Beer # 504 Bring Out The Imp
Brewery: AlchemyBrewing Company
Type: Independent Brewery Est.: 2012
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Beer Style: Barrel Aged, Flavoured, Double Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 10.5% IBU: ?
Format: Brown Glass Bottle Size: 330 ml
Day four of the #2-4BeersofChristmas brings me to a city that I loved when I visited it: Edinburgh. Despite one of the more epic hangovers of my early beer drinking career (Guinness hangovers suck... Yes I was drinking an Irish beer in a Scottish city, there were other beers too, hence the hangover) Edinburgh sticks out in my mind as a gorgeous historic city with a fun nightlife (see hangover earlier...) The craft beer movement really didn't start up until after I visited (I went for the whisky...) I would have loved to hit a few of the now famous Scottish craft brewers. Alchemy is one of the newer craft brewers in Edinburgh to gain attention. Started in 2012 they produce an interesting array of beers for all tastes. I had a tough time finding the website info for Alchemy as there are actually three (that I could find) Alchemy Brewing Companies. One is in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, one in Seattle, Washington, USA, and the last in Edinburgh. Alchemy in Scotland doesn't have an Instagram account and the twitter accounts for all three are almost identical. This is a double oatmeal imperial stout that was flavoured with Licorice and then aged in Côtes du Rhône wine barrels.
Onto our tasting:
Pours a slightly murky dark chestnut brown with a hint of a red tint. Pours a short off-tan head made up of tiny bubbles. The aroma is a malty liquorice all-sorts. Boozy and oaky with hints of red wine. The first sip is slightly syrupy with hot flashes of alcohol, molasses, and liquorice root. Lips are left quite sticky even after a few sips. Hints of roasted caramel. Aeration gives us a boozy, anisette and whiskey mix. Warming up the beer takes on an oatmeal sweetness mixed with molasses reminding me of horse feed.
Onto our tasting:
Pours a slightly murky dark chestnut brown with a hint of a red tint. Pours a short off-tan head made up of tiny bubbles. The aroma is a malty liquorice all-sorts. Boozy and oaky with hints of red wine. The first sip is slightly syrupy with hot flashes of alcohol, molasses, and liquorice root. Lips are left quite sticky even after a few sips. Hints of roasted caramel. Aeration gives us a boozy, anisette and whiskey mix. Warming up the beer takes on an oatmeal sweetness mixed with molasses reminding me of horse feed.
Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional
Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order: 5/6 PASS
Experience: 5/6 PASS
Christmas Cheer 5/6 PASS
Final Thoughts:
This bottle actually took some age, I had bought it for a previous #2-4BeersofChristmas but didn't get around to it. I was not worried about the age as I was sure the high alcohol would protect it. I'm thinking that it even mellowed out a bit because I found the liquorice mild in comparison to the hefty malt flavours. Not really a fantastic beer but quite a decent one. I have checked and the beer is no longer being produced... so you will have to take my word for it.
Cheers
CJT
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