New Beer Weekend #241

Courtesy of @russpowell for the SBBIF #2, a Deliverance by Bentonville Brewing Co. Pours a ruddy, murky deep chestnut color, raising a half-finger high vanilla head. Aroma carries a faint charred wood vibe along with some vintage leather. The flavor is intriguing and complex, despite no barrel aging: In the overall base malt profile, I get hints of smokiness, hints of brown ale, hints of porter. It’s a menagerie of dark, medium, light, and smokey dark beers, all in one. Mouthfeel is medium to full, with a crisp cleansing aspect, perhaps from whatever hop(s) might be in play. Extremely smooth and easy to kick back in chugs, but the 12.5% carries a heavy price for that. At the end, I start to get hints of lactose. A very nice beer!

 

I like a bunch of War Horse stout and strong ale types. They are usually “different” in good ways. I was intrigued by their use of candi sugar in that one, to see if it had any similarities to Stille Nacht.

 

I'm drinking a bottle of Lupulin Brewing BA Barrel God (2024 Barbados Rum). 11.1 oz bottle @ 15.4%. Bottled January 2024. This has been in my fridge for about 1 year. I never tried this beer when it was fresh or on tap.

Look: Black body, no light passes thru. Short brown head that left a little fine lacing at first.
Smell: Roast, rum, chocolate
Taste: A hint of roast at first, Then chocolate, rum and a micro hint of toffee. The rum is not as a strong as I thought was going to be. Smooth beer, slightly sweet overall. Not boozy and rather easy drinking.
Feel: is good smooth and slightly thick.

This is a good beer I will give it 4.47/5 overall
Big beer week starts 3/2/2025 at the tap room, 56 beers above 10% in 8 day
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/...67c0b6c3d922213cedeefc51_BBW2025-Schedule.pdf

 

Surly - Double Barrel Darkness (2024)

16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. Canned 11/06/24. Sent to me by @bbtkd in Barleywine/Stout BIF #2.

Pours black with a decent head, maybe a centimeter on the pour and a lumpy couple millimeter thick skin after. Moderate active carbonation. Smell is boozy, marshmallow/vanilla, Mexican chocolate, dark roast coffee.

Taste is not a direct parallel of the aroma. Fruity -- figs, my first thought was incongruously strawberries. Tons of coffee and sweetness, noticeably boozy. Black licorice but more on the sweet side, dark molasses.

Mouthfeel is big, thick, fluffy, pleasing. Very nice beer. Rum is vaguely noticeable, and I'd say it's the most successful beers I've had that has experienced rum barrel aging. Very nice beer.

 

Sounds like a fun beer

 

I bet you are on to something there, as opposed to on something

 

Social Project Barrel Series SPS-2 BA Stout w/Cacao, 12% ABV; 4.34 overall

Pours an effervescent mahogany/ebony with a sliver of fast falling mocha colored head. Some head retention & lacing

S: Rich barrel & Bourbon notes, & chocolate, cinnamon late

T: Follows the nose, Cacao heavy, plenty of molasses & dryness up front, Bourbon notes & some woody hops up front. Plenty of Bourbon, pecan/praline notes, along with carob & dark chocolate as this beer approached room temperature, some woody hops as well. Finishes with a nice mix of dark chocolate, Bourbon & Praline

MF: Pretty chewy, just enough carbonation to push this along, warming on the lips & down the throat. Some slickness develops once warm

I am digging the barrel forward approach on this, keeps me engaged, counters the sweetness nicely. These bottles aren't cheap, but do think the effort is always there to make think I would pull the trigger

@micada I give you this as a tasting hint to decide to let this sit down or age as part of the NBW Imp Stout/Barleywine BIF#2

Also, the wax sealing wasn't like Seigfried Line. A couple of stabs with a small knife allowed me to open it as opposed to sending in a Combat Engineering Company, like some

 

Magnify’s Mind Over Matter double chocolate and PB stout. Solid. Peanut butter might be a powdered additive, but overall it’s enjoyable.

 

I had this one on my radar as an official BIF share weekend drink. I’m inclined to drink it fresh, in consideration of when the brewers think it is released at the optimal time, but I will contemplate your review to assess if it should hang out on a shelf and make some new friends for a while.

 

Happy weekend folks! Found myself one that I was surprised to see making an appearance out in my neck of the woods!

Brew: Accipiter (Batch 2)
Brewery: Horus Aged Ales / Equilibrium
Style: Imperial Stout with 1 Bazillion Adjuncts
ABV: 11%
Rating: 4.17 / 5.00
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Alright! Little bit of a late night review on a Saturday but I was shocked to find this one at a local shop. May be one of the priciest bottles I’ve picked up, best part is now I can say I’ve had it and that it’s pretty good!

In all honesty I’d still take a glass of double stack over this though haha.

Still really nice and pastry like, though. Notes of banana cream pie, dry, dark fruits and raisin. Loads of coconut and slight spice and roast throughout. Really pleasing bit of complexity to this one.

Nose of banana bread, pudding, oat cookies, and sticky dates.

In the mouthfeel department this one is rather unique. Of course it pours dark, oily and thick, but on the tongue it’s exactly the same as it is coming out of the bottle. Thick, velvety chocolate syrup. Also very little carbonation, but the mild head that formed for a couple seconds was dark brown for those curious.

