Fourth Anniversary Stout - Barrel Aged
Swiftwater Brewing Company

12oz can at share. Black slick pour, collar of beige head. Smoky roast malts, some molasses, a healthy dose of bourbon barrel. Aroma and taste offer a smooth, rich pallette of flavors.

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like intensely charred oak, with roast, vanilla, dark chocolate, bourbon, booze, and espresso.

This is a big beer, and you'll certainly know it, drinking it. The booze is not well hidden, but there's absolutely great barrel character - tons of charred and spicy oak, and a big dark chocolate ganache thing dripping all over this beer. There's a bit of vanilla and coffee, too. As it warms, the booziness does become slightly overwhelming, as it does get quite bitter at that point.

This is not super thick, with a slight creaminess, and a lingering boozy astringency on the finish, especially as it warms.

This is pretty impressive - it's fairly well outside of Swiftwater's usual comfort zone. It's not perfect, and the booziness could certainly be tamped down, but it's a great start.