Rye Barrel Vanilla Stout
Brewery Ommegang

 

12 ounce bottle into a snifter. Best by 7/20/23, had 9/30/21.

Pours a mostly opaque dark brown, with a two inch foamy head and some foamy lacing. Aromas of vanilla, chocolate, rye, malt, some marshmallow, slight char. Flavors of vanilla, rye whiskey, malt, chocolate, light oak. It’s a little spicy, with a light bitterness. Smooth, a good thinner for the style body, a little creamy, well carbonated.

The vanilla is the star, with overall good aromas and flavors. The barrels have an impact, but are fairly light. This is certainly enjoyable, but would have been more expressive if the barrels were turned loose a little more.

I was excited to find this since rye barrel aged stouts generally are my favorite. This one doesn't live up to what it could be. It pours out nice in the glass, and has some good aromas of vanilla and brown sugar. The mouthfeel is very watery for an imperial stout. Considering the ABV is pretty low for a barrel-aged stout, I'm guessing that this beer has been watered down before bottling. This feels like a brewery's take on a barrel-aged stout when they're only used to making piss-colored IPA's. Completely missed the mark.

Drunk on New Year's Eve 2022, after receiving it from @turkeysdrinkbeer back in February of that year.

L: The beer is a very pretty black with intense ruby highlights where the sun hits the glass, and a coffee-coloured head. There's some lacing on the glass.

S: The nose presents strong whiskey notes from the barrel, plus wood and vanilla.

T: The taste has vanilla and again strong whiskey notes from the barrel. As it warms the barrel takes over and thins out the vanilla, becoming a little too boozy before settling down again and achieving a nice balance between the two.

M: The mouthfeel is as smooth and silky as expected from the visuals.

O: This one was drunk in company and my notes were perfunctory. Regardless, it was a beer worth drinking slowly and I'd grab any opportunity to have this one again.

Cheers!
#173

A: dark brown to black with a rich brown head.

S: strong vanilla aroma, and a touch of cream soda.

T: cream soda up in this bizz. Vanilla follows. Fairly cloying with some licorice notes in the finish. Not getting much barrel character.

M: medium thick, moderate carbonation, finish had a bit of a cling.

O: overall this is a miss for me, instead of being complex and interesting it tastes very one note, and the one note is closing and artificial.

 

 

 

12oz bottle poured into a tulip

A- pours black in color with a one-finger foamy khaki colored head that has great retention

S- smells of marshmallows, vanilla, chocolate, roast, not picking up much barrel

T- malty and chocolaty up front with some roasted notes, followed by a hit of vanilla that imparts some marshmallow notes. The finish brings out some peppery rye, along with char, chocolate and marshmallow

M- medium body with moderate-low carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that continues into a creamy finish

Strong and a bit sweet, I couldn't detect much rye taste here, but the vanilla has definitely mellowed this into an easily drinkable beer. A little roasty malty with well disguised alcohol. Tasty, but less complex than other beers I've tried from this brewery.

 

 

**
02/01/22

Bottle to snifter.

Very tasty. Roasty, almost smokey.

Vanilla, ash, oak, licorice, raisin.

Pretty good.

Probably, a little unfair drinking this after "The time has come". It is not up to that snuff, but tasty nonetheless.

**

I haven’t found many Rye-based brews that I have truly liked, but this is truly good and special. I found the lacing to be pronounced and the smell to be muted, but it was malty and boozy to the tongue with a full and thick mouthfeel. Overall, very damn good.

12 ounce bottle, bottled 07/21/21, best by 07/21/23 stamped on the label. Thanks to Brutaltruth for this brew! Served in a snifter, the beer pours a dark brown/black color with about an inch tan head that stuck around a while. There's also a good amount of lacing. I like the aroma, the brew smells mostly like vanilla, along with some roasted malt, chocolate and a bit of rye. Taste is similar to the aroma, the vanilla stands out here, but there's also some chocolate, oak, roasted malt, coffee, caramel and some rye. Not a bad tasting brew at all, just wish the rye had more of a kick. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's coating and a bit creamy with a moderate amount of carbonation. I thought this was a good brew, only complaint was that the rye wasn't strong enough. But certainly worth trying if you like stouts!

Rye. It’s like a marketing word aimed directly at my taste buds. 12 oz. bottle split with my wife.

The pour is black with a head more insistent than Joe West calling a strike five inches outside. The nose is heavy vanilla with a quick strike of chocolate.

Rye Barrel Vanilla Stout defines mediocrity. There’s a violent outpouring of vanilla – lifeless, generic, past-the-best-by-date vanilla – that drowns out everything else. A colic of rye barely sticks out but it also has the edges sanded off, & there’s nothing that makes rye barrel aging so great. Chocolate? Maybe. A very small sample size would have been enough to detect the…sorry. I just fell asleep for a moment.

Perhaps the dullest beer I’ve ever tasted. I’m not even slightly interested in finishing my half. Disappointing.