Red Sky At Night
Wellington Brewery
- From:
- Wellington Brewery
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- American Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 8.2%
- Score:
- +5 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 3.47 | pDev: 10.37%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 1
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Feb 10, 2016
- Added:
- May 10, 2015
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
Our legendary Imperial Russian Stout aged in Cabernet Franc wine barrels for 3 months. This rich full bodied imperial stout has notes of dark chocolate and coffee which blend wonderfully with pronounced grape aromas and tart cherry notes imparted by the wine barrels.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.64/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
3.64/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
750 mL swing-top bottle with a standard crown cap; bottled Mar 19 2015 and served slightly chilled. I had a can of their IRS last night, which should provide me with an appropriate baseline comparison for this variant.
This barrel-aged stout is an inky, opaque black colour, with an aggressive pour generating just over one finger's worth of creamy-looking, beige-coloured head. It fades away steadily over the ensuing minutes, depositing a modest band of lace as it is reduced to a thin, frothy collar. Roasted malts, dark chocolate and molasses come through on the nose, reminding me a lot of the base imperial stout - though the wine barrel treatment has also given the aroma a rather fruity edge. Red grape, black cherry, raspberry confiture and hints of oak tannin provide some added depth.
Pretty interesting taste, actually - though the disparate flavours of the base stout and Cabernet Franc barrels do not integrate as well as one would hope. Molasses and roasted malts start the profile off - with the former supplying a touch of sweetness, while the latter imparts flavours of cocoa and coffee. Notes of plum, red grape and black cherry begin to dominate by the halfway point, giving it a hint of mild tartness. Finishes with an earthy, herbal bitterness that is accompanied by some oak, licorice and red wine tannin astringency. Medium-bodied, with weak carbonation levels - honestly, it feels a little watery, which is probably my biggest gripe with this one. The alcohol is not a major contributor to the flavour, but is not exactly a non-factor.
Final Grade: 3.64, a serviceable B grade. I'm kind of sitting on the fence with this one. It's good to see Wellington experimenting with barrel-ageing, and their Imperial Russian Stout is as good a base beer to start with as any - but Red Sky at Night just isn't doing it for me. The wine barrel features by themselves do possess an inherent pleasantness, but their fruity, tannic character just isn't jiving well with the roasted malts and herbal bitterness of the base stout, at least IMO. Really, I prefer the unaltered IRS over this one. Not something I'd bother cellaring, and I wouldn't pay 11 dollars for another one, but it's still a nifty beer to try.
Jun 24, 2015This barrel-aged stout is an inky, opaque black colour, with an aggressive pour generating just over one finger's worth of creamy-looking, beige-coloured head. It fades away steadily over the ensuing minutes, depositing a modest band of lace as it is reduced to a thin, frothy collar. Roasted malts, dark chocolate and molasses come through on the nose, reminding me a lot of the base imperial stout - though the wine barrel treatment has also given the aroma a rather fruity edge. Red grape, black cherry, raspberry confiture and hints of oak tannin provide some added depth.
Pretty interesting taste, actually - though the disparate flavours of the base stout and Cabernet Franc barrels do not integrate as well as one would hope. Molasses and roasted malts start the profile off - with the former supplying a touch of sweetness, while the latter imparts flavours of cocoa and coffee. Notes of plum, red grape and black cherry begin to dominate by the halfway point, giving it a hint of mild tartness. Finishes with an earthy, herbal bitterness that is accompanied by some oak, licorice and red wine tannin astringency. Medium-bodied, with weak carbonation levels - honestly, it feels a little watery, which is probably my biggest gripe with this one. The alcohol is not a major contributor to the flavour, but is not exactly a non-factor.
Final Grade: 3.64, a serviceable B grade. I'm kind of sitting on the fence with this one. It's good to see Wellington experimenting with barrel-ageing, and their Imperial Russian Stout is as good a base beer to start with as any - but Red Sky at Night just isn't doing it for me. The wine barrel features by themselves do possess an inherent pleasantness, but their fruity, tannic character just isn't jiving well with the roasted malts and herbal bitterness of the base stout, at least IMO. Really, I prefer the unaltered IRS over this one. Not something I'd bother cellaring, and I wouldn't pay 11 dollars for another one, but it's still a nifty beer to try.
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