Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout Rye Barrel-Aged. Dark and complex with 11 malts and grains balanced by three different and distinct hops. Aged for a year in a Rye Whiskey Barrel from Heaven Hill Distilleries. Batch # 341, Brewed 8/26/10, bottled 8/26/11, OG: 26 Plato, Alc./Vol. 12 %, IBU 59.
complete blackness, under a head of nothing, starts out small and disappears.
Aroma: big vanilla coming through before I lift the glass to my nose. Huge, vast vanilla. Big, ol' sweetness. Not a tremendous amount more than that. But for what it is, deep, complex and beautiful.
Now, to taste: more of the same on the tongue. Rich, malty, delicious. Here come a little heat, here comes the rye spice. A little bready, a little spicy. Not quite getting the whiskey feel I want in this, and the Imperial Stout below is very well smothered by the rye barrel aging.
I like this one, but not as much as the bourbon barrel aged version, which had so much more going on in it. This one hits a few notes and that's all she wrote.
2 comments:
Are these high-end leinies really worth trying?
I have a pretty deeply ingrained bias against them, but my friends say I should check them out.
Definitely, on the RIS. I never saw their first, an Imperial IPA, and just reviewed the Wee Heavy. This one, and the bourbon barrel-aged, are 7 ounce wax-dipped bottles only sent as gifts for industry folks who've supported the series.
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