FLUX
Barclay Brewing Co.

*archived rating*

12oz can received in the BeerAdvocate Extreme Stout Box purchased online from Halftime Beverage; first experience with Barclay
Poured into a Bissell Brothers tulip

O- absolutely divine stuff- would jump at the chance to have it again!

Consumption date: 04.26.23
Can date: stamped 01.03.23

02/24/24 can @ Papa B’s

Pours dark like tar with a small lite brown head.
Aroma is sweet like molasses with a hint of bourbon. Taste is rich, creamy and a little sweet. A hint of chocolate, vanilla and coffee.
Feel is smooth and silky. Low carbonation. Like drinking chocolate milk.
Overall, this is what an Imperial Stout should taste like. Smooth, rich and silky. You have no idea that this is almost 14% ABV. A great beer.

Pours pitch black with a dark mocha colored head that takes a few seconds to gather itself, reaches critical mass, then dissipates quickly. Lovely imperial stout.

The nose is roasty malts, rich milk chocolate, and a nice vanilla note. Those unique flavors are where the taste ends up, with just a smidge of dark cherry stone fruit as well and some creamy oats, with a nice residual warming alcohol note at the back of the palate to remind you of the 13.8% ABV gravity of this imperial stout.

A rich and creamy mouthfeel caps off this beer that was part of the extreme stout box. It is a worthy addition to that magnificent box, IMHO.

 

Pours like oil, very thick looking. Aggression results in a dark brown head that lasts about a minute before damping down to a ring and an island or two. It's pretty much black liquid. The liquid coats the glass like syrup.

It smells surprisingly...well...stouty. Decent roast malt, bread, a fairly hefty dark fruit contribution, faint barrel, faint vanilla. A bit of chocolate threads through along with some dark brown sugar/molasses. There is a mild and pleasant bourbon smell. It's not a strong aroma even though I let this warm up before opening, but it is certainly thorough. Maybe a faint whiff of the 13.8%.

Taste...well... On the whole, it's richly flavored and deep. The stout base is pretty clear and the rest of the players combine into a huge flavor impact. The viscosity is pretty high - thicker than any beer I've had - and it takes a while for the flavors to unwrap. Let's take the stream of consciousness route... Roast malt, bready. Oaky phenolic, mild bourbon. Sweet. Milk chocolate. Dark fruit maybe dried cherry, but almost pruney. Brown sugary sweetness. An almost acidic bright note that I'll chalk up to the "young" part of the blend - a little bite to it. The vanilla is mild, very pure, obviously natural, and smoothly integrated. Earthy. A tad bit of licorice creeps in eventually.

The feel is thick, oily, syrupy. I guess chewy is the term, but I don't like it. I don't find it cloying, but the first sip is a bit of a WTF moment. The aftertaste is important with this one - as the thick liquid eventually disengages from the taste buds, the flavors come out in layers. Very interesting sensation - almost like drinking in reverse as the flavors do a gradual deconstructive reveal versus building up and integrating. Yet it remains cohesive - no rough edges. Its ridiculously smooth - must have used a goodly amount of oats. Pleasantly warming.

I like this one - very interesting. I dont know whether its skill or a fortuitous astronomical alignment, but I'm gonna guess this delivers beyond what Barclay thought they were going to get and the sum is far greater than the parts. It's luxurious and decadent, tremendous depth of flavor. It's not a dessert or pastry stout - it's a different kind of richness at work here. I dont think you could drink this beer quickly if you tried - its so firmly in the sipper category. Rushing through it would not do it justice anyway.

A: Pours a clear but opaque thick viscous jet black in color with moderate amounts of fine active visible carbonation rising along the edges of the glass and faint dark cola brown + dark chestnut brown + dark garnet red colored highlights. The beer has a two finger tall dense creamy foamy dark mocha head that slowly reduces to a large patch of thick film covering the entire surface of the beer and a thick ring at the edges of the glass. Light amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate to strong aromas of rich chocolate fudge + cocoa over the top of slightly stronger than moderate aromas of roasted + dark + chocolate + caramel malts with slightly stronger than moderate amounts of lactose sweetness. Light to moderate aromas of vanilla. Moderate aromas of bourbon + toasted oak.

T: Upfront there are slightly stronger than moderate flavors of roasted + dark + chocolate + caramel malts with slightly stronger than moderate amounts of lactose sweetness. That is followed by moderate to strong flavors of rich chocolate fudge + cocoa along with light to moderate flavors of vanilla. Finally there are moderate flavors of bourbon + toasted oak. Slightly stronger than moderate amounts of lingering chocolate fudge + bourbon + vanilla.