Had some sweet tunes playing whilst drinking this one and the notes made me weirdly nostalgic for a different time in my life. I think that makes this a good beer beyond the usual tasting and smelling parameters. In the end I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now.

Thanks for reading folks! Happy Saturday night! Cheers.

P.S … Song is “Life Goes On” by The Sundays.

 

ha ha

 

Shots Fired! Shots Fired!

Welcome one and all, as we enter the third decade of New Beer Sunday with edition #1045! Really liked the first of 2023 Eclipse variants yesterday, and have been looking forward to this one since.

FiftyFifty Imperial Eclipse Stout - Laws Whiskey House Barrels (2023)

4.2/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25



3/2/25 - (Bottle - Home) (Chicago, IL) Bottle Notes: Purchased store temperature at Woodman's Kenosha on 7/21/24 for $19.96 including tax. Refrigerated upon returning home before opening this morning. 16.9 oz bottled in 2013, more specifically April 17, 2023 based on social media release day posts. 12.3% ABV, serve in a snifter, enjoy at 50-55 F. 2023 Eclipse Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. Laws Whiskey House Barrel. Imperial Stout Aged In Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrels. Proudly brewed and bottled by FiftyFifty Brewing Company in Truckee, California.

Now in its 16th vintage, 2023 Eclipse is our rich Imperial Stout aged to perfection in whiskey and spirit barrels. All Eclipse starts with the same base beer bringing hints of dark chocolate, espresso, and a smooth complexity, with each barrel treatment delivering its own unique character after a minimum of 180 days of aging. Laws Whiskey House Barrel is aged exclusively in Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey barrels.

Appearance: Poured about half the bottle into a small snifter, yielding a pitch black base and brief creamy white tan head that leaves a creamy with partially large bubbles around the rim, no lacing and a razor thin cover over most of the base. 4.25

Aroma: Not much after 20 minutes, but now on 30 minutes cull a light roast malt and chocolate fudge, and a sweet smelling bourbon. This is sweeter than the Garrison variant enjoyed yesterday. 3.5

Taste: Stronger flavor and excellent taste, not sure why the aroma is so subdued. A tug of war between the rich chocolate fudge and roast malt base, with a backing caramel, toffee and butterscotch which may derive from the base, whiskey or both. Whiskey turns from smooth to stronger as this warms. Not getting the whiskey sweetness noted on the nose, nice smooth easy enjoying but strong whiskey. Really enjoying. 4.5

Mouthfeel: Drinks too easy for the 12.3% ABV. Creamy rich and decadent near full body, light prickly carbonation. Leans sweet plus, but within proper range. Toffee roast malt chocolate fudge with a bourbon topping finish. Really nice body here. 4.5

Overall: This is a very good BA stout. Really like the base, the Bourbon consistently really enjoyable throughout. The luxurious mouthfeel is my primary takeaway, thought both the mouthfeel and taste were just a tad less awesome than the Garrison Brothers variant. Easier today to access the bottle through the wax. Well done as usual with this Eclipse release. 4.25

Bottom line, both of these are solid selections, perhaps at the borderline in terms of cost / benefit ratio. Garrison wins the battle, but I win enjoying both this weekend. FiftyFifty Eclipse continues to deliver for me. Looking forward to enjoying what you share today before we look toward the next weekend.

Cheers!

 

30 years? Daaaaaaaaamn.

 

I think there’s a Horus Tax: Involving Horus adds $15 to any bottle. It’s usually worth the price of admission, though, amirite? Cheers!

 

Mariposa Märzen from Couchiching Craft Brewing Co.

Poured a 473ml can into a pint glass. A one finger bubbly tan head on a clear reddish brown. the head diminishes to a ring. minimal lacing.

Mild malt smells. tastes of malts up front. caramel, biscuit. Sweetish. A very mild hop finish.

Medium body and carbonation. A decent Marzen. True to the style.

rDev -2.9% look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

 

Good day BAs!

Back again with another brew from box #1 from @Whyteboar in the Barleywine Stout BIF #2:



Kippo Stout from Upper Hand. 12 fl oz can. Received from @Whyteboar in Barleywine and Stout BIF #2. Received 22/02/25, reviewed 02/03/25 (Review 3459). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of can stamped “PKG ON 07 Jun 24.” Stored at 39 degrees F at home. Served at 56.0 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 61.8 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Amber brown (SRM 18), nearly opaque.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, red amber at the edges.
Head: Large (five cm, aggressive center pour), biscuit. Medium density. Short retention, leaving a 0.6 – 2.1 cm choppy crown, and a rocky, complete cap.
Lacing – As the head retracts, arcs and prominences of small to medium bubbles remain.
Aroma – 3.75 – Chocolate and a hint of barrel. No hops, no yeast, no ethanol (8.2 % ABV, as marked on label). No disulfide or diacetyl.
Flavor – 3.75 – Begins with chocolate, very slightly sweet, a bit of oakiness. No yeast, no hops, no ethanol, no vanilla. No disulfides, no diacetyl. Mild gastric warming.
Palate – 3.75 – Medium; creamy; soft carbonation.
Style: Follows the loose style guidelines as condensed by BA.

Final impression and summation: 4 Chocolate comes through, but my taste buds rarely detect vanilla. OTOH, very easy drinking.

Rating 3.82, rDev -2.6%

Thanks Craig!

 

I shared one with my SAN group last Friday night and we pretty much thought the same thing. Not bad at all, they just didn't quite get it where they wanted it I think. Ah well.