New Beer Weekend #69

They brew that beer exclusively for the American market. I'm assuming that it was B United's idea, and that it was catering to American beer-geek tastes at the time (while also being more shelf-stable).

 

LNNBS! West coast stand up! What up Derek!

It's stout weather. So digging through the fridge we settled on a port barrel aged stout that Urban Family brewed in celebration of Bottleworks' 22nd anniversary.




Immediately upon beginning to pour, my partner and I were both taken aback at just how viscous and oily it appeared. Like beer motor oil. That's the good stuff.
In the glass, it is an inky black, with a satiny collection of espresso coloured foam, that laces the glass as I drink.

Nose was barrel up front to me: the vanilla and oak especially. Anna first picked out stone fruit, and I agree there's a decent amount of that as well, along with some molasses and just general dark roastiness.

Flavour has a lot more chocolate, but like super high end chocolate. A lot of dried fig/prune/plum as well, alongside a bit of molasses and a decent amount of barrel-character as manifested by some spice, some vanilla, and a lot of oak. The oak blurs its edges around the chocolate and the fig/plum especially well. Finish is roasty rich coffee interspersed with all the aforementioned flavours.

Oh it thicc. We use thick-it at work, and that's kind of what it reminds me of. Velvety, but not overly so (I've had some that went to the uncanny valley/unpleasant levels of thickness, which I am otherwise a big fan of), it's rich, decadent, whatever other adjectives you care to employ. It's every bit of its 13.5%, but it's well integrated and doesn't come off 'hot,' though I still kind of wish I'd grabbed one to age to see how it grows over time.

Ultimately this is a fantastic BA stout, and I am very glad to have picked a bottle up.

Cheers!!!