BlackStack Black Is Beautiful Imperial Stout

 BlackStack Black Is Beautiful Imperial Stout, or, --sigh--Double Pastry Stout---sigh...

10.9 % ABV. BlackStack Brewing, St. Paul, MN. 

Another local edition of the nationwide collaboration, this one pulls out all the stops. 

Solid blackness, rich brown ring of foam above. 

In the nose: A whirlwind of complexities abound in this nose, peanut butter and chocolate in charge, rum barrel effects coming up from behind. Earthy, malty, and yeah, I can pick up the banana, too. Interesting. 

In the mouth: Yum-a-dum-dum. Flat Out, from the start, YADD. And the alcohol springs apace in this one, too. Boom! Rich and thick malt, with all the accompanying adjuncts in full display. Big chocolate, some of that peanut butter, a little bit of cinnamon, and a taste of banana, too. Rich, thick, full and long lasting on the palate. Big and bountiful. 

In a nutshell, or as they say these days, TLDR, : YADD.

Partially aged in Rum Barrels & treated with Peanut Butter, Bananas, Tahitian Vanilla, Vietnamese Cinnamon & Cacao Nibs from Pinella Brother Chocolate. Collaboration with Weathered Souls Brewing to support justice and equality for people of color. 

Odell Barreled Treasure Imperial Stout

Odell Barreled Treasure Imperial Stout. Barrel aged with Cold Brew Coffee.
11 % ABV. Odell Brewing, Fort Collins, CO.

Solid blackness, utterly opaque, slim brown ring of foam above.

In the nose: Caramel, toffee, cocoa, coffee, all wrapped up in charcoal, oak, smoke, tobacco.

In the mouth: Chocolate hits the lips first, followed by whiskey and rum, and coffee comes right along. Big flavors in this one, lasting long on the palate. Thick, rich, scrumptious. Big barrel flavors, intensely expressive. Molasses, brown sugar, dark rum, espresso, so very many delights unfold from here. Full bodied, long malty finish.

Odell has some of the most overblown copy in the world of beer. Here's more of it: A reward of hidden bliss awaits the intrepid explorer whose liquid journey brings them to Barreled Treasure. An imperial stout aged in both bourbon and rum barrels and awakened with a hefty dose of coffee, Barreled Treasure has a luscious, complex profile packed with aromas and flavors of rich espresso, blackstrap molasses and baker’s chocolate. Your riches await!

Oliphant Hungee for Goomungee

Oliphant Hungee for Goomungee. Rum Barrel aged Imperial Brown Ale, with maple syrup. 10 % ABV. Oliphant Brewing, Somerset, WI.

Beautiful brown color,  a bit murky, cocoa-tinged layer of foam.

In the nose: Sweet. Bourbon. Malty. Vanilla. Booze. Molasses. Maple. A whole lot going on around here.

In the mouth: Ah! I must have been very good to deserve this. Sweet, rich, succulent. Full bodied, full flavored. Brown ale meets bourbon, tasty meets delicious. This one has all the malty, molasses-y, maple-ish flavors I desire. Dee-frickin'-tasty, is what this is. But what is Goomungee? And why are we hungy for it? Dumb question.

there, now do you see?

rum barrel aged imperial brown sugar brown brown w/ maple syrup. 10% abv

Indeed Dogwood Neon Espresso Imperial Stout Ale with Coffee and Vanilla Added

Indeed / Dogwood Neon Espresso Imperial Stout Ale with Coffee and Vanilla Added. "This can looks a little different. The beer inside is, too. Brewed for fun, it's just a quick run. Now you see it, now you drink it." Rum Barrel-aged King Ale.

I found this as a single in a local store, having heard nothing of it. It was a little more than I like to pay for a single 12 oz. can, about six bucks. But it's my kind of beer, so I had to have it. Now, we will drink it.

10.5 % ABV. 55 IBU. Indeed Brewing Company, Minneapolis, MN.

Total darkness, rich and bleak, full roasty brown head on top, looking amazing.

In the nose: creamy, chocolatey, coffee-y. Nutty.

In the mouth: Strong. Malty. Intense. Fierce. Powerful. Boom, boom, boom, boom. Wow. Tasty. Delicious. Full bodied. Incredible. Damnit, this is yum, a dum, dum.

Oliphant Crabbin' On The Beach Rum Barrel-aged Wee Heavy

Oliphant Crabbin' On The Beach Rum Barrel-aged Wee Heavy. 9.5% ABV, IBU:?. Oliphant Brewing, Somerset, WI.

Solid darkness, creamy, brown-tinged head on top.

In the nose: very inviting. Rum stands over all. Strong, boozy, sweet, sitting on top of an already big, bold beer. Malt-massive. Really appealing.

In the mouth: Big sweetness from the start, full-on effects from the malt and the barrel. Practically no input from hops, no bitterness, all malt, all rich, humungous. Big and deep, large in it's depth. Boom, boom-ba-doom. Add to that, yum. Rich and utterly delicious.

