Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
Cloudwater Brew Co.

 

a collaboration with j wakefield, and an excellent example of the style overall. the barrel is bold in here, tons of char and wet oak and vanilla and the whiskey itself, but it doesnt overwhelm or cover up the layers and quality of the base beer, which has a lot of dark chocolate going on, a hint of molasses to it, a long boiled concentrated maltiness, and some good roasted bitterness to balance against the sweetness of the whiskey. strong vanilla, mellow cigar smoke, and an espresso vibe, nice depth and also integration, an english type yeast seems to bring it all together really nicely too. this tastes and feels like it was in the barrel for quite awhile, lots and lots of oak to it, some fusel alcohol from the whiskey, and high maturity. this is a little sweet, decadent with all the alcohol, something for the winter for sure, but a very well made beer, in no need of any funny adjuncts to be delicious and unique, they really nailed it with this one. its always the hoppy stuff i hear about from these guys, but this is fire!