Hel's Fury
Barbarian Brewing

this is really great stuff, a classic style done extremely well, which i dont think these guys get enough credit for with all the weird stuff they do, but this is rock solid. they call it a russian imperial stout, and somehow its only listed at 7% abv on their draft wall, which is awfully low for this style, but it also makes it approachable, some variance from the listing here obviously, some batch variance i assume, but thats low anyway, served on nitro too which is well executed and lovely, super creamy and frothy and smooth. satin deep brown to black in the glass under a silky almost inch of pillowy nitro foam, really attractive. subtle nose as is sometimes the case with nitro beers, but deep roast to this, ashy and earthy without seeming burnt or anything, unsweetened chocolate, light smoke, a subtle oaken note, black tea, trace vanilla without it being sugary, very pleasant, understated, and cohesive. the flavor is more robust but is still driven by all this roasted barley, great depth to it without a richer middle, cold brew coffee complexity, the good stuff, which the nitro plays into well, like subtle raisin and cocoa powder, insanely smooth, and i dont miss more alcohol, this is creamy with a very nice full body, its gentle feeling, it warms up great, and its something i could drink a lot of, even in the summer, the overall refinement is awesome, the grain complexity is there, and there is a faint fermentation element i like in the style and really dig in this one, maybe loosely english, way back but an important part of this. fantastic take on the style, even with the lower alcohol content.

Draft at Taphouse. Not the same experience as Jeremy and Ken. Nitro pour looks good . Aroma leads with some floral handsoap notes, and unfortunately, the taste follows. Sweet and floral, sour milk . Some roasty bitterness lurks in there, fighting to get out. Difficult to finish.