin, date, pepper, leather, and roast/oak earthiness. Very mild roast bitterness and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, fudge, marshmallow, molasses, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, dark bread, light smoke/char, dark fruit, pepper, leather, and roast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and bourbon barrel flavors; with a great roasted bitter/sweet and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with zero cloying/acrid flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from roast bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and very full body; with a smooth, creamy, silky, velvety, and rich mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mild slickness, stickiness, chalky roast, and oak tannins. Mildly increasing warmth of 14.7%, minimal barrel booziness. Overall this is a fantastic BBA imperial stout! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV with the mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish. Pretty similar to most of the Bruery stouts on flavor profile. Not as deeply roasty or charred on black/roasted malts like some others; but still extremely rich and complex. Outstanding barrel integration and balance; without feeling overly boozy, tannic, or drying. A highly enjoyable offering.
Feb 24, 2018
More User Ratings:
Photo of EMV
Reviewed by EMV from Pennsylvania

4.45/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Poured from a bomber into a Dogfish Head tulip. 2017 bottling date

L: Black pour. Minimal mocha colored head and a thin rim of lacing. Low carbonation.

S: Roast and sweets... booze and bourbon. Vanilla, oak, and more booze.

T.F: Just like it smells. Sweet and boozy... caramel, vanilla, oak, and bourbon. Good roast character gives a little balance, but definitely on the sweet/boozy side. Low carbonation... medium bodied (expected it to be thicker really). Strong bourbon even after 4 years in the cellar.

O: A really well done BBA stout, and a great effort from Southern Tier. That 14.7% is dangerous.
Sep 13, 2021
Photo of Oh_Dark_Star
Reviewed by Oh_Dark_Star from Washington

4.48/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
L: Midnight black brew with a half finger espresso cream head, fading to a wide ring with great retention, and a single wide band like a dragon around the glass.

S: Some complexity here. Darks roasts, molasses, baker’s chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, oak, and leather.

T: All the nose with a good carbonation and lingering large in flavor. A bit sweet for my taste. Could have been more bitter, but it’s fantastic.

F: A weighty, but not too syrupy mouthfeel.

O: Southern tier can start out bold and rough around the edges. With monstrosus I elected to age this one a while and share with a friend, now, nearly a year into Covid I folded and cracked’er open 41 months in my cellar.
And wow it aged better than I would have guessed. They should say “Like a fine stout!”
Nov 15, 2020
 
Rated: 4.56 by BLPasch from Michigan

Nov 15, 2020
Photo of CaptainHate
Reviewed by CaptainHate from Ohio

4.29/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
When I bought this July 2017 22 ouncer, well before I started cellaring things in earnest, the guy at the grocery store said this would be good to age for a while. And here we are!

Pours a dark brownish color with very little head in the tulip. For whatever reason, the smell is the weak point of this. When first poured after 50 degree cellar temperature I couldn't smell anything significant. I was thinking WTF because, although I don't consider myself anything other than a regular guy when it comes to olfactory sensitivities, I usually detect something worth commenting on. Maybe it's seasonal allergies. When it warmed up some boozy chocolate and vanilla sweetness came to the fore. But the taste, dear God! A very thick malty mashup of sweet flavors (Southern Tier never scrimps on the sweetness) along with incredibly well hid booze and the barrel. A near perfect taste experience. The mouthfeel was up there too, thick but well carbonated too.

A very pleasant experience (plus somewhat esoteric music is sounding great). Too bad it was so damn expensive or I'd have bought more.
Aug 11, 2019
 
Rated: 4.25 by BeerBucks from New York

Mar 09, 2019
Photo of jlindros
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts

4.29/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
Smaller fizzy dark bubbly head, low retention, good legs, pitch black

Nose loads of chocolate, dark choc and cocoa, fudgey, little nutty, caramel, toasted oak barrel, little vanilla, light bourbon, thicker caramel as it warms

Taste thick fudgey dark chocolate, cocoa, little syrupy fair sweet, mild warming alcohol but fairly smooth, lush chewy, big caramel, little nutty, cocoa dust and candy syrup, creamy oatmeal, little roasty, mild bourbon, little vanilla barrel, toasted oak, barrel is fairly light overall

Mouth is full bod, rich creamy thick lush, mild warming alcohol, decent carb

Overall not bad, base beer is good except little too sweet, nice mouth thickness, wish the barrel was more
Feb 04, 2019
Photo of Vidblain
Reviewed by Vidblain from Minnesota

3.86/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
An attractive dark pour with a pleasant nut brown head - quite fragrant. It's thick and quite heavy, and in spite of age, it's still fairly hot. Tremendously sweet. I'm not getting much in the way of barrels.

It's a very big beer, but nothing much stands out to me - it's boozy and hot and sweet as hell, and finishes a little dirty. It's fine but not particularly memorable.
Jan 28, 2019
 
Rated: 4.59 by GregSemenza from Connecticut

Jan 11, 2019
Photo of Reggie_Dunlop
Rated by Reggie_Dunlop from Pennsylvania

4.4/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Now that is more like it!
Dec 15, 2018
 
Rated: 4.02 by Gaddabble from Ohio

Nov 01, 2018
 
Rated: 4.84 by JamesBondGA from Georgia

Oct 31, 2018
 
Rated: 4.48 by ian_graf from Minnesota

Oct 28, 2018
 
Rated: 4.97 by ummswimmin from New Jersey

Oct 11, 2018
 
Rated: 4.71 by gasanesthesia from Georgia

Oct 09, 2018
 
Rated: 4.36 by DruC4 from Michigan

Sep 06, 2018
Photo of LiquidAmber
Reviewed by LiquidAmber from Washington

4.4/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Properly cellared 1 year old bottle. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with a half finger dark khaki head that dissipates slowly to thick patches with light lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, bourbon, plum, dates, a hint of cherry and ethanol. Flavor is dark toasted malt with slight char, plums, dates, raisins, oaky vanilla and lots of bourbon. Finishes hot with notes of caramel, cocoa and more bourbon. Medium bodied with light creaminess and good mouthfeel. A monster of an imperial stout that is closer in profile to a strong ale due to the very nice dark fruit notes. Like a lot of Southern Tier brews, a touch sweet, but well withing the style for a big stout or strong ale.Too huge to be a classic imperial stout, but a damned fine bit strong barrelled stout with good bourbon flavor. Aptly named, but it's a good monster. Very enjoyable.
Aug 06, 2018
 
Rated: 4.3 by BAsbill from California

Jul 17, 2018
 
Rated: 4.41 by buzzy from Pennsylvania

Jun 18, 2018
 
Rated: 4.73 by Dougwillhike from New Jersey

May 13, 2018
Barrel Works Series: Monstrosus from Southern Tier Brewing Company
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 67 ratings