Toppling Goliath Assassin Whiskey Barrel Russian Imperial Stout

I first got a taste of this last fall, when TG was doing an event at Dexter's Pub in Madison, WI. The brewery crew had a small number of bottles that they were sharing with those in attendance.
Not too long ago, these bottles were finally released at the brewery, and I meant a man, John,  at the Nomad pub who was going to get some (or had already got some, I forgot), and was willing to sell one to me. I told him where he might be able to find me and was still surprised when he showed up at the Harriet Taproom one Wednesday and saw me sitting around, asked "are you Al? Here's your Assassin." I told him that I didn't have $20 on me at the time. "It's okay, I'll get it from you later," he said. The very next afternoon, he arrived at the Blue Nile for his 20. Just like a ninja, …

Toppling Goliath Assassin Vintage 2013 Killer Imperial Stout aged in whiskey barrels. 12.8% ABV. Brewed and bottled by: Toppling Goliath Brewery, Decorah, Iowa.

Dark as the sin as well as the sinners, ninja-black, thin brown head.

Aroma screams out from the glass, spilling out deep, dark aromas, rich whiskey tones…and it's only sitting on the table, I have yet to bring it up to the nose, here we go…man, this has got it all! Thick, sick, overblown amounts of dark rum, maple, molasses, anise, notes of vanilla and cherry, and overpowering, thundering whiskey (forgot what kind, and I haven't peeked at the label yet.). Every kind of amazing whiskey barrel imperial stout is seeping out of this.

Taste: Damn, this is delicious! Starts with big floods of dark fruit and vanilla, coated in thick, slick whiskey tones. Sweet-ish-like, but never too much so. Huge, vast, voluminous flavors, full-body, persistent finish. Stays sweet-like, basking in deep, dark fruit flavors, you raisins, your dates, your plums and prunes, coated in the whiskey,…it's fantastic! Mmmm…love it.

Now, I want to read the label: "After endless hours of scorching in heat,  brewing in  turmoil, fermenting in  angst, the Assassin's  journey has just begun. In the shadow of the temple, he lies in wait, maturing his plot to perfection. He emerges merciless, dominated by darkness, his bite laced with the charred remnants of his victims. No man dares to cross his path. They will forever sleep  with one eye open, in fear of the Assassin's hot kiss of death."

I make a lot of hay with the gobbledygook, but this is one of the good ones. I enjoyed that. It tells the story of the beer, cloaked in this mystic fiction, without going overboard.

I definitely wish I had more bottles, to age them and see what happens in maturation, but I also want to feel what this is like young. You can't appreciate one without the other. Maybe someday I'll taste an aged bottle of this, but for now I know it's damned awesome.

Postal Script: I could not finish the bottle, it was too late/early, and the remains in the glass sat on the night stand, it's wonderful scent giving me pleasant dreams while I slumbered, and the memory of it's wonder was my reward all day long.

Steel Toe Before the Dawn Barrel-aged Black Barley-wine

Steel Toe Brewing Before the Dawn Barrel Aged Black Barley-wine Ale. Malt Beverage Aged in Rye Whisky Barrels. Brewed and Bottled by Steel Toe Brewing, St. Louis Park, MN. Zero vowels, consonants, or syllables of gobbledygook accompanying the legal label information.

Utter darkness, completely opaque, with a slight, slim head of cocoa-tinged foam.

Aroma: Whiskey hits first, and nothing but. They spell it "whisky", though, which probably means it's Canadian. Rich, large, and lovely. Vanilla, molasses, black cherry. Pepper and anise. These are all but associations, and just the tip, just the start, only what's popping out at me. A little char and roast roars up, too, lush malt is keeping up with the work of the barrel.

I get the name now, all of a sudden. "It's always darkest…" Damn, why did I not get that till now?

Taste: Thick, viscous, rich, and ridiculous. Huge whisky flavor, intense malt domination, not a whistle from hops, but the viscosity is terribly felt and the tastiness is monumental. All those flavors from aroma come back in spades on the tongue. We've got the char, the roast, the anise, the molasses, a whisper of espresso, and a big bite of chocolate. It's utterly indulgent, and abundantly rewarding. It's goddamned good, is what it is!

