FiftyFifty 2008 Imperial Eclipse Stout (Pappy Van Winkle)

Formerly brewed at FiftyFifty Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Truckee, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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UPDATED: DEC 17, 2011 2008 Pink wax (Pappy Van Winkle). Bottle number 22 with many thanks to Billschmeinke. Pours with a minimal brown head over a deep black body. Aromas of cola, brown sugar, tobacco, earthy, sweet, estery, fudge, coconut, light alcohol caramel and vanilla. Light oak presence. Flavors are nutty, nougat, fudge, vanilla, cola, and coconut. Rich barrel, and aged bourbon flavors. Oily. Smooth and rich. Minimal tannins, medium carbonation. Creamy, lightly warming. The best of the Eclipse variants that I have had.

Another bottle. Starting to thin a bit. Flavors getting a bit more mellow. I’d say drink up at this point (at least move to the fridge). Still good, but not what it was.

Appearance: Pours dark brown, like motor oil, with no head.

Aroma: Huge dark chocolate coconut egg. Spiced rum.

Taste: Dark chocolate wood bourbon, coconut.

Mouthfeel: Thin compared to a recent vintage, modest bubbles.

Overall: Probably one of my favorite samples of Eclipse to date.

Bottle: This was originally rated under the PVW version. Then all versions were merged. Then they were unmerged and this rating was moved to Elijah Craig version. Now I’m moving back to where it belongs. The aroma consists of chocolate, vanilla, maple syrup, and just a hint of coffee. It pours a dark brown with a tan head with very good lacing. The flavor starts with chocolate and and caramel. The finish has moderate maple syrup, vanilla, bourbon, and a touch of coffee. Medium-full bodied with a creamy mouthfeel.

Really nice Pappy version-courtesy of dionysus at RBWG 2011-Phoenix. Pours dark brown with tan head. Aroma has beautiful bourbon aroma which is understated, if that’s possible. Sweet malt and bourbon flavors with a little heat. Full bodied and creamy texture. Finish is all bourbon. This is a good beer, but other concurred that GI Rare was a bit better. AP: 4/5 Ar: 9/10 T: 8/10 P:3/5 O:17/20

Bottle… Pours dark brown with a brief, khaki head. The nose presents tons of earthy oak and ethanol, subtle chocolate, a splash of Pappy Van Winkle and a hint of acetaldehyde. Full-bodied and oily with modest carbonation. The flavor is cranked with dark chocolate and ethanol with a rumor of acetaldehyde. Finishes chocolaty and warming. I have no idea how there can be acetaldehyde in a three-year-old bottle of beer, but I smell and taste what I smell and taste and unfortunately, it dashed some of my enjoyment of an otherwise excellent beer. Bottle courtesy of 50belair. Thanks, Matt!

Bottle shared at Chris’ house. Black pour with a fleeting brown head. Good lacing. Wonderful chocolate, caramel, and smooth bourbon aromas. Dark roasted malts, caramel, chocolate, fudge, vanilla, and mellow bourbon notes. Superbly balanced.

Had many of the eclipse series together. This is the 08 vintage. Pour is viscous black with a dark tan thin bubbly head. The nose is of wood and bourbon, rich chocolate cake, light roasted malt, hints of lsighlty burnt caramel. It is more subtle and less intense than the rare and the best of the eclipse stouts. The flavor is a little sweeter than the nose and the rare, bourbon and wood up front, subtle chocolate cake, light toffee, sweet short finish. Full body, thinner than rare, low carbonation and smooth finish. Less rich than rare but more subtle and still very good. Best of the eclipse series.

bottle from walter... # lucky 13 on 3/5/11 at rbwg. almost black color with a teenie tan head. this stood out next to the others... the most rich, well integrated, delicious 50/50 of the day (and to date!) fudgey chocolate, vanilla, coconut cream, bs, roast, sweet soft bourbon awesomeness. medium to full bodied, rich, lux, killer.

Shared by a generous soul at Zwanze Day WLV. Pretty cool beer to try, for sure. Pours a deep oily black with a tan head. A bit of iodine at the edges. The nose shows that it was a great beer at one time. Shows some light oxidative notes at this point. Chocolate and perhaps some vinous components as well. Strong coconut & vanilla notes along with a the robust roast show well. On tasting, the palate has thinned a touch, still quite big and oily. Light cardboard note in the background behind the sweet bourbon vanilla. Starting to turn a corner for sure but a really nice beer overall.

Glad to have been able to share this with the awesome people at 2011 RBWG, and much thanks to Daknole for facilitating the hookup. Bottle #13. Black viscous body with very little head. Aroma is chocolate fudge, oak, bourbon, vanilla, and molasses. Flavor shows the same with a wonderful roast mixed with the most integrated and profound bourbon/oak notes of the series. Simply amazing!

Huge thanks to nerd for providing this at the post-Christmas tasting in Chicago. Served in my Cantillon tulip. Like others have said, this one was far and away the best of the "Pappy barrel" blind tasting we had. Unwaxed bottle from the 2nd release. Pours near black with a very thin tan head without too much retention. Given the age, I won’t complain too much. Looks pretty good, all things considered. The nose is pretty impressive with a really nice aroma that I’ve come to know as that coming from Pappy barrels. Really great bourbon character here. A bit of sweetness and chocolate there as well. The taste is right up there with it. Amazing bourbon presence coming from the Pappy as well as a fantastic chocolate character and a nice amount of sweetness. Some mild roast sitting there in the background. Really quite smooth. The mouthfeel is where this really hit high gear with me--some booze but this is incredibly smooth and the barrel character is fantastic. Really incredibly smooth and drinkable all around. Thanks again, Mike.