Eastlake Tsathoggua Brandy Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout Three-in-One

Back in 2015, when  I worked at Eastlake Craft Brewery in the Midtown Global Market on Lake Street in South Minneapolis, owner/brewer Ryan Pitman promised a Russian Imperial Stout called Tsathoggua, named after some kind of Lovecraftean ancient evil. I missed it when it was first released. Now, at last, here are three reviews of three releases....

Ladies and Gentlemen, a Bitter Nib Three-in-One. It's like The Thing vs. Spider-Man plus,  I don't know, Man-Thing. Let us now partake of.....

Eastlake Tsathoggua 2017. 14 % ABV. Bottled December 2017. Let's not age it at all and drink it now. Because.

Legend has it this beer is named for a toad-like gargoyle. This Imperial stout is barrel aged in American Oak and Spanish Brandy Barrels. Flavor notes include coconut, orange marmalade and pineapple.

I copied and pasted that info without reading it, because that's how I do it. And now, I will drink it. Because, etcetera.

Deep, dark, rich, impenetrable, etcetera. Impressive. Rich, cocoa-tinged head. Mmmm.

In the nose: cocoa and fruit. Deep and impressive, plums and chocolate. Nice. Chocolate covered oranges.

In the mouth: Yeah, coconut, richness and saltines and everything nice. Thick, rich, chocolatey, altogether indulgence.

That sounds about right. Pretty much nice as heck.

How about this one: Eastlake Tsathoggua, 2016 Imperial Stout Aged on Brandy and Brett:

Dark as the darkest depths. dark brown, with a slim, dark head of foam.

In the nose: sugar and spice and everything nice. Oh, wait, also, everything evil. The ancient tentacles crawl up from the depths and attempt to intertwine with all that is good and holy. All that is divine will soon be swallowed up by the slithering evil that lurks beyond and is only waiting to be released into our world.

In the mouth: Sweetness, sugar, rum, tasty delights, some cocoa, a little coffee, and of course, the ichor of the damned, the succor of the hellish, and the opiate of the mindless, craven,crawling, horrors from beyond. The, um, ancient,  unknowing, horrible, antediluvian, screaming, shocking, mind-numbing, just wretched shambling, shooka-barooka, -ing....yeah, it's all there. It's huge and it's sweet and it's...slithering. Just slithering. You know...

I don't mind the crap out of this.

(I was feeling a little silly there....)

So, that, and then, this: Eastlake Craft Brewery Tsathoggua Imperial Stout Aged on White Oak and Spanish Brandy. These notes were written exactly one year ago. 1/15/17. I've been hanging onto them for a solid turning of the earth 'round the sun, not knowing what to do with them, and here they are:

Solid blackness. Rich brown foam floating above, looking beautiful. Very nice.

In the nose: Cocoa and dark fruits start it off. Some oak, some sweetness. Picking up the brandy now. Nice mix going on here, I can dig it.

In the mouth: starts out rich and sweet, chocolatey, molasses-y. Medium-bodied, not as thick as I'd like. Nicely balanced. Good and even, not too this, not too that, but that may be a problem. I'm expecting more from Spandish brandy barrel-aged, and it's just not coming through. Okay, I'm getting some, and it's covering up what I like from an imperial stout. What do I want from this, exactly? Do I want an imperial stout, or a brandy barrel-ified version? And what would that taste like? I feel like I'm not getting enough of either.

I wish this was deeper, richer, thicker, more complex and multi-dimensional. I'm not getting that. This is alright, but several notches below where it should be, to be truly impressive.

So, now the question is, did this one get better or did I learn to like it more?