Never Say Never 2021 (Elijah Craig)
Rouge River Brewing Company

Review: 2272
Name: Never Say Never
Brewery: Rouge River Brewing Co
Location: Markham, Ontario
Style: Barrel-Aged RIS
ABV: 15.5%
Canned: 15 November 2021
Date: 7 December 2024
I received this beer from a dear friend; thank you. My first beer was from Rouge River Brewing; I am looking forward to drinking this beer. I am using a tulip glass and serving the beer at 48 degrees. The pour created a foamy, frothy, one-fingered, dark brown head with poor retention. The quick dissipation left no lacing on the glass. The color is jet black with a reddish-brown hue, and the clarity is opaque. The appearance of the beer is average for this style. 3.75
Nosing the glass, I smell anise, caramel, toffee, dark chocolate, medium-roasted coffee, bourbon, oak, char, raisins, and molasses. Smelling the glass again, I notice earthy dirt, tobacco, vanilla, bready, dark toasted bread crust, malty sweetness, anise, figs, cherries, and light Maillard. The aromas are big and robust, with a massive malt backbone.
The flavors start with Bourbon, dark chocolate, caramel, toffee, vanilla, oak, char, medium-roasted coffee, raisins, tobacco, and earthiness. Sipping the glass, I taste floral, anise, figs, Maillard, light smoke, malty sweetness, black strap, and a hint of soy sauce.
The mouthfeel is chewy and thick, finishing hot The body is heavy and the carbonation is low.
Never Say Never is a big boozy RIS with an in-your-face malt profile. I am sure having this beer in Elijah Craig Barrels is something special; I am not noticing much difference compared to other barrel-aged stouts that I have tried. It is a good barrel-aged stout, not a fan of the booziness; I would have enjoyed less warmth on the finish.

Can: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of dark roasted malt with some black chocolate notes and some vanilla and bourbon notes. Taste is also a mix of dark roasted malt with some bitter black chocolate notes with some bourbon notes with vanilla and very faint residual sugar notes. Body is pretty full with some good carbonation and light warming alcohol notes. Enjoyable dry bourbon-aged imperial stout.

This year's Never Say Never crop pours dark, with what initially looks to be a lovely head. But this then disappears. The nose is initially pungent, but this only lasts a few seconds. The result leaves aromas of wood, vanilla and chocolate.
The taste is spot on, with all that is found in the nose found in the body, plus notes of bourbon of course. Very boozy taste and slightly acidic.
A great representation of the style, but it is a bit too expensive.