What else it is, is a hell of a nightcap. I wish they packaged this in little "nip" bottles, 6 ounces or so, so I can pop on off, and slowly consume as I slip into slumber. Once a night, for nights on end. That's the dream, anyway.

It's a great big, beautiful blend of flavors. The vanilla, anise, cocoa, whisky and molasses all popping out at different intervals, but all part of this wonderful stew.

I just noticed what else is missing from the label. Alcohol content is missing. I'm guessing it's 10-12%.

So huge, so vast, so long. But no "so, long", I'm not even halfway into the bottle. More fun to come. I'm going to slowly sip the night away, and lean back, reeling with the feeling, while Coltrane plays something deep, long and ponderous. Ah, that's the stuff.

Have you ever heard anyone say, "What's my favorite beer? The one in my glass right now." I think that was Michael Jackson. Sounds like him. This is my favorite beer right now. And maybe it will be even after I'm done drinking it. It's amazing. It's perfect. It rocks. Long may it wave.

Red Brick Vanilla Gorilla

Red Brick --Brick Mason Series. Smoked Vanilla Gorilla, Ale aged in oak whiskey barrels with vanilla beans. Atlanta Brewing Company, Atlanta, GA.

No style given for this one, outside of "ale." I'm going to guess before I open it porter or stout.

Once open, it looks that way. Black as it gets, under slim, brown head.

Aroma: sweet vanilla notes hit right off, wrapped in bourbon, with whiffs of smoke, trails of toffee, and a dusting of charcoal.

Taste: Oooo! Sweet! The vanilla is big in this one, with less of the complexity from the oak barrels that we would like. There's not a lot of there there. Needs more depth. More weight. Much more. Faint finish. Too, too thin. Falling flat, leaving me listless.
Chocolate is here, and toffee, too, but not as big as they should be. Body should be fuller. Tastes good, somewhat…but this lack of heft leaves me unsatisfied.

Sorry, Gorilla, maybe next time?

Lift Bridge Irish Coffee Stout

Lift Bridge Irish Coffee Stout. Stout brewed with coffee. Brewed and bottled by Lift Bridge Brewing Company, Stillwater, Minnesota. "Irish Tales add to the flavor. They're practically ingredients." Oh, wait, more. "Inspired by the delightful combination of whiskey, sugar, and coffee, however, you don't have to be Irish and it doesn't have to be morning to enjoy this labor of love. Our Imperial Stout was aged in whiskey barrels, then blended with a big milk stout, and finally infused with locally roasted cold-pressed coffee. It's a complex beer meant to be shared with friends over an Irish toast." Maybe I'll get another to share with friends, this one I'm taking on solo, cause that's what I do. Also, this is 8% Alc./vol, and the bottle is 1 pint 9.4 fl. oz., 750 ml.

Full ebony appearance, lovely toasted tan head, looks fantastic, the best looking stout among they three I've had today.

Aroma: subtle wisps of whiskey at first, flavors of vanilla, toast, anise, bourbon. Then cocoa and cream.

Tasting it: Dry, lightly bitter, with the whiskey coming in quick and in full force. Blending an imperial stout, with a milk stout, great idea, actually. Sweetness comes in and dries out in a snap. Cream stout is in front now, roasted malt rises up, a thickness, a brilliantly dry, bitter end.

Balance is key, here. None of these essential ingredients dominate. It's overpoweringly coffee, or incredibly whiskey. But it's smooth, smooth and tasty. In the end, a subtle sweetness and mellow whiskey in on top. Very satisfying, very delicious. Another unique and impressive creation from Lift Bridge.

