Overstory Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
Single Hill Brewing

2023 can

Pours an effervescent chestnut with a pinky of tan head. Head falls away quickly, some head retention & lacing

S: Molasses & barrel, leafy hops, figs & raisins, nose fades a bit as this beer warms up

T: Follows the nose, some cocoa & vanilla as well; barrel is very front & center up front. More hammer down booze & barrel, a little cinnamon, cola & cocoa as this beer warms up, some leafy hops, a kiss of vanilla & coffee as well, dryness of course. Finishes with plenty of barrel, cola & coffee notes & a little vanilla. Almost pulled a 4.75

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, pretty warming, body thins out once warmed up

Love the flavor, found other parts of this beer not measuring up as well. Still a lovely BA Imperial Stout

 

500ml bottle from Tavour. 2022 vintage. Dark brown pour, brown head. Roasty malt aroma with notes of sweet chocolate. Taste is sweet and smooth, chocolate, light boozy notes. Subtle, roast, fudge. Wasn't expecting this quality. Wow! So tasty, sublime.

2023-01-28
500ml bottle served in a curvy Fremont glass. Bottled November 2021. Bottle number 208 (or maybe 203).

Pours dark, almost black, with a fairly small dark tan head. Moderate amount of very fine head. Smell is lots of roast, some coffee, maybe a bit of char. Make that a lot of coffee.

Taste is still leaning into heavy bitter coffee, but now it's got a bit of a dark chocolate and maybe a little bit of a milk chocolate note to it as well. Char isn't quite the right word, maybe dark toasted wood? Not that that's a nuance I've experienced specifically but it's somewhere between charred wood and fresh sawn wood. A bit of booze if I look for it, surprisingly not much in the way of sweetness. What's there is slightly vanilla and maple.

Mouthfeel is somewhere between medium and thick. Not sticky. Maybe just a hint of grittiness. Overall, this is a nice beer.

Poured from 500mL bottle into a tulip. This is the 2021 Overstory.

Appearance: near total black with two thick fingers of creamy, compact dark-tan foam atop. It's a darn pretty beer, I must say.

Smell: roast, raisin, and tobacco, layered upon a sweet, malty base. It has almost all the complexity I want out of the style, and I am here for it!

Taste: malty and sweet, with plenty of date, raisin and perhaps a touch of unburnt tobacco flavor. There's lots of chocolatey roast in the flavor as well, with plenty of roasty bitterness, but the flavor doesn't quite deliver the interesting complexity of the aroma. Don't get me wrong, this is still an excellent beer; however, for me, the aroma has written checks the flavor can't quite cash.

Mouthfeel: hey, listen, this is a very rich beer with lots of body. It's an 11% imperial stout for chrissakes! However, the carbonation isn't super high and "sweet-ass richness" will only take you so far. This beer is good! But not perfect.

Overall: I like this beer a lot; it has a lot going on and an interesting flavor. I would absolutely drink this again.

 

Had on tap while socially distant outside at Special Brews Lynnwood, WA.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with a one finger dark khaki head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, cocoa, whiskey, vanilla and light oak. Flavor follows, with dark toasted malt with moderate char, dark chocolate, whiskey, light oaky vanilla and a bare hint of peat smokiness. Toasted malt and whiskey finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A well made imperial stout with fine barrel character. The whiskey is a clear note, but not dominating. There is only a touch of peat from the second barrel, which melds with the malt char, but adds a little character to the whole. Good malt body with a light creaminess that enhances the flavors. Not sure, but I think this may be the first time this has been available, and it is a very worthy effort for a big barrel aged stout. Glad I got a chance to try this.