Not The Stoic
Deschutes Brewery

 

Best after 4/22/15, so 6 years old. This might be the best aged beer I've ever had. Looks great, dark brown with a big beige head. Fruity aroma. Great fruity flavor with some molasses sweetness. Mouthfeel incredibly might still be a bit over-carbed (only for the style). An easy 4.5 overall.

 

 

2015 vintage; drank 10/15/15 on draft @ Fischman's.

Murky orange rust appearance.

Almost no khaki head; no lace.

Plum, cognac & red wine notes in the nose.

Medium thick mouthfeel.

Raisin, plum & dried fig flavors up front; cognac notes on the finish.

A bit boozy, but very flavorful.

 

 

 

Appearance - The beer poured a rusty brown color with an off-white head crowning the pour.

Smell - The nose was over-ripe cherries. I was a little worried it was infected based on the nose.

Taste - At the front, the beer is boozy but not hot. The cherries are light initially, but more sweet as the beer warms. Notes of coconut and oak linger throughout the taste. It comes off a little like oaky cherry licorice. Tobacco becomes more prominent in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - There is a pleasantly bold mouthfeel that allows the taste to linger.

Overall - This is a very solid quad that does not let barrel aging overcome its massiveness.

22oz bottle (best after 4/22/2015) into a tulip. Pours a muddy mahogany/amber with a fizzy 1/2 finger head that quickly disappears. steady carbonation sustains a shallow patch of bubbles on the surface.

Aroma is caramel and fig, dates, molasses. Sugary sweet. Standard quad fare.

Taste follows nose. Sticky sweet, caramel, molasses, rum-soaked figs and dates. Complex, a bit vinous. Almost cloying, but I'm OK with that tonight.

Mouthfeel is sticky and slick, lingering. The opposite of crisp and refreshing, this is heavy and coating. Again though, given the style it feels right.

Overall a pretty good quad. Maybe not up there with the classics, but the barrel aging gives it its own character.

Sampling a cellar temp 22 oz bottle poured into my snifter. Date on bottle is 4/22/15, says best after. guess I should be fine!
Bottle is part of a trade with my friend Craig. Thanks!
The beer pours a clear mahogany color with some deep ruby highlights. I get a creamy dense khaki colored head of 1 cm. The foam fades slowly, but remains a sturdy edge layer and large island throughout the sampling of the beer.
Aroma is some dark fruit and caramel, red grape or pomegranate mixing with a bit of molasses too. I also get a pretty good dose of booze, reminding me of this 12% brew and its sippability. No hops anywhere.
The first sip reveals a smooth textured body with mild spacious carbonation.
Flavor is caramel, brown sugar and some molasses, also the fruity pomegranate or red grape comes through here. No hops again, and again the booze is present with a good dose of black pepper and some warming on each swallow. This is a big beer. Kind of sweet and a little bite on each swallow. Quite an enjoyable beer that I am glad to have had for sampling. I would buy another bottle if I ever found one.

 

 

2015 bottle. Consumed in 2018. The aging didn't do it much favours; an oxidized toffee, caramel sweetness, slight tannin. raisins. Lighter bodied, fair carbonation, again fairly oxidized.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours syrupy orange with pillowy carbonation; smallish head. Probably wouldn't be able to identify this as a quad by its looks - recalls La Trappe.

Not unpleasant, but none of the flavours really shine. Everything happening here generally fights with the natural quadiness, rather than complementing it. Oak aged Abt 12 pulled it off, but aging and fiddling with these things is like throwing perfume on the violet.

A: Poured into a giant snifter to a deep ruddy brown topped by a dense finger of tan head that fades slowly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of dark fruits, alcohol, candi sugar, oak, vanilla, and caramel with a little toffee
T: Taste is sweet and fruity up front with a lot of dark fruits, hints of pomegranate, oak, caramel, vanilla and some toffee as well. Some hints of dark sugars as well with a molasses note. Swallow is spicy alcohol with more dark fruits, oak, caramel and vanilla
M: This beer has a full body that is slightly sticky with soft carbonation from bottle conditioning that is perfect for the style. The beer has a drying finish from the ABV as well which is nice and expected.
O: Overall this is a really nice beer with some great flavors and complexity. The barrels and additions they made complement the flavors well and everything plays nicely together. It has some age on it but it doesn't have any signs of oxidation. Definitely worth a try.

 

 

This false Stoic is similar in name but a remarkably different experience from it's​ namesake beer. This 2015 Not poured an inviting creamy red-brown color with little visible carbonation and almost no notice head. The nose is met with a pleasant​ bouquet of dark fruits, dried candies, and spirits. The liquid meets the lips with a warm tingle before snuggling the tongue in a medium thick blanket of malted cherries, rich syrup, and candy sugar that resonates in a dry, red apple, finish. Despite the smell, alcohol isn't noticable but this beer leaves the body feeling tingly, warm, and happy. There are few beers that can truly be described as a one in a lifetime experience. Deschutes truly delivered with Not the Stoic.

 

 

 

 

I like the ruby brown color- quite unique. The smell is pretty heavenly, too! The taste, though, tastes odd with the molasses and pommegranite when a quad can stand on its own. The mouthfeel is pretty simple, almost clean, but the molasses lingers...

 

Pours a dark amber color with a thin foamy head. Retention is decent. Aroma of dark fruits, molasses, high alcohol. Very sweet taste. Strong molasses, mild caramel and dark fruits. Medium bodied with mild carbonation. Alcohol content very evident.