BrewDog Storm

BrewDog Storm, malt beverage aged in an Islay Scotch Whiskey barrel.
"At BrewDog we are selfish; we only make beers that we want to drink.
This is not an unerring, despondent, half-hearted compromise. This bottle contains our IPA which has been aged in Scottish islet whisky casks.
The combination of Islay whisky casks and New Zealand hops is one of polar opposites on so many levels.
Drinking this beer is like being caught in the eye of a force 12 North Atlantic storm. Heavily peated demonic smoked Islay whisky and the fruity hop flavors of our IPA should not go well together. Nor should mild pretentiousness and exponential cool. However at BrewDog we are pretty sure we can rock it out and make both admirable combinations work reasonably well.
Zeitgeist in a bottle.
Brewed and Bottled by BrewDog Ltd, Fraserburgh, Scotland."

So, I'm giving BrewDog yet another try, and I'm greeted by more gobbledygook. Look at that second sentence, and try to make sense out of it. When do those three things happen at once? "An unerring compromise?" Huh? Whatever.

Let's pop 'er and see.

Pale golden coloration, smallish cloud-white head. Unassuming, yet inviting.

Aroma: Boom! There's that heavy peated malt right off the bat, Flinty, malty, nothing but whisky, nothing found below.

Taste: whisky is still in charge, with no flavors of the IPA tasted yet. Frankly, I don't see the point in drowning out a beer of real character with so much of the islay malt. Perhaps a lighter ale would be best served in this cause. Nonetheless, the smoky peat of Islay dominates everything.

Medium bodied, but a bit of a challenge, if you aren't up for all the smoke and peat. I'm fine with it, but I wish more of the IPA would actually, as promised, rise up to match the whisky. If it's a Storm, it's one that carries away any other flavors than those in the barrel they mixed the IPA with. This is a beer for whisky fanatics only, and as that, it's not bad, maybe even good. I'm on the fence and on the verge of jumping off, based on that promise of a marriage that never came through. It's a beer awash in whisky. Some may like that. Not I.

Mikkeller Black Tie

Mikkeller Black Tie, Imperial Stout Brewed with Honey and Aged in Scotch Whiskey Barrels. Mikkeller Black Tie is an elegant and generous imperial stout. This beer has benefited (sic) from aging in barrels. Crafted with the finest craftsmanship for the pleasure of the connoisseur. 11.5% Alc/Vol." 500 ml bottle, brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at Nogne-O, Grimstad, Norway.

High anticipation. This had better be good. But, of course, Mikkeller has never really let me down, before.

Blackest black, with a thick, full, rich roasted brown head, bubbly, lacy, beautiful. killer diller. This shows great promise.

Aroma: huge. The Scotch barrel really comes through, in fact, it's practically jumping out. Scotch whiskey, with imperial stout flavors hiding below. Impressed, so far.

Taste: Dark chocolate, molasses, …and boom! Scotch! Honey, though advertised, isn't tasted, and perhaps was used for fermentation. That whiskey flavor is dominant, though, and takes over every aspect of the brew.

And…I don't think it works. Maybe an imperial stout is not the best match for the Scotch barrel. Maybe it could have been married with an old ale, or an IPA, but it's not meshing, only clashing. This is one of those "who put chocolate in my peanut butter?" beers. It tastes like someone poured a dram of Dewar's in what might have been a great imperial stout, but I can't tell, the flavors have been utterly smothered and swallowed.

I paid too much for this, but I just had to try it. It seems so promising! Bourbon barrel-aging an imperial stout is very good. Scotch barrel=aging? Misfire!

You know what, though? Halfway in, it's mellowing, and I'm digging it a little better. I almost want to take back what I wrote moments ago, but that would be false, for the forefront matters, and initial impressions are important. Now, currently, the bittersweet, malty flavors of an imperial stout are catching up with the Scotch, maybe even overtaking it. Is it perhaps sliding to the background? Maybe it is!

And it is becoming more mellowing, more relaxing, more elegant, more of what is advertised on that paper wrapped around the bottle. Perhaps aging could help make this better in the front and closer to what I'm tasting now?

Right now, this is delicious. Bitter, sweet, vanilla and honey, espresso and chocolate, with whiskey running under. Mmmm. My faith is restored, you Danes and Norwegians. Good work. Just remember: give it time.