Ghost Of Felix
Solace Brewing

16oz can dated 10/23/18 enjoyed from a rocks glass pours a squid ink black capped by a 1/2in chestnut brown head of tiny bubbles that disappates to a collar. Agitation produces sheets of lacing that leaves the glass naked as it races back to the collar.

Aromas include tobacco, char, whiskey, chocolate, vanilla, and leather and the flavors match.

Mouthfeel leans thin but a residual whiskey adds lip-smacking deliciousness and slight booze warmth.

Overall, a straightforward barrel aged stout.

 

Pours black with a quarter inch mocha head that dissipated quickly and left few spots of lacing. Smell is very barrel forward with additional notes of roasted malts, chocolate and tobacco. Taste is much more complex than the aroma. The barrel flavors are at the forefront, whiskey, vanilla, oak and char hit first with roasted malts., molasses, licorice, tobacco, dark chocolate, figs coffee and some leather following. On the light side of medium bodied for the style, lively carbonation on the pour but lightly carbonated feel, slightly dry and bitter finish, smooth mouth feel.

 

Pours dark brown with tan head. There's chocolate, some faint vanilla, a little whiskey, and a touch of burnt toast on the finish. Honestly, I enjoyed this.

2-month old can poured into a snifter.

Pitch black pour, maybe a hair of deep, dark brown on the edges, with a dark mocha head that initially fluffed up to around 1.5 fingers but settled quite quickly. Nice spotty lacing, possibly some of the darkest lacing I've ever encountered. Looks like hot chocolate.

Nose is lovely. Plenty of barrel -- vanilla, toffee, char -- plus strong notes of licorice, raisins, dates, and figs. Some milk chocolate. Plenty of roasty malt. Absolutely zero booze. Perhaps a little mild for a BA stout (note: trying this again aged 2.5 years the experience is very different — big and beautifully bold).

Flavor follows, though here the chocolate and dark fruits take over, and the barrel notes take a secondary role. Medium-dark chocolate, molasses, raisins, figs, a little licorice, a really perfect dose of vanilla (I like a good amount, but not too much), some creamy (but mild) cuban coffee, and some dark wood. Meaningful amount of bitter hops hiding in the background, which I like. This is much more complex than a regular stout, but seemingly mild versus much of the Imperial Stout crowd (especially barrel-aged), but I really like it.

Feel is a tad light for the category, more stout (or even imperial brown) than imperial stout. But still velvety, perfectly carbonated, and just the right amount of "sticky."

Given how popular Solace beers are and the different dynamics to this beer, I'm a little suprised the ratings aren't better. The various personality notes are really good and tight, but they are a little mild, which I assume is where the lack of hype comes from. Still, this is an extremely enjoyable beer. Versus other 10%'ers, maybe not, but on it's own really solid.

Can:
That look of oil from a well-used car falls from the can into the glass. A nice medium to dark brown froth grows and falls until the last bit of the can enters the glass, seeming to add a binder to the head, allowing a medium-thick creamy ring to last, though its binding nature apparently is avers to adhering to glass.

The nose is on point, with the whiskey providing the primary punch. Overall, the nose is like seeing the key scene of an entertaining movie play out, though as you expected it. The roasted malt seems like it might have a little char to it, but there is a vanilla note that nudges the smell into the dark chocolate realm.

The feel initially seemed is a little lighter than expected from the look; there is a little burn from the alcohol/whiskey, boosted a tad by a decent carbonation. There are times when it seems a bit more creamy as I sip it, edging towards chewy, but the carbonation/bite seem to snap me back - so above medium heft with a bit of levity.

This is one of those beers where the taste of the beer seem to march in lock-step with the scents from the nose. Whiskey is obvious, even prominent, but not overpowering despite the nice bite it adds to the feel. The malt profile, perhaps influenced by the barrel aging, comes as a robust porter, with some cola notes added to a dark chocolate flavor profile, with an ever-so-light lingering note of char.

This is a solidly made barrel-aged imperial stout, and it is actually solidly solid. To me, it seems to do exactly what a whiskey barrel aged stout should be - no more, no less; and I'm happy with that.

 

Can at home with Lisa. This might be infected, not good.