Barrel Aged Critical Hit
Mortalis Brewing Co.

Incredibly viscous pour; opaque black hue; no appreciable head. Unbelievably rich and complex nose; milk chocolate, chocolate fudge, charred dark malt grains, cocoa; subliminal boozy notes in the background. Amazing taste; rich milk chocolate dancing with complex sweetness and a deft touch of bourbon. An unbelievable mouthfeel going way beyond heavy; near syrupy; dense, earthy sweetness with a modicum of alcohol heat.

Christ ah mighty! I don't believe I have ever had a beer with such a dense, thick mouthfeel; and the taste, while immensely sweet, isn't cloying and is nicely balanced with the whiskey barrel aging. It is seldom that I award a '5' rating in any one category for a beer, but two '5's for both taste and mouthfeel -- well, I wouldn't think I'd be doing it, but this beer certainly warrants this fanboy rave.

ABV: 14%; pouring temperature: °F; bottling info: n/a
Source: first BeerAdvocate barleywine / stout BIF (beer it forward) around late 2023

Look - black and thick but no real head or rimming
Smell nad taste - sweet molasses coconut cocoa
Feel - full body with a light carb
Overall - to sweet for me

Wow, unbelievable pastry profile. Sweet, but not cloying. Coconut is present, but not over-the-top or bitter. Brownie batter vibes from the cacao nibs. The granola adds a unique layer, bolstering vanilla & adding a touch of nuttiness & honey sweetness.

The barrel really becomes prevalent with temp; notes of stinging caramel and charred oak staves on the nose. Increased warmth on the finish.

On tap at The Sheffield in Rochester, NY.

This one pours a flat looking dark brown color, with no head or lacing.

This smells unfortunately really sweet, with tons of milk chocolate and oily sweet coconut. There’s some granola on the nose, too, but very little barrel.

I still really like Mortalis barrel aged stouts most of the time, but this is a miss. There’s very little barrel character, which is a bummer because the barrels sounded interesting. There’s just way too much candy-like milk chocolate character, and the coconut just kind of makes the whole thing oily and sweet. The granola is an interesting texture to this, but doesn’t do a whole lot.

This is quite thick, and pretty syrupy, with very little carbonation.

This one is, I guess, just not for me.

Killer. 4 oz pour on release day. Cold to a baby snifter. Black, as in black hole void and consumer of visible light. Nose is a bit subdued with the cold but you get a sufficient amount of coconut and barreled stout. No head, almost a fully still beer upon observation. On drinking, there is some carbonation to break up the intensely heavy mouthfeel. It’s thick, but not in a distracting chewy way. Decadent. The flavor brings up prominent toasted coconut, with a nice bite from the cacao nibs. The Pappy Van Winkle barrel is still new to new me, but recalling the recent BA Zuul, I am starting to understand the profile: I won’t get it right but almost like dark honey meets molasses meets allspice meets oak…yeah, I’ll work on that more. Alcohol can’t even cut through the thickness, but there is some warming and definitely a quick cognitive hit.

Note that Mortalis used 10 Year PVW barrels IIRC.