Last night I searched the beer fridge of fame, fable and fortune and picked a tasty sounding small can brew for my late night quaff. Salted caramel in big print, I never bother with the small print. It was only after quaffing this brew that I saw the 11% on the can. Hold on now, I never signed up for that. I think that is the highest stout ABV we have come across. What’s with all these high ABV stouts these days? I guess if you have a few of these you would be a midnight melt. And what’s the deal with salted caramel, isn’t caramel (you old smoothy) tasty enough?* At 11% this is probably assaulted caramel.
Not only is this a salted caramel stout, but Nickel Brook tell us that this Imperial Stout has been aged for one year in Kentucky Bourbon barrels, which they say makes for a taste with a “touch of warming alcohol”. An 11% touch!
It pours a dark as the bottom of the barrel, thick and rich. An aroma of chocolate malt with a touch of rye grain, interesting, intriguing, inviting, and now in my glass. A thick mouth feel with a full roasted burnt malt with sweet, and now the rye/bourbon whatever it is comes on strong and boozy. Strong and a flavorful but not what I would call smooth, so I won’t. It does have a nice mouthfeel but the rye/bourbon is just too much. It overpowers any caramel and becomes the body and the finish. It’s a boozy bourbon brew for sure. Before they put the beer in the barrel they should have emptied the barrel. Subtle is not on the table while you are under the table.
As it warmed it became a bit more forgiving and smooth but no matter how you cut it a very strong, bordering on harsh stout.
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