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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Dark mahogany pour with a small latte head. Loads of vanilla, oak, cocoa, brownie batter, molasses, bourbon, and maple. Not as viscous or opaque as I’d have hoped. Pretty sweet and incredibly sticky. Wish it was toned down a bit. Still delicious!

Bottle shared at the RBWG in Austin. Dark pour with a brown head. Aroma is wood, dark chocolate, vanilla, and alcohol. Taste is alcohol, wood, more dark chocolate, and some light spice.

Bottle shared at RBWG 2012. Pours a dark brown and tan head leavig sticky lacing. The aroma is Oak vanilla and chocolate. Thin mouthfeel with a roasted malt with vanilla and oak and nice sweet finish. Alcohol present but not overpowering. A very good Imperial stout from 50/50.

Thx. to tderoeck / Tim for this one. 65 cl. beautiful bottle – snow aged – lovely white wax. A beauty to behold, 2011 vintage. Pours very dark brown / black with a mocha head. Smell is booze, sweet mocha, creamy with lots of bourbon, very heavy, vanilla, sweet wood, milk chocolate, touch molasses,… Taste is very heavy on bourbon sweet, lots of barrel, this is very heavily aged, almost as if to mask the base beer which is not really available unless if I am mistaken, caramel, sweetness, toffee, sugar, milk chocolate, liquorice, touch molasses, base feels almost a bit thin for an RIS but it is very heavily aged. Creamy body. Glad to try one of these.

It pours a dark cola brown with a tan/orangy head. The aroma is an intense bourbon blast with alcohol, vanilla, caramel, raisins, plums and chocolate. Not as much roasted malt and more fruit forward. The flavor was a tiny bit of a letdown compared to the awesome aroma. It had delicious notes of bourbon, vanilla and some sweet caramel with hints of dark fruitness but it was a bit overly sweet lacking a second level of depth. Lots of sugary cola. There is a bit of roasted malt in the finish but not enough for my liking. The body is not as big as some stouts but very oily on the palate. Overall, this was a great beer. I loved the massive bourbon flavors, but the beer itself lacked the complexity of a world class imperial stout.

Bomber from Binny’s Arlington Heights. Pours near black with dark rich tan head. Aromas of vanilla, light coconut, chocolate, and bourbon. Flavor is dominated by bourbon barrel, which is a good thing in this case, vanilla, roasted malts, and some chocolate. Body is nice and full. Damn nice beer where barrel really shines. Hefty price tag that actually lived up to hype.

Black pour with a sudsy tan head. Earthen dirt and caramel lead to vanilla bourbon and raisin. A bit cloying and lacking complexity. Medium body with abrasive carbonation. Not the best balance.

Bottle purchased from El Cerrito, SoCal. Pours a thick dark brown almost black with a thick, foamy, light tan head. Aroma of boozy bourbon, dark fruit, chocolate and oak. Flavor is rich sweet chocolate, bitter roasted malt, hot bourbon and some caramel. Full body with mild carbonation and a velvety smooth mouth feel. Great beer, lots of bourbon character that is tempered with sweet chocolate. I would seek out more of this if it wasn’t so expensive.

Thanks GT2! Black pour, small ring of a head. Nose of mulch and dirt, big vanilla and wood, very earthy. Flavor brings much more sweetness to the fore, barrel sweet vanilla, sweet chocolate brownie. One of the better of the series, but still not complex or impressive.

2011 Bottle Bottle #5247 ... Black pour orange hue thinner beige/tan head .... aroma of coconut, bourbon and vanilla ..... taste is vanilla, bourbon, coconut and light roasted malts, little chocolatey with more oak on the backend .... mouthfeel is thick and oily .... finish is dry and oaky with some bourbon and vanilla and a bitter light warming abv ..... good stuff