Interrobang - Barrel Aged
Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall

*archived review*

16oz can courtesy of @Roguer (received in the Barleywine/Stout BIF)
Poured into an Imprint Belgian-style tulip

p- deep mahogany, verging on black; produces a thin, very light khaki foamy ring
n- fairly bold nose of espresso and lots of booze; mildly sweet
t- loads of espresso, dried dark fruit, and sharp booze; minimal sweetness; drinks pretty well for the 16%- the alcohol isn't overbearing; some char in there as well; nuttiness comes out as it warms; big flavor; pretty tasty (and more complex than anticipated)
mf- light-med bodied w/ med carb; thin, but it works for this beer
o- reminds me a bit of DFH WWS; pretty solid- I dig it (and more so than I thought I would)

Review date: 11.25.23
Can date: 10.31.22

Appearance: Pours a dark cola brown color. Not much in the way of a head.

Aroma: Notes of roasted malts, vanilla, cocoa, and coffee comes through - especially as the beer warms up.

Taste: Taste has notes of roasted malt, cocoa, vanilla, coffee, some light hoppy notes and a touch of heat - I believe this beer is 18%.

Feel is fuller bodied, hefty, the kind of beer you sip throughout an evening. Prickly, bright carboation. Dry on the finish.

So, Im guessing its an American Imperial stout with some adjuncts. I dont think its barrel aged as I did not get much in the way of barrel aging. Outside of that, I do not have much else to say.

Pours almost black - reddish tinge when backlit. Modest foamy tan head that fades pretty quickly without a trace. Nose is roasty - coffee, boozy with a subtle hint of whiskey. Taste pretty much follows suit. Espresso is quite pronounced while the whiskey notes hang out a bit more in the background. You can definitely notice the alcohol, this is a pretty potent beer. I found the mouthfeel to be really thin for such a big stout, no legs or lacing in the glass. Overall, I"m glad i tried this but I probably wouldn't revisit it since high ABV beers are typically not my bailiwick

The interrobang, also known as the interabang is an unconventional punctuation mark intended to combine the functions of the question mark (also known as the interrogative point) and the exclamation mark (also known in the jargon of printers and programmers as a "bang"). The glyph is a ligature of these two marks and was first proposed in 1962 by Martin K. Speckter.

Canned 2022/10/31
Pours a fizzy bubbly tan almost 1 finger head with med-low retention, dark molasses brown color fairly opaque, coats the glass but not much for legs

Nose brings a bit of perfumey hot alcohol, then quickly into espresso, rich coffee, dark chocolate, cocoa, fudgey even, a bit of that crunchy rice Crispy chocolate bar, some earthy wood barrel, raw wood oak, some vanilla, a hint of whiskey, baking spice and cinnamon cracker, a bit of nougat and cookie, a bit of a spicy rye character

Taste brings more rich dark chocolate, cocoa, a bit of cold hot-cocoa but yet seems a bit watery like making coco from water instead of milk, some hot boozy alcohol bordering fusel, then espresso, rich bitter dark coffee and chocolate, mocha, bitter roast and spicy hop notes, fair whiskey with some spicy rye, a bit more hot alcohol whiskey, earthy almost dirt like hop characters and barrel notes, more raw earthy oak, a bit of vanilla and baking spice,

Mouth is med to fuller bod yet a bit thin feeling, med to lighter carb, hot alcohol

Overall eh, barrel is interesting but has a bit too much woody earthy character, base beer is way too thin and watery and that doesn't help the fusel alcohol

Good head production and decent retention given the sky high ABV and barrel aging.

Nose prominently features whiskey, an almost sickly sweet reflection of the mash. Already, you know what you're getting here. The espresso is noticeable despite the booze, along with almost hidden notes of molasses, toffee, banana, nut, and red grape.

It smells wonderful ... and enormous. I'm almost afraid to take a sip.

Shockingly thin on the palate given the ABV. Very dry, with a ton of alcohol effervescence; it's not unpleasant to drink, but there's no hiding the booze here. Very, very roasty.

Tasting notes very prominently feature the whiskey; by the back end, I've almost forgotten that I took a sip of beer, much less an imperial stout, as the grainy, peppery whiskey note is all I notice. Espresso adds some depth to the flavor up front, and the malt lends notes of toast, moderate char, leather, and bitter chocolate. Almost no sweetness; very bitter (pleasantly so).

It's very difficult to call this beer a glowing success, although it's by no means a failure, either. Almost everything about it screams neutrality: a fairly straightforward stout base not too dissimilar to Guinness (just at quadruple the ABV), and grainy rye whiskey nearly on a level of taking a shot. There's no depth or sweetness to the malt base, no lasting impact from the coffee.

Some age may take off the whiskey edge, although if you're a whiskey aficionado, you may want it exactly as is. Some age may dull the hop bitterness, as well, but also likely result in even less coffee flavor. I'll try to age some at least a year and see if it teases some richer chocolate notes out of the malt base.