Beachwood BA System of a Stout

Aroma: “Rich chocolate and vanilla dominate the aroma. Touch of corn sweetness from the bourbon and some fusel alcoholic heat.” Flavor: “Bourbon, oak, and vanilla. The malt blends with the barrel to make a kind of maple character. As it warms up, a bit of roast comes out. Moderately high sweetness up front fades into a fairly dry finish.” Overall: “The barrel character is really well done—the underlying beer is a bit sweet, but the spicy bourbon and wood character are well balanced, with great lingering complexity. The chocolate, dark fruit, and boozy finish are well balanced throughout.”

Aroma: ”Dry coffee spiciness, and the retronasal brings cinnamon and alcohol.” Flavor: “Chocolate, slight vanilla, slight caramel, boozy warmth. Slight coffee. The finish comes across a bit thin, which leaves a lingering tannic astringency.” Overall: “A bit thin for a barrel-aged stout, which leaves some of the harsher edges of the aged character unbalanced in the finish. Nice coffee and chocolate character, but the finish is a bit astringent.”

**Aroma:** “Big dark chocolate and coffee aroma. Big plum, dates, moderate cherry, light acidity, moderate caramel, light umami, light earthy hops, some brown sugar notes. A backbone of bready malt. I’m sitting by the fire with a snifter of...not barleywine, but this beer. Rich malt complexity with sherry, dried figs, and raisins, and warming alcohol. More caramel than roast, but the coffee and chocolate are there.” **Flavor:** “Lovely complex malt sweetness—like chocolate-covered Fig Newtons, or maple syrup, with a touch of earthy hops to help balance. Like a shot of strong expresso, no cream. Complex and deep, but a bit intense so sessionable is not part of this section. Big cherry, light plum, big chocolate, moderate coffee, light hops bitterness, touch of alcohol, moderate caramel. Aftertaste: big chocolate, touch of coffee, light bitterness. Starts out like a thinner-bodied barleywine, but the hops and roast bitterness crack that illusion. The promise from the nose is here, but it doesn't quite mesh as well in the flavor because the lingering hops and slight astringency add some harshness. Hops flavor is as big as the roast. Sherry, malt, dried fruit and esters are still nice, though.” **Overall:** “Very tasty, but could use a bit more carbonation to help the flavors pop. Love the fruitiness. Fun dark-fruit dominated imperial stout. The chocolate, caramel, and roast notes are present throughout with just enough hops to balance. It is fairly well carbonated, but that works to bring out the brighter fruit notes. The nose had me, but the flavor not so much.”