Silva Stout (Rye Barrel)
Silva Brewing

Growler poured into a snifter

A: Pours basically black with a frothy chocolate brown head that settles to a thin layer and leaves a little spotty lacing.

S: Smooth bourbon, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, peppery rye spice, roasty malt, a little earthy char, dark chocolate, toasted oak, and a touch of alcohol warmth.

T: Roasty, dark chocolate quickly followed by big smooth bourbon, toffee, brown sugar, vanilla, and molasses, peppery rye spice, maybe even a hint of cinnamon, a little earthy char, toasty oak, and super faint hints of dark fruit on the back end.

M: On the fuller side of medium body, moderate carbonation, creamy smooth with just a touch of alcohol warmth.

O: Got a chance to drop by the brewery about a week before they closed and did a flight of the big stouts they had left on tap. They were sold out of bottles, so I planned to grab a couple crowlers of different ones. But they ran out of crowler cans just before I could put in my order, so I had to pick 1 to fill a growler with and this was the winner.
Tastes like it went into fairly wet barrels and if given the chance, it would cellar really nicely. It's big (this edition is 14.3%, so duh), but without being overly boozy or syrupy. Hopefully this isn't the end for Chuck and he can pop up again somewhere, because I'd love to get a chance to try even more of his work like this.

 

Slate black with a brown collar. Smell and taste are clones: charred oak, rye, roasted malt, licorice, dark chocolate, whiskey and molasses are blend well but warmly, with background elements of vanillins, earth and smoke. Complex but not the most cohesive, don't get everything on each sip, rather different combo each time save the barrel that is omnipresent. Feel is warm verging on hot, earthy, barrel forward, and chewy without being weighty.