Rat Queen De La Muerte
Barncat Artisan Ales

Got this one from hopsolutely this past summer. Cheers!

From a 500ml bottle into a snifter
Spiced Imperial Stout

APPEARANCE: Pours out a somewhat opaque black yielding a two finger, medium looking, somewhat foamy light tan head with good retention. Pitch black body with no carbonation evident. Head slowly fades to a half wisp and ring. A slight ring remains but leaves no lacing on the glass. Not quite as dark and impressive as the original.

SMELL: A good dose of chili peppers, smoky notes, hints of licorice, anise, as well as some chocolate and roasted malts on the nose. Bold enough.

TASTE: Some smoky flavors, with chilies, chocolate and roasted malts up front. More peppers and cacao at the swallow, moving into a bold finish of lightly smoked chili peppers, licorice, some cacao and vanilla flavors, roasted notes and some alcohol lingering on the palate. Some mild chili heat too. Flavorful and well balanced.

PALATE: Medium body and medium carbonation. Not quite the weight the original had, goes down fine and finishes somewhat sticky. Some pepper and alcohol heat linger.

OVERALL: A solid spiced imperial stout. The peppers are milder than some others in the style, which is a good thing in my book. There’s a lot more character in this one that some of the chili bombs that roam the market out there, though I certainly wouldn’t say this is a step up on the original. The initial batch was a big, thick, bruiser of black horror, while this one seems to have lightened up the load a touch. Still a good one to try and being such a fan of the base stout, I’m glad to have tried this one. Give it a shot if you’re a fan of the chili stout style. Thanks again, guys!

 

Liked it a bit better in the bottle. A decent amount of heat from the chile, some bitterness, an above average mouthfeel. Ageing did not do it much harm.