Unloved - Apple Brandy Barrel-Aged
The Veil Brewing Co. - Production Brewery

Chocolate syrup black with a fine, thin tan film that dies off quickly to a smooth, oil slick surface.

Whoa buddy, this is almost Scotchy. It's super woody, mostly veering into the hickory realm which isn't always my favorite, while the roastiness is simultaneously not too much, yet also bringing a somewhat unusual smoky note. As it warms there are accents of black licorice, and the body is fairly viscous, but for my money it's a bit too woody and savory. I'm frankly surprised this was apple brandy barrel aged.

This one pours a thick looking dark black color, with a small head, and no lacing.

This one smells like rich dark chocolate, sea salt caramel, apple brandy, coffee, vanilla, and oak.

This works strangely well - the brininess from the oysters and the sweetness from the apple brandy almost make a chocolate-covered sea salt caramel feel to it. It's a bit prickly as it warms from the ocean. There's tons of sweet drippy chocolate, a touch of smoke, and some oak, too.

The mouthfeel on this one is very big, like most Veil beers, with some syrupiness and a big creamy feel to it. It's a slow sipper.

This one is a lot of fun, and just plain weird. It mostly works.

If I didn't know better I'd swear this was on nitro - insanely creamy, tight bubbles that took a full minute to form. Poured like genuine motor oil, was worried I'd get no head at all but it was just slow to fight through the insanely thick body and formed a gorgeous cascade. Had little to no expectations for this beer but was floored by the mouthfeel - super creamy, thick, chewy, syrupy, really wish more beers nailed the feel like this. Not a ton of Apple Brandy to speak of but at only a month in the barrel that's not enormously surprising, but even still booziness was subdued and in the background. Would definitely seek this out again, a real sleeper for me.

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at the brewery, this one looks like used motor oil in the glass. Dense and thick looking black color with hardly any head on top. The smell has quite a bit of booze coming off of it but still on the more pleasant side. The taste is good, but kind of lacks some depth, it's rich and boozy which is what I think The Veil is kind of going for here. The feel was silky and smooth with a touch of heat in the finish. Overall it was a good brew.

 

 

6oz pours, like the non-BA version, a deep, dark brown that is almost black. It has very little head that quickly dissapears and leaves a tan force field around the glass. Smell, for only one month in AB barrels, is big Apple Brandy and some sweet chocolate but mostly barrel. Its smells like it was barreled for 6+ months. Taste is has a huge apple brandy presence followed by sweet chocolate and next to no roast. Mouth feel is between medium and full, its feels nice and coating. This is a great young BA stout especially if you like AB. Some might say its too hot, I enjoy the bite. Time would treat this really well if only a little. The base flavors are a little hidden by the barrel, but I love it none the less.

Pours a deep black/brown with very thin tan head that drops out quickly. Aroma of big chocolate, roasted malt, coffee, caramel, toffee, apple brandy and oak. Flavor follows with a decent amount of sweetness anda slight briny finish. Very good. Some are saying this is "hot" but imo, there is just a decent amount of brandy that leached out from the barrel. I've had the non-BA version, and the base beer itself is not hot. I really enjoy the way the brandy accents the beer.. its a little strong, but I really don't mind. The feel is full and creamy, with very light carbonation, which is near perfect for this beer imo. Overall, Unloved is the best oyster stout that I've ever had, and the barrel aged version takes it to another level. Great job.