FiftyFifty Imperial Eclipse Stout - Elijah Craig 20 Year Barrel

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

Serve in Snifter

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650ml white-waxed bottle. Bottle # 4224. It pours a thick, viscous dark blackish brown with a tall foamy but frothy tan head that dissipates with a few skids of lacing. A thick tan froth sits atop the beer. The smell is amazing. It is hot but in a pleasant bourbony way. The bourbon explodes in the smell, nice hints of wood, caramel, and vanilla dominate. There is a noticeable pronounced fruitiness that is rich and intoxicating. The base stout comes through as well with some cocoa richness and bready but dark, roasty malts. The flavor is dominated by bourbon in a good way, but the stout isn’t lost. The initial flavor is bourbon and wood, rich, complex layers of wood and vanilla project over a nicely bitter stout base. The heat isn’t overwhelming, but it is a key component in the flavor profile. There is a fruitiness again here that is devilishly good. Mid to late palate brings the chocolate and roastiness and it is fantastic, the finish is sweet. I have never had a barrel aged beer that had this pronounced and fresh of a bourbon flavor. Normally I hate beers because the bourbon-forward, but this one has changed my mind or something, maybe it just speaks to the expertise of this particular brewery with barrel aging.

Bottle 650ml @ TFODRBSG12
Pours dark brown with a tan head. Aroma has notes of roasted malt, chocolate, oak and vanilla. Taste is heavy sweet and light to medium bitter with a long chocolate, oak and vanilla finish. Body is full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft.

22 oz. bottle, white wax. Sampled along with all the other 2011 releases. Pours a deep, dark amber-brown with a small filmy head. Aroma of coconut, toasted malts, oak, toffee, and molasses. The flavor brings the same toastiness, coconut, brown sugar, and roasted malts along with some dark fruits. Medium-full bodied, with a sweet finish and medium carbonation. This and the Grand Cru were my favorites of the 2011 series.

Sampled from bottle @ RBBWG 2013. Opaque pitch black color, small to medium sized white to off-white head. Aroma and taste of malts, roastyness,lightly hops, some liquorice and too much sweetness. 

22 oz bottle from West Lakeview Liquors (Chicago, IL). Thanks, Kristina. Shared with friends. Pours a rich blackish inky pour, a firm tannish head layer dies toa thicker ring, laces ok overall. Rich opaque and black. Aromas are a healthy barrel spirit, bourbon and oak, roast and toast. Mellow toffee, caramel, biscuits. Touches of coconut, vanilla, and fudge. Some healthy dry hops. Initial is fuller bodied offering healthy flavors, fudge and barrel. Caramel, toffee, and biscuits. Toast, gentle roast moves in with some firm warming spirit. Toffee, coconut, gentle Bourbon spirit grows up front and mellows out into the back. Firm dry hopping, barrel presence is rich and inviting, rich vanilla, coconut, and bourbon presence. Wow, tasty. Fudge, caramel, and biscuits. Toffee, cocoa, and dry richness. Barrel spirit. Finish is medium bodied, as these beers don’t get overly thick. Wow. Flavors are on here, complex, rich, with a lot going on without getting too rich and thick and overdone. Well done, Todd. With PVW, this is my favorite Imperial Eclipse to date.

Bottle at Darkness Day 2012. Very dark pour with vanilla and bourbon. Actually liked the 12 year variant a touch better but this is awesome.

bottle shared @ rbwg ’12. pitch black with a khaki head. nose is whiskey, wood, vanilla, and roasted malts. excellent thickness, chewy, bourbon, vanilla, wow

Pour out of bottle bought in Foco, shared at the bar. Pour was black as night with a nice thick, oily black head. Aroma enveloped the notes with big sweet and rich vanilla and bourbon notes, working very nicely into a big chocolate, dark and bitter cocoa with espresso notes as well, hints of toffee and caramel round this out. Taste is just the same, velvety bourbon and vanilla with just a hint of booze, goes into a nice caramel and toffee note then has big dark and roasted chocolate and coffee beans, finishing nice and roasted. Excellent.

Bottle courtesy of Anthony. Hands down, beer of the night. Pours a deep black body with thick brown head and nice lacing. Aroma is sweet vanilla, light milk chocolate, soft oak, light molasses and syrup. Mouthfeel is creamy and divine with notes of sweet vanilla, oak, butter, bourbon, marshmallows, chocolate, and a touch of maple syrup. This was one of the creamiest, most indulgent stouts I can remember having in a very long time.

Courtesy of northernbrews

Bottle: The aroma consists of sweet chocolate, vanilla, and the slightest hint of roast. It pours a dark brown with no transparency and small beige head that leaves behind lots of webbing. The flavor starts with some sugary sweet milk chocolate and a touch of molasses . The finish has light-moderate vanilla and light vanilla. It’s medium bodied with mild carbonation. Overall, it’s more sugary sweetness than bourbon barrel aged.