FiftyFifty Imperial Eclipse Stout - Brewmaster’s Grand Cru Blend 2011

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

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle (#976, 2011), thanks to Ken at THE Eclipse tasting, 2012. It pours very dark brown, with a thin bubbly beige film. The nose is bourbon, oak, vanilla, toasted coconut, smoke, charcoal, toast, salt and caramel. The taste is roasted malt, toasted, charred wood, tar, toffee, toasted coconut, some astringency, salted caramel, liquorice, lactose, subtle dark fruit, and milk chocolate cake, with a dry, roasty finish. Full body, fine-moderate carbonation and chewy mouth-feel. Bold, yet well balanced. One of the better Eclipses of the evening.

23rd October 2012
THE Eclipse Tasting. Bottle 976/2011. Opaque dark brown beer, little pale tan head. Smooth dark malts. Mild carbonation. Bourbon is a little spicy. Mild dark chocolate and a little dark fruits. Semi dry finish.

Bottle at THE Eclipse Tasting, London. Bottle #976, copper wax. Pours clear, dark brown with a frothy beige head. Big, rich dark chocolate nose with plenty of complementing dark sugars, some alcohol presence. Big sweet flavor with a robust alcohol base, some torched wood, dry chocolate, brown sugar. Full bodied with fine carbonation and a moderately oily mouthfeel. Warm finish with lots of chocolate, a bit of alcohol, dirt, good roast, modest earth, brown sugar. Great stuff, very rich and well rounded. One of the best Eclipse editions of the evening.

Bottle @ THE Eclipse Tasting. Tan waxed bottle #476. Cheers, Ken! The pour’s deep brown with a small tan head. The nose is big, boozy bourbon, plenty of wood of the barrel and chocolate sauce. The taste is more strong bourbon, sweet chocolate sauce and charred grain. Hints of caramel and delicate honeycomb. The body’s big and oily, thick. This one demands attention. Overall, I generally don’t like a massive barrel presence in my beers, but I thought this worked. Nice.

22 oz. bottle served in a Firestone Walker snifter. 2011 vintage, bottle # 2808. A: Pours a dark black with brown edges. Even with a semi-rigorous pour a thin, dark tan head forms on the pour and dissipates quickly to a thin ring. Splotchy lace is left on the glass. S: Boozy, sweet alcohol flavors. Dark fruits, oak, sweet toffee and some light chocolate. T: Pretty close to the nose. Also boozy, toasted malts and some nice smooth oak. Nice dark fruits, a little figgy with some mild fruity esters as well. The finish has some roast and chocolate. M: Medium bodied with some low carbonation. A little silky and chewy with some heat on the finish. O: Overall I think the low carbonation helped this beer a bit as it’s a little thin for a stout of this type. A good try, but wouldn’t seek out again. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 07-08-2012

March 9, 2012 - with blankboy, gregclow, jercraigs & mabel. My wax-sealed bomber. Pours almost opaque black (a bit of clear ruby around the edges), with a smallish light brown fizzy diminishing head. Background nutty deep chocolate roast malt, but the aroma is mostly "barrel" - vanilla, tannin, sweet bourbon (and maybe other whiskies, I almost thought I caught a peaty whiff too) - very sweet, maybe a bit grassy. Taste has even more vanilla - Play-Doh! - it’s decent, not boozy, but the roast and any bitterness just sit this one out, this is the Barrel Show - and I’m pretty sick of that. Not much carbonation, decently thick, astringent from the oakiness, quite malty and vanilla-y .... good for what it is, but too much barrel for my taste.

Style et résumé: Superbe Imperial Stout américain.
Comment: Bouteille de 16oz avec couche de cire cuivrée bue lors de la dégustation Armand. Un gros merci à Julien, Pierre-Luc et Patrick.
Description: Bière brune noire qui ne mousse pas. Le nez est agréable, embaumant avec des cerises, du cacao et de la mélasse verte. La bouche est de mélasse, de chocolat, de la noix de coco. Une touche d’alcool se manifeste tout au long de la dégustation.
Note: 8 /10

Une bombe noire qui dévoile une petite tête mousseuse. Au nez, de riches notes chocolatées, d’enrobantes notes vanillées et la naissance d’une mélasse fruitée. Au goût, un murmure de bourbon dans un déchaînement malté. Des choses foncées douces, du caramel épais et un semblant de notes rôties. Une bouche de calibre. Un corps solide qui est capable de défier le fût. Un mouvement lent des bulles. Une texture franchement veloutée. Une finale qui permet une amertume et des mouvements chauds propulsés par un alcool totalement dévoilé. Merci à Julien et à Pier-Luc.

Bottle from the foodery downtown Philly. Nice dark brown/black pour with tan head. Aroma is really sweet, malty, boozy, tons of raisins, plums, dried fruits, thick sweet malts. Taste is pretty much the same, a peculiar brand of imperial stout that seems to have no roasty character, thick, sweet malt, molasses, raisins, dried fruits. Palate coats the entire mouth and alcohol is detectable. Good, but extremely decadent.

Bottle 1851 for 2011 .... Black pour beige head, thin and creamy .... aroma of roasted malts, black licorice with light chocolate, caramel, light vanilla and oak .... taste is of black licorice, light dark bitter chocolate, roasted and caramel malts, vanilla, oaky and light bourbon .... mouthfeel is dry ... finishes dry and oaky with a nice subtle bitterness .... abv is hidden well .... solid and tasty