Barrel Aged Krampus Cookies
Old Irving Brewing Co.

 

Opaque, near-black pour, thick and viscous; thin crescent wisp of brown foam inside the glass. Beautiful dark roasted grain aroma; sweet; hint of cherry; charred grain and toasted coconut; soothing presence of American whiskey. Rich, dark malt taste; milk chocolate; cherries; bourbon; barrel wood. Heavy body; thick and sticky; excellent boozy warmth.

An incredibly tasty dark ale sporting a fine bourbon edge. It is thick, has an earthy sweetness, clings to the palate with sticky insistence, and just plain tastes damn fine.

ABV: 15%; pouring temperature: 52.9 °F; canning info: 2025
Source: Tavour

Pours black and settles onyx black in the glass with a sudsy mocha colored head that lingers a bit Beautiful BA imperial stout.

The nose is very oaky and boozy up front, quickly followed by rich vanilla and milk chocolate and a bit of roasty malt.

The taste has a bit of booze and oak up front, but this beer is built around decadent vanilla and milk chocolate flavors, with a big, boozy warming at the back of the palate. Delicious.

The mouthfeel is full, rich, and creamy, a good fit for a beer of this gravity. Really glad I got to try this big BA behemoth.

I bought three of these. Love having Tavour deliver me Chicago beers. My brother asked me what I like about Christmas stouts. I said that while barrel presence is important, it’s all about the spice. This one has a lot of sweetness, almost too sweet, astringent. Thick, bold, syrupy, boozy burn. Glad I have salty and buttery popcorn with it. I may let the other two varieties I got of this age a year to cool down and mellow out.

 

 

I think I liked this better than the Champurrado version, which lit my mouth up. This is more a traditional chocolate bourbon char combo that doesn't seem to have anything going wrong here.

 

 

Drank 2023 version.

Look - Black and thick with a nice initial tan head and nice rimming and lacing
Smell - barrel, chocolate, vanilla, brown sugar
Taste - really sweet but with a chocolate, vanilla, milk, bourbon and wood. Definitely has that cookie taste but with a ton of booze
Feel - medium full body, expecting more at 15% abv. slight crisp carb. A little syrupy
Overall - chocolate cookie sugar bomb and booze

Appearance - The beer poured a silky black color with a mocha colored head.

Smell - The bourbon was heavy in the nose with notes of chocolate.

Taste - Smooth bourbon was followed by cocoa nibs and vanilla. It was not quite cake-like, but it had cookie qualities. The bourbon has heavy, but not hot. Boozy cocoa lingered to the finish.

Mouthfeel - The body was smooth with low carbonation with alcohol bite.

Overall - This was an easy drinking 14%.

 

 

Almost jet black, thick'n oily big brown head is gone in a flash. Big boozy aroma, chocolate, vanilla. Flavors match the aroma plus some milk sugar/lactose. Poured at fridge temp the beer was fine, as it warmed it got ridiculously sweet. Smooth creamy mouthfeel, lingering sweetness. Too much vanila and cocoa, cut the lactose.

 

It's honestly good but so overpoweringly sickly sweet that I had to pour it out. And I LOVE my cloying beers

Pours pitch black, oily and viscous. Fleeting, fizzy mocha colored head appears when the beer is poured but quickly disappears. No residual head remains. Aroma has notes of chocolate, vanilla, cream, bourbon and oak. On the nose this is sweet, but it does not feel overly sweet - just more of a dessert beer.

Taste follows the nose with notes of chocolate, vanilla, cocoa, maple, oak, bourbon and sweet cream. The barrel is well integrated and balanced. It is sweet, but I personally felt like it avoided being too sweet. Feel is medium to full bodied. Smooth. Moderate carbonation with a slight sprightliness. Dry finish.

Overall a lovely barrel aged sweet stout. Very enjoyable sipper. Will continue to enjoy this one in years to come.

Pours out a thick looking dark brown. Motor oil. On an aggressive pour I get half of a finger of foam. It doesn't linger for long. Swirling the glass, this brew looks silky and dense.

Nose is sweet oak, roasted malt, brown sugar, bourbon, chocolate. The nose reminds me a little of Ralphius by Free Will, which I've had again recently. As it warms I get a little bit of coconut and surprisingly a little almond.

Taste is similar. The oak is not too heavy in tannins, the base stout doesn't seem too overly bitter. There is a harmonious mix between it and the barrel. There is a flash of Oreo flavor I get. Chocolate cookie with vanilla creme. It's not too sweet, so if you pace yourself properly it makes for a nice hour long stout that doesn't overstay it's welcome.

Mouthfeel is silky smooth with mild carbonation. Given how dense it looked, it's actually not quite as heavy as I thought it would be. The ABV and barrel provide a little bit of drying on the back end.

Overall a fantastic stout. Everything is balanced quite nicely. It fulfills your expectations of a cookie flavored brew and does so in a respectful way, non-gimmicky way. Well done.

(2021) via Tavour. Poured at 52°. Fast fizzy brown head; no cap retention; thin ring, some soapy lace; medium legs; charcoal black body. Bourbon nose and exhale. Bourbon entry; followed by bittersweet dark chocolate; vanilla and molasses as the beer warms; not very sweet; dry, boozy bourbon finish. Full/on mouth warmth from 14% abv; silky smooth feel/not at all adjuncty; alcohol bite on tongue; medium light body; moderate minus carbonation. Overall a delicious bourbon barrel aged stout; thin for abv but super easy drinking; the barrel gets to the finish line far ahead of the base flavors, but they do finish second; and I do like the alcohol burn on my tongue; a beer I would seek out and gladly drink again.