Take The Night Off
Long Live Beerworks

 

No bottling date (released on 2/16/21, so presumably bottled within a few days of that date); consumed on 10/21/21

Pours a viscous, oily black body capped with a finger and a half of near-creamy mocha foam; solid head retention fades to a paper-thin veil of cap, a moderate, lush, frothy collar, and minimal clusters of spotty lacing holding to the walls of the glass.

Aroma espouses toasty dark chocolate developing into charred brownie crust as undertones of fig embrace saturated oak bourbon barrel, leaving saucy caramel to char, redolent of concentrated micro-notes of sweet tobacco closing through a burly, bittersweet bouquet.

Taste opens to charry vanilla pod fusing into lush dark chocolate cake batter as wisps of dark fruits loom; dehydrated prune and airy fig refine over the mid-palate before firm, flaky roast and deepening oak on the finish brings bourbon influences to the forefront.

Mouthfeel offers a medium body sporting a subdued, low carbonation dispersing a subtle char building over the mid-palate as grit fuses to a toasty warmth on the back end, textured pillowy over time to a finish balanced between roasty malts and bourbon subtlety.

A developed barrel-aged stout, accenting a robust malt profile well-prepared to handle the oncoming nuance of soft vanillins and refined oak with a spirit influence flowing in tune with the profile at-large; comfortably warm yet harmoniously quaffable.

 

 

 

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

This smells like cakey vanilla, dark fruit, oak, bourbon, caramel, fudge, and molasses.

This is really quite good. Even though it's just vanilla bourbon barrels, there's a solid vanilla character to this one - cakey, sweet, but not too sweet. There's oak, char, dark fudgy chocolate, some dried plum/cherry, caramel, and molasses sweetness. The barrel on this is just so nice and really transforms the beer for me.

This is thick, chewy, and creamy, with barely any booziness.

This has a really interesting and delicious barrel character to it. I definitely want to try more beers from Long Live.

500ml wax capped bottle poured into a Spiegelau tulip. Color is an inky black with a cluster of mocha-colored froth that coalesces towards the edges. Clarity is completely opaque. Nose reveals bigs hit of rich chocolate, ethanol. Taste is fantastic - follows nose with the addition of vanilla and molasses. Mouthfeel is light in body with a kiss of acidity, a light oiliness and an assertive carbonation for the style. Overall, a well-crafted BA stout. Barrel notes aren't overly nuanced and mouthfeel could be a little thicker but tasty nonetheless.