High Country Brunch - Double Barrel
Dark Sky Brewing Co.

Doopie brought this one to the family shin-dig back in October. So it takes me a while to enter notes. I get it.

From a bomber into a snifter
IBU: 48
Brewed for Ground Control’s 10th Anniversary
Imperial stout brewed with maple syrup and coffee and then double barrel aged
Drunk right after the non-BA version

APPEARANCE: Pours out dark brown and yields a 1+ finger, medium looking, slightly creamy tan head with great retention. Black body with no carbonation evident. Head slowly fades to a full wisp. A splotchy cap remains leaving touches of lacing down the glass.

SMELL: Some bourbon character, roasted grains, some ashy notes, maple syrup with notes of vanilla, sweet cream and milk chocolate. A bit of booze. Medium strength.

TASTE: A bit of bourbon and oak initially, then some sweet syrup, roasted and burnt grains with some ashy flavors, toffee sweetness and faint hints of burnt coffee. Some bourbon and alcohol at the swallow with a bolder finish of maple, oak, bourbon and booze lingering on the palate.

PALATE: Medium body and a touch lower carbonation. Silky and sticky on the palate, goes down slick with a burn and finishes sticky. Some heat lingers.

OVERALL: This is more-or-less the same as the original, except it’s got a decent hit of bourbon and oak instead of the minor shot of coffee that was in the base beer. In fact, this is almost sans coffee as far as I can tell. The barrel ageing is alright and is worth checking out but the character coffee from the base stout is certainly the loser here. This one is alright but I think I sold go for the regular version first. In any case, these themes always rule so thanks again, Doopie!

This is the beer you wish all dark beers were like. Boozy, smooth, and dark, filled to the brim with chocolate, maple syrup, and just a hint of rye. It has no errors that we can see. We fully expect this stout will be the best stout we've ever had for a long time. Huge respect to Dark Sky Brewing.