Barrel Aged Oh, Nuts!
Trillium Brewing Company

Can’t say this beer did much for me. It looked good out of the gate and was promising at first taste but things went downhill from there. I couldn’t identify any of the nuts in the taste, and there was no barrel taste at all, which, given that it was rum BA, should have been even more pronounced than bourbon… Mouthfeel was smooth and thick - pretty appropriate for the style and given the ABV, quite frankly, what you’d expect, given all those last remaining unfermented sugars hanging around (after the ABV was boosted using fermentable sugars…). That’s it for now!

 

 

Drank from a 1 pint .9 oz (500 ml) bottle purchased at Trillium Brewing Company, Boston, MA

The beer poured an insanely viscous and oily looking total pitch black. A saddle brown cap of froth topped the liquid, but it quickly transformed into a thin, lasting halo. There was zero lacing whatsoever.

The aroma was outstanding, despite the peanut, almond and hazelnut being undetectable. Dark chocolate notes came through big time. Loads of sweet vanilla as well. Good dose of milk sugar too. Nice rich caramel malt presence. Boozy bourbon notes were also apparent.

The flavor profile was very similar to the nose and just as impressive. Super rich and robust. Huge dark chocolate presence up front. Nice punchy vanilla quality too. Sweet cream and/or lactose-like notes came through in the center. A boozy bourbon quality appeared on the back end and crescendoed in the finish. As with the nose, I did not pick up any of the almond, peanut or hazelnut however.

As fantastic as both the aroma and flavor profile were, the mouthfeel was even better. It was completely full bodied for the style. Silky smooth and uber creamy on the palate. The liquid contained a super fine, mellow effervescence that fluffed up beautifully.

Although the nuts in this beer were completely lost on me, it was amazing nonetheless. My only regret is not trying the original, non-barrel aged version of this to see if the nutty characteristics were more apparent.

 

500ml bottle

Pours black with a lasting brown colored foam head. Smells like fresh roasted peanuts, almonds, toasted hazelnuts, dark chocolate, creamy sweet vanilla, peanut brittle, caramel, brown sugar, toasty toffee, oak barrel, rum, delicious nutty sweetness, with little to no hop presence. Tastes incredibly smooth and sweet with toasty nutty caramels, rich chocolate, sweet dark rum barrel, hints of orange marmalade, brown sugar, roasted peanuts, almonds and fresh hazelnuts, creamy vanilla, peanut butter cups, hazelnut cookies, toasty toffee, dark caramel, with a subtle hint of earthy hop. Feels medium plus bodied, creamy smooth with moderate low carbonation. Overall a really great rum barrel aged imperial stout with peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts, vanilla and milk sugar.

Released 11/25/22; drank 3/28/23 @ the Yarchives.

Black appearance.

A slow pour yielded a small, noisy dark tan head which quickly dissipated; no lace.

Peanut butter, vanilla, mild hazelnut & faint booze heat notes in the nose.

Sticky, thick mouthfeel.

Peanut butter, hazelnut & chocolate syrup flavors; booze heat on the finish.

It's an over the top peanut butter bomb with accents of vanilla; 2 or 3 oz is probably best, which means it's not a great beer. It is an interesting one, however.