M: Full bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth + creamy with a slightly hint of alcohol warming.

O: Drinks pretty easily considering the strength and has a wonderfully smooth + creamy mouthfeel. Enjoyable with lots of chocolate + fudge + vanilla + bourbon flavors and aromas.

Near flat look didn’t influence but was indicative of a few things, likely nose and more likely feel. An oddly minerally light smoke with what might’ve been a promise of mushroom-like umami I get a bit of in the taste - though I don’t think I made that connection before taking a few sips.

The taste is umami-leaning, sweet-leaning stout. Impressions of Worcestershire and tawny port, with a bit of flat cola. That flatness isn’t horrible initially, but weighs things down over the length of the pour.

Just a notch off in each category, despite being decently flavorful, made this a less favorable beer to me.

FLUX pours black with a small tan head. The aroma is filled with black licorice and sweet vanilla bean notes. The flavor is much the same, black licorice and sweet vanilla bean notes. Good body and feel. Overall, a sneaky, stout, easy-to drink, with some nice sweet adjunct flavors.

Wow. I can not believe I am drinking this beer. Sooo good. Thank you Todd. And the extreme beer box 2023.

 

12oz can. Can bottom is stamped '50% BA 50% FRESH 01/03/23'. From the Extreme Stouts box.
Black colored body from top to bottom. Vigorous pour brought forth a thin brown head, which results in an island and ring. Leaves behind, close to the liquid surface, some rings and spots of lacing.
Aroma of dark roasted chocolate malts, with a little barrel aged character and a little vanilla.
Taste is dark chocolate malts, burnt brown sugar, and a brief flavor of dark fruit. There is a little barrel aged character, and additional sweetness from the vanilla. Something close to a red and black licorice in the aftertaste, what others have called a cough syrup taste.
Very thick, viscous mouth feel (oats in the ingredient list). Some alcohol warming but the high ABV% is well hidden. Supportive carbonation.
Barclay calls this a good base for adding adjuncts. As it is the beer has a lot of thick mouth feel and has a taste profile that is strong and robust but hides its ABV%.

Can from the stout box
Inky black with a small fleeting tan head.
Rich chocolate and roast with brown sugar and bits of dark dried fruits. Oily thick mouthfeel with a sweetness that the bourbon barely cuts through.

Canned on: 1-3-23

A - Dark brown pour with thin toffee lacing.

S - Overall aroma is light syrupy with some chocolate and booze notes.

T - Astringent cocoa with residual sweet char and ends on the sweeter side.

M - Thick, silky, syrupy, and cloying with some warming in the back of the throat.

O - The ABV is fairly well hidden. One 12 oz can would be enough for me because of the sweetness factor. Overall, enjoyed it!

 

 

I don't think I've seen a more viscous, um, beer. Really coats the snifter. Foam I do not see. Quite remarkable big aroma of booze and wood. I don't smell or taste the vanilla much. Burnt sugar with See's candy. Very hot but so stupefyingly sweet it goes down like caramel syrup. I have to agree that there is a cough syrup aftertaste. Happy to try somethiing completely different, though. Well, for a few sips, anyway. From the 12 oz can in the Monstrous Stouts box.

The first one for me from the Extreme Stouts box.
Poured looking like used but clean motor oil. Enticing due to the fact it was from *the* box but dinged a bit for not having any life at all.
The aroma was sadly lost on my nose, Covid hangover I think.
The taste though, yum. Vanilla certainly but I didn’t find it overwhelming at all. I did get a lot of heat from the bourbon for a few minutes but that faded out. Left the vanilla and chocolate and dark fruits and a seriously smooth coffee.
The feel is very appropriate for the ABV - this isn’t a beer that I would want to drink quickly.
Darned tasty IMO. Happy I got to try it.

This is an odd beast. It is black, viscous, and thick. Loads of vanilla up front but the barrel qualities follow close behind. There is a wine-like tannic quality to the finish. This beer totally coats my mouth and it’s not exactly a pleasant sensation. The aftertaste reminds me of cherry-flavored Halls cough drops. I like it at first but it really overstays its welcome. The only way I’m gonna finish this glass is if I can find some food that pairs well with it.

Pours thick and jet black, dark brown head. Thick mouthfeel, fairly sweet, some vanilla, low carbonation. I want to love this beer, but the sweetness and viscosity are a bit much for me.