Moonlit - Barrel Aged
New Trail Brewing Company

 

Im sampling a 1pt 3.2 fl oz stovepipe can at cellar temperature and poured into my snifter. this is a 2023 vintage, but no date stamp on the label or can.
The beer pours a rich cola brown with a fluffy tan head of 2 cm foaming up. This foam fades to one large spinning island in the center of my glass.
There is some limited dense lattice that shows up when I swirl the glass or take a sip.
the aroma is lots of roasted malt and some dark chocolate mixing with a good dose of bourbon, but not sweeter notes, more on the roast and char side. Not any hop notes on the nose and although bourbony, its also not fusol or boozy.
First sip reveals a lighter than expected body with a smooth texture and fine prickly carbonation. The beer is physically thinner than I would expect for an imperial stout.
Flavor is some dark chocolate and charred malt with a good bit of bourbon note that lingers after each sip. I still dont find any hop character here and its not boozy , warm or hot , even with the rich bourbon character.
This beer tastes like a BBA imperial stout and smells like one, but the physical character is a little weak for my preference, still glad I tried it.

 

Pours a deep dark mahogany with a caramel colored head.

Rum, raisin, a dark toffee malt.

Rum raisin toffee bread and currant.

Poured into a goblet: color is solid black, head is tan and presents briefly with a thin top, dissipating to nothing but the viscosity is notable.

Smell is bourbon, oak, vanilla, roasted malt, chocolate and light espresso, limited hops.

Taste is bourbon, oak, vanilla, roasted malt, chocolate and espresso, earthy and light herbal hops, some sweetness with warmth.

Mouthfeel is low carbonation, moderate/strong sweetness, moderate bitterness, drying alcohol and bitterness.

Overall a big, boozy, bourbony version of moonlit, which seems to have tamed some of the residual sweetness of the base beer. Really like the barrel aged variants of this brew. New Trail needs a consistent dark beer lineup.

2020 vintage, downright delicious, massive thanks to my buddy for hauling this one up to share, it fit in great in a lineup of fiftyfifty eclipse variants, a pretty special table to be at in the first place, and it held its own. neat that they use weller barrels for it, i can immediately taste and feel the smoothness of the whiskey transferred into the beer. not a ton of head on this, i think intentionally left a little still, or maybe just not all that well bottle conditioned, but it doesnt impact the enjoyment of this in the least. tar black and nice and thick. the nose and flavor bring a very deep roast, just short of burnt, charcoal and lots of wood, some light center sweetness from the bourbon, even corny sweetness is appreciable, a hint of vanilla there, honey too, and lots of dark nuance from black licorice to black tea, bitter in the right way for this to be balanced, layered beautifully. some earthy depth too, wet dark soil, forest floor, espresso beans, faint smoke, really quite complex, and a lot of both bourbon and barrel on it too. smooth in texture, enormous body and palate coating but not real sugary, and with just enough alcohol coming through it all for it to be warming and cozy without being hot. the quality here is high, it warms up well, and it was a great one to share around the table in a heck of a stout session with family and friends. i was into new trail before, but i have a new respect for them after this impressive stout! surprised to see some negative commentary on this, perhaps previous vintages were less impressive?

An audibly fizzy pour that with dark khaki colored froth but little or no retention though an inviting collar remains... Medium black with a touch of lighting leaking in around the edges... Pleasant nose of cocoa nibs and light sweet bourbon... Bourbon is much more pronounced on the palate but not too overpowering... Medium bodied and fizzy... Surprisingly light feel... Solid and enjoyable... Another job well done by New Trail...

 

Super wierd beer. It poured looking like murky water. No head. Pithy lacing. Smells very mute and tame. Not roasty, not malty. Predominately of faint grain alcohol.

Super unenthused.

Taste wise I hated it at first, but I think thats because its presentation was so pathetic. As it warmed and it drank more of it, I realized just how important mouthfeel is in a beer.

This beer is like comparing an artificially sweetened soda to one with sugar. There is zero body to it. And such that even though an artificial soda taste sweet, it doesn't develop anymore character than that. Thats what this beer does if that makes sense? Its a fleeting glimpse of an imperial stout that just leaves you wondering wtf did i just drink?

Feel has already been covered.

Overall. I guess this would be a good session barrel aged stout if one is trying to chug barrel aged stouts? It actually tastes pretty good, but overall its just a very poor experience.

For what its worth I also bought the vanilla variant of this and attempted to drink it last week. I drain poured 90% of it for tasting like I was drinking straight vanilla extract and didn't bother reviewing. Id tread loosely with these guys if you see a black Friday "limit one each per customer" and think you're scoring something great.