Barrel-Aged Liquid Contrast
Revision Brewing Company

whiskey barrel aged imperial stout with vanilla beans and cacao nibs, huge and delicious, but these guys always kill it with the big stouts, sweet and stick, well nuanced, and something where a little feels like a lot. looks black in the glass, viscous, and with a little more carbonation than a lot of these have, i like a head on a big stout like this, a half inch or more of tight brown bubbles, looks nicely refined and active for its viscosity. i can smell everything i should, it has an oaken nose with some spicy hot alcohol, its got earthy dark chocolate, and it certainly has vanilla, natural on all fronts, well proportioned, and its even highly aromatic when its cold. a little fusel alcohol intensity, but thats not unacceptable or anything, and it slows me down enough to let this open up. nice dark roast to this casting a coffee note, a hint of toasted coconut too, maybe in the vanilla, and then some pretty good bitterness too, but its the residual sugar that lingers longest. nice and thick, adult flavors here, no more alcohol than i can smell, which is to say its there but not distracting, and there is some milk chocolate here too but its not overly desserty, not one of those pastry types, a little bit more old fashioned. more wood than whiskey, mellows this some, sexy vanilla comes out more and more as it sits. cool beer, in line with other revision beers in this range, that is excellent. hoping to get back to the brewery when i am down there again this summer!

Jet black body; thin yet lasting head, brown and creamy. Exquisite notes of dark chocolate, roasted grains, and cocoa sweetness. Outstanding milk chocolate and cocoa flavors; vanilla sweetness; nice off-setting booziness. Heavy body; thick and oily with a sludgy velvet smoothness; rich residual sugar feel; chewy; mild alcohol warmth permeating the sweetness.

This beer oozes richness and decadence. The high ABV is nicely balanced with its overarching dark sweetness. The barrel-aging adds just enough depth to the chocolate and vanilla base. This is just a beautifully crafted imperial stout.

Poured at 55 °F; 2020 release.

 

 

 

Been absolutely loving the BA stouts from revision for the past year or so. This one was classically good but a slight step down from others they have done recently. Pitch black viscous pour, brown cap. Smell features the familiar duo of chocolate and vanilla interacting with bourbon barrel with additional notes of molasses, toasted oak, and light fudge. This is how it tastes as well, though not a seamless as the nose, the barrel in particular emerges as it warms. Feel starts warm and viscous but get lighter without thinning through the sip, decently smooth. Good but not inventive, get exactly what you expect: a well done bba stout with vanilla and chocolate

22oz wax-topped bottle, 2020 variant, split into nonics.

A: Very dark and fairly oily black pour leaves less than a finger of mocha-colored head that fizzles away.

S: Impressively decadent notes of chocolate, vanilla, rich bourbon brownie, iced mocha. Big cocoa notes and desserty qualities.

T: Big vanilla/chocolate/mocha/caramel flavors. Mild barrel char. Dark caramel, almost candy-bar like at times. Fairly strong roast character; moderately strong alcohol warmth.

MF: Velvety smooth; full body. Boozy; sweet; warm; mild roasty bitterness

O: Well-executed and delicious; the chocolate and vanilla are dessert-like at times and the barrel character is really nice.