Barrel Aged Sour Black Stout
Counterbalance Brewing Company

hands down the weirdest beer we had in here, arguably the most ambitious too, an imperial stout in bourbon barrels with the critters, they make it sound intentional, but who knows, could be a couple of infected barrels with a flattering profile, have had beers like this before that ended up sort of as happy accidents, who really knows, but i thought this was solid for a number of reasons. the first is that its not all that sour, acidity is tempered enough that this still drinks like a stout, big and smooth and fuller bodied without a ton of sharpness, just a little citrusy tang, more would be too much. its also got a lot of the barrel to it, mellowing the sour, sweet bourbon and vanilla give it richness, while some sweetness from the middle malts balance it as well. another thing thats cool is the abv, its not through the roof, which makes this more approachable, less can be more there, and it is here for sure. lightly syrupy in feel, some leftover sugar, but some neat nuance in it too, seems like part of this could be aged in red wine too, there is a lot of fruitiness to this, raisin and even black cherry, a cola layer, chocolate too, and musty old wood, more acid thank funk but its all there, minimal carbonation but it doesnt beg for more. neat stuff, not a style i generally love, but with all the bourbon barrel on this its very pleasant. made for their anniversary.