El Zacatón - Barrel Aged
Hubbard's Cave Brewery

 

Absolutely delectable, decadent, and spicy flavored imperial stout. As the BA version, I'm going to spend my first points comparing this to the base beer.

First off, it's hotter - not from a spice standpoint (it's about on par), but in terms of alcohol heat. That's unsurprising given the barrel aging. In total, the perceived chili heat combines with the alcohol heat for a fairly hot sip, but it's still certainly approachable.

Much as how the bourbon amplifies the heat, it also amplifies the sweetness. There's a ton of chocolate, and the vanilla comes through quite strong as well, but the sweetness of the bourbon takes it to another level. It's still well shy of cloying, but it's definitely on the sweeter side.

Overall, this is an absolutely delicious beer. I'm not sure the bourbon barrel aging takes it to a better level; in fact, I think I enjoyed the base beer more. At the price, it's certainly not worth it to shell out for this version if you also have access to the base beer. That said, on its own, it's an excellent and very enjoyable beer.

 

 

 

 

2020 vintage, labeled 13.0% ABV. Moderately thin, but still leaving some legs on the glass. Almond, vanilla, and cocoa powder on the nose. Relatively subdued on the cinnamon, to my delight. Very nice chile flavor and capsaicin ting, but not particularly spicy. The vanilla and almond flour, along with the smooth mouthfeel, give the impression of pudding. Plenty of barrel oak and boozy character on the mid-palate. Overall, very well balanced and a substantial improvement over previous years.