Insight Gravity Well Rum Barrel Aged

Insight Gravity Well Imperil Stout. Rum barrel-aged. Insight Brewing, Minneapolis, MN. 12 % ABV.  75 IBU.

Growlers of "SpeciaAL Juice" only goes to
Special Als.

Solid blackness, rich brown head that starts strong and ends as a tight ring.

In the nose: Ah, me oh, my. Big richness. Sweet, malty, Cocoa, espresso, anise. Getting the rum barrel action, too.

In the mouth: more big, more rich, more vast and huge. Increasing alcohol. Increasing yum-a-dum-dum. (Remember that one?  I'm still pushing it.) Thick, rich, intensely flavorful, but still deliciously drinkable. Full of everything. Yu-uh-um. In a big way.


With flavors as intense as fine port, Gravity Well boasts aromas of chocolate, toffee, and sherry that meld together with flavors of coffee, chocolate, and dark fruit. Trinidadian rum barrels adds slight cane sugar character that balances the roast of this brew perfectly.

Oliphant Little Dipster

Oliphant Little Dipster. Rum barrel-aged Vienna-style lager. 5.5% ABV. Oliphant Brewing, Somerset, WI.

Clear, bronze/amber color, slim white head. Looking nice.

In the nose: My god, what a mix. Bigness, sweetness, mmmmm, nice and malty. Rum barrel effects stand over anything else, and I like it.

In the mouth:  Tasty. Tas-tee. Strong, sweet, smooth, rich and malty. Thin-bodied, but flush with flavor. Yeah, there's a Vienna lager underneath this, but the rum barrel consumes it. And I don't mind. Oh, so, tasty.

Surly Barrel-aged Ten Ale

Surly Barrel-aged Ten, rum barrel-aged old ale. 10.5% ABV. Surly Brewing Company, Brooklyn Center/Minneapolis, MN.

Complete darkness, slim, soon-gone head.

In the nose: big sweetness, plenty of barrel. Potent alcohol presence. Dark fruits, molasses, and tons o' rum. Thick and sticky.

In the mouth: It's a strong ale, thoroughly covered over by the barrel, with little remnants of the ale it was before. I don't think I've had a Ten since it was released. (Wrong. According to my Untappd activity, I opened one in May.) What was it? And old ale aged on sassafras? I remember liking it. Any of the subtleties or nuances it may have had have been buried a bit by the barrel-aging.

But, I don't care. When you want the rum barrel treats, BA Ten is giving them, no tricks. Richness, decadence, a mellow nightcap. And with this I welcome slumber. Is it worth twenty bucks? I think so. I'll buy a few more to save up for special occasions.

Indeed Rum King Imperial Stout

Rum King, circa 2018. A much better pic than
the one I posted in 2015.

Indeed Rum King Imperial Stout brewed with Cane Sugar. Brewed and bottled by Indeed Brewing Company, Mpls., MN.

Here's a beer I've sampled  tap once in a while, once or twice, and finally landed a bottle of through my sister who made it to the anniversary hullaballoo last fall, while I was busy working. She held on to that bottle until a few weeks ago, and I've been holding on to it for as long as I can hold out. Time to break it out!

Appearance: incredibly dark coloring, richly roasted brown head, lasting long, leaving lace, looking beautiful.

Aroma: screams out of the glass, all manner of dark, delicious aromatics, and that's from looming over it, not getting in close for a sniff. Very tempting…here I go…maple, charcoal, anise, and, hey, how about some rum, too? Deep stuff, dark and rich and definitely decadent. We're still just smelling, here.

Taste: Ah! Oh, yeah, I meant to say it, …AH! It's got it all, and so much more. Really rich, dense and deep, just so sweet. Fullness of body, longness of length, finish with no finality. Intense is a word, and it's apt and then some. Bee-yoo-tiful.

Whiskey and bourbon-barrel-aged imperial stouts are well known and legendary, but rum barrel-aged? Not quite so much. This is kind of amazing. It's ridiculously intense, incredible, rich and rewarding. Love. It.

I'm keeping the old pic, though
for posterity.

It's a much bigger bottle than I need, just now. Got to have a good couple hours to kill with this one (which I do, actually), or have some pals and a party, to put it away.

One thing we know for sure, Indeed Rum King is in a class of it's own.

Hey, what's the label say? "Complex notes of toffee and vanilla lure you in, with a roasty-toasty, malt-forward body burly enough to un-shiver those timbers. Make way for RUM KING, a pitch black Imperial Stout aged in freshly emptied rum barrels. Smooth, assertive, and nearly 'Navy Strength', this seaworthy and spirited brew is a bold character to be reckoned with. Brewed and bottled by Indeed Brewing Company, Minneapolis, MN. Alc. 10.5% by Vol. 70 IBU."