Phases Of The Moon (2024)
Uprise Brewing Company

8oz. pour at the source. Served in a semi-tulip glass. 2024 vintage, described as an "Imperial stout aged in rye and bourbon barrels from Browne Family Spirits showcasing rich notes of coffee, coconut, and dark chocolate."


This beer was so dark brown as to be, for all intents and purposes, black, conceding nothing when held up directly to light. There was a finger or so's worth of khaki colored head, but it dropped down to a thin collar relatively quickly.

Aroma was dominated by the aromas noted in the description, yet in a fairly subtle manner. The coconut, chocolate and coffee notes blend quite well together. While there are obvious hallmarks of bourbon and rye from the barrel aging, it smells as much like a dessert as it does a potent beverage. In fact, the unwary might be tempted into drinking more than is wise.

Sweet drinking, but not to a point of being cloying. Definitely some brown sugary, chocolatey, coconutty notes, but they're all pretty much equal. The coffee flavor mentioned in the description and present in the aroma gets a little overwhelmed here. In the background, there's a warming alcohol sensation, but it's far less "hot" than I would expect for this year's vintage. The booze probably is most obvious at the finish, where it sweetly plants itself upon the palate.

Relatively full bodied, with a creamy mouth feel.

Really nice BA imperial stout, taking it's place among the best in the area. Considering that Uprise doesn't do a lot of BA beers and that this could be placed in the same company as some of Lumberbeard's BA offerings, that's no mean feat! I'm not sure this gets packaged (EDIT: It does, in 16oz tallboys), but I'll be investigating that before I leave here.