70k: Amburana Wood
Against The Grain Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

Pours pitch black with a thick and active coffee colored head.
Smell is sweet and boozy with notes of molasses and chocolate. As well as some raisin and fig and vague spiciness. Almost cola like.
Taste has lots of dark fruit, raisin, and some strong spice almost like ginger but more savory. Molasses is there too. Again there is an almost cola or rootbeer like quality here. Not sure if it's the wood since I don't know amburana wood is but it is unique. No real sign of the bourbon and no boozy heat at all.
Mouthfeel is not bad, a little thin but that is one of my more common complaints about barreled stouts, it always seems to thin out the body a bit.
Overall this is a really interesting and unique beer. It's got almost soda like flavors at times and a really impressive complexity to it. It is insanely smooth for 13% and for the first time I understand the idea of an 'imperial porter'. It drinks way more like a porter than a stout, full of flavor but oddly light on the palate. Not sure what the amburana wood adds, although it may well be the mystery spice that reminds me of cola or root beer but in any case this is a good one from AtG.

Tap pour from Shelton Festival 2018.

Milk stout aged in Brazilian Wood. Couldn't tell the difference in wood, but fun to try. Solid stout.