Bear Snores On
Zero Gravity Craft Brewery

 

 

Bottled on: January 2023
Picked up at the brewery in August.

A - Pitch black pour with thin caramel lacing and looks low on the carbonation. However, there's some nice viscosity on the sides of the glass.

S - Light chocolate roast aroma with dark fruit.

T - Dark fruit, some residual licorice and alcohol presence with lingering light dark fruit and malt.

M - Medium body and watery thin around the edges.

O - This was a letdown (unfortunately).

 

 

500ml bottle poured into a snifter. This is the bourbon/cabernet barrel aged version.

A: Inky black pour, a finger and a half of tightly-bubbled brown head retains for a good while before slowly settling into a thin cap. Small spots of clumpy lacing.

S: Aromas of chocolate ganache, chocolate covered cherries, woody roast and a slight bit of black coffee. Woody vanillins and toasted marshmallow as it warms. With more warmth and opening, the cab comes to the forefront with a pleasant vinous and red fruit laden pop.

T: Lots of rich fudge and chocolate ganache up front. German chocolate cake and black cherries. Woody roast, a subtle smokiness, and just a hint of black coffee round out the malt complexity. Big wave of oaky vanillins that comes across wonderfully desserty. Lots of toasted marshmallows and coconut shavings, hot chocolate with extra marshmallow. Barrel flavors line up with bourbon coming on first with a corny sweet and caramel-like bourbon ball flavor with warming vanilla, and the cab barrel next lending a fat and round vinous red fruit character and just a hint of underlying tannin structure. This vinous, oaky tannin dries the finish just the right amount and lingers nicely.

M: Rich, thick, and chewy. Texture is dry enough to feel velvety and sumptuous without getting sticky or syrupy at all. Alcohol is warming but very gentle. The tannin structure of the wine does come through a bit with a little grippy rasp about the teeth and dryness on the tongue. Carbonation is ample with some pickle and bite about the tongue, but he the enough not to irritate. It all works very well.

O: This is impressive blending. They hit the proportion of cab to bourbon barrel just right, such that they both contribute distinctly and equally. The base beer is deeply rich in its maltiness and provides the bedrock that the barrels need to build upon so that everything is in harmony and nothing is overpowering. It's not as if we've never had wine barrel aged beers, but I have not often come across any in which the tannin structure comes through to this degree without overpowering things and coming across as too dry and sandpapery. Again, it is impressive blending that creates this awesomely tasty and cozy experience. This is a great dead-of-winter drink if you can get it.

 

 

Pours a big foamycreamy brown bag with moderate retention, lots of messy lacing and decent legs, pitch black color

Nose has a lot, some roasted malts and dark chocolate, burnt coffee, rich caramel, lots of baking spices, a fruity character that is somewhere between brandy and Port wine, fudgey, vanilla barrel and some whiskey, big nougat and marshmallow

Taste again super rich, a bit buttery initially which might actually be diacetyl rather than oak, some oak, lots of dirty flavors and more like added yeast esters that shouldn't be there, fair roast and burnt caramel, dark roasted coffee, fudge, a bit of whiskey and oak again, med spicy earthy hop, med bitterness, a bit of alcohol mostly smooth a little rough, sticky sweet finish

Mouth is fuller bod, very rich creamy like, med carb, light warming alcohol

Overall something off, I think it would have been a great beer if not for that weird fruity yeast thing that sometimes hints at infection and other times fermentation continued in the barrel and was too warm, something like that, and the diacetyl also hints at that. The more I drink the less I like it

 

Hmm…
I really like the beers from this brewery.
This beer has some issues.
Too much whiskey barrel in the taste and aroma.
I’m getting a little chocolate as the beer warms up.
The recipe needs tweaking,

 

great malty stout pours dark with massive head sweet and light carmeled and bourbon after taste

 

11.9% abv.
500 ml. bottle.
Bottled OCT. 2021.

Moderate pour yields a one inch tan head over a black body with minimal lacing.
Thin head does have staying power, however.

Nose of milk chocolate, roasted malt, a bit of dark fruit with slight vanilla and caramel after warming.

Taste is all of the above with chocolate fudge leading the way.
Dried fruit flavors come along after warming.
The barrel's flavors and abv are pretty well hidden and it is still quite tasty.
After even more warming, the whiskey barrel flavors are more apparent.

Good feel, but hoping for just a bit more.

Overall, a real tasty BA Impy (Chocolate!) Stout and would recommend everyone to seek this out.
Cheers!!!

Poured from a bottle at the brewery.
Beer pours a clear black with a medium dark head.
Very strong smell of dark roasts, cocoa and coffee.
Smooth creamy mouthfeel.
Strong taste of dark roasts, cocoa, coffee, chocolate.
Very nice.

Whiskey Pig Rey Whiskey Cask

Alewife and I did a road-trip today up into Vermont. We had lunch at the Three Penny Taproom in Montpelier, and each had some of this with lunch. An 8oz pour was $5.00 per glass.

It was served in a small wine glass, and was jet black, opaque and oily. Had a 1/4" creamy beige head with good lacing. Nose had lots of dark fruit (raisins, dates) plus some choco. It was rather smooth, but the body, though medium, could be thicker.

Taste was like what I found in the aroma. Had more dates, raisins, some currants... a very nice mix of dark fruit. Also had some dark choco, espresso, and a hint of whiskey. Went down quite nicely! Cheers!

4.23/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

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