Laniakea
The Alementary Brewing Co.

**
02/26/22

2019 bottle to snifter.

LOOK: deep dark black, small khaki head, ok retention. Heavy looking body.

AROMA: roasted malt is primary, oak and bourbon are just behind, then just a light touch of earthy spice(fennel?).

TASTE: cocoa and bourbon are upfront in the taste. Also, roasty malt, licorice, oak. Dark dry cocoa finish.

FEEL: full body, minimal carbonation. Smooth. dry finish.

Very nice. Did not know much about this beer or brewery, but I am impressed.

**

Black body with brown edges, mocha cap that fades into a collar. Smell and taste are clones: leather, licorice, really sweet but dark chocolate sauce, bourbon booze and vanilla accents oak. Surprisingly sweet for a RIS, want more roast to balance. Feel is chewy, light bodied for style, warm with booze and dry. Solid but better options out there

 

leather. tobacco. an original base RIS done very very well....

Excellent Russian imperial stout, amazing depth and flavor profile. 2019 printed on bottle. Pours a thick sludgy black opaque color with some tan head and small sheets of lingering lacing. Smells strongly of rich dark chocolate fudge, dark roast coffee, caramel, vanilla, nuts, bread, malt, raisin, toffee, fig and a little whiskey. Taste follows the nose, incredible balance and depth, great complexity and not as much alcohol burn as you would expect from a high ABV. Smooth, silky, luscious mouthfeel, almost a little chewy, great amount of carbonation even as the beer warms. So solid!

 

 

 

 

my first beer from these guys. i have been really lucky to have some exposure to a lot of new breweries lately, its awesome to have such generous friends willing to share this kind of stuff with me! a huge russian imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels, and one of really the finest quality. the base beer is deeply dark brown, dense, and frothy headed from the bottle, with a strong roasted grain base that has notes of baking chocolate and crushed espresso beans, seemingly without a sweeter caramel middle, just the roast and the dark and the bitter and the earthiness of it all. sometimes when there is a sweeter maltiness to these, they get too sugary with the whiskey factored in, but here the sweetness of the bourbon is almost a reprieve from the dark depths of the grain base here, a cool relationship not often seen in beers like this. i love the vanilla and maple notes to it, and the wood has a newness about it, not so charry and mature, more delicate and fresh milled to me, still real mellowing and enhancing. the flavor is great with all kinds of nuance from tobacco to licorice to honey even, and the alcohol strength is pretty well hidden. smooth and sturdy going down, some nice roasty bitterness at the end, and an even chalky dryness thats unusual in the style. we had fun with this one, looks like these guys make some really interesting brews!