Sweetwater Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

We were lucky enough to be in the area for a special tasting of Sweetwater's new Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, a cork and caged gentle giant set to debut October 4th.

If you're familiar with the brewery, you'll know this beer is a bit special, as it's one of only a few barrel-aged beers Sweetwater has ever done. It felt a bit like a rite of passage. 

Tasting it was no different. After a few glasses of this 11.2% roasty stout, I left a changed man.

The heavily roasted malt flavor of the base beer is amplified by the barrel char, which is said to have been thick enough to cause a clog or two, and the barrels used were a mix of Heaven Hill, Old Forester and Jack Daniels, each of which imparted its own bourbon/whiskey character. The Jack barrels temper the in-your-face bourbon burn from Old Forester and Heaven Hill, while still retaining enough of their profiles to mingle nicely with beer itself. 

It's warming but not hot, and chocolatey without being too sweet, making for a great fireside sipper along with S'mores, or most other sweets. We tried it with salted caramel, dark chocolate, S'mores, and Nilla Wafers. The Nilla Wafers were deemed best in show. 

Keep an eye out for this hefty gentleman when it hits shelves early next month. And according to the brewer, there's no need to cellar it. We agree.