Barrel-Aged Krampus In The Rye (2023)
Old Irving Brewing Co.

16 ounce can into a snifter. Canned 11/3/23, had 7/7/24.

Pours an opaque dark brown with a brief head and light, speckled cling. Aromas of rye whiskey, chocolate, malt, oak, light brown sugar and vanilla, light leather and char. The flavors are largely the same: rye whiskey, chocolate, oak, malt, some vanilla and leather. Boy, this baby is pretty sweet. A little too sweet. Smooth a little creamy, a very good full body, appropriately carbonated.

Really good, with tasty barrels and a solid, expressive base. But the sweetness interferes with the overall flavor to a degree (my degree equals .25). Still very enjoyable.

 

This seems like a barrel program that’s criminally unknown outside of Illinois. My sixth different beer from them & they’ve all been borderline excellent or better. This one arrives in a 16 oz. can.

Black. Thin mocha line that hangs around for a while. The nose is a healthy mix of spiced rye, vanilla, & a nice dollop of chocolate.

Krampus in the Rye – Barrel Aged isn’t shy; I can feel its horns deep in my palate. The rye barrel is rye-a-tous, bringing strong spice, strong booze. Behind the rye peeks vanilla, chocolate, molasses, lactose. Notice all of those things have ‘sweetness’ in common, & the rye barrely firewalls against this getting into gloppy, bad rom-com sugarness. Thick. The 18% sugar content limits how big a keg of this bad-boy I could down.

Another winner from Old Irving. This doesn’t quite take a battle axe to the top tier, but it’s an excellent beer.

Appearance - The beer was silky black with mocha colored head topping the snifter.

Nose - The nose was sweet with a bit of spice detectable.

Taste - The initial taste had smooth chocolate with rye spice and vanilla. The profile came close to chocolate cake. The sweetness was not overwhelming like a dessert stout. It had a sense of balance that allowed rye to take center stage in the finish.

Mouthfeel - The body was silky with light carbonation.

Overall - So good!

Had on tap. My favorite of the 23 variants, this one just sings on the palate with the deep rye contrast bringing out the best in the stout. The rye balances the sweetness so well. Striking! Molasses, krampus cookies, vanilla, and a hint of maple meet the rye, semi-sweet chocolate, and wet oak. Smell is not as complex, mostly sweeter barrel, taste far superior. Feel is full and warm with good barrel character despite the malt and sweet textures, very smooth and complimentary with more barrel depth than the other variants