Hill Farmstead Barrel Aged Earl

Brewed by Hill Farmstead Brewery
Style: Stout
Greensboro, Vermont USA

Serve in English pint

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(Graciously shared by Dak!). Pours dark brown with red hue and khaki head. Aroma has coffee, bourbon, coffee and a bit of vanilla. Taste is sweet with bourbony goodness. Medium bodied with oilt texture. A bit hot. Nice.

500 mL bottle shared with Adam and Jeff. Near black with a light tan head that fades to a thin collar with minimal lacing. Roasty, slightly acidic, burnt coffee aroma with mild bourbon barrel sweetness. Flavor is fairly light, dominated by roast and stale coffee with a mild, sweet vanilla, molasses and bourbon finish. Smooth, medium bodied, light carbonation. I enjoy regular Earl much more than this iteration of the BA version as the barrel doesn’t seem to be very well integrated with the beer.

500ml bottle shared by Doug, thanks man
Appearance: Black with a medium sized tan head and good lacing
Aroma: Roast malts, chocolate and woody
Taste: Roasted malts, vanilla, woody and chocolate
Very nice and mild, easy drinking

500 ml bottle thanks to Hopdog. Pours a pure black color with a medium brown head. A sweet roasted nose with some light barrel. A smooth flavor of milky coffee, roast, vanilla, light bourbon, woody, earthy, quite rich. Very creamy and decadent. Not too sweet or too much bourbon. Very good.

Bottle via trade, I apologize, but without looking back, which I’m too lazy for, I forget who sent this my way, but much thanks go out. Pours black with a big tan head. Aroma is of chocolate, coffee, bourbon, wood, soy sauce and some earthy smoke. Taste is complex, bourbon, chocolate cake, wood, sweetened coffee, light smoky earth, some light warming notes on the finish with a good, smooth bourbon note in the finish. Once again a winner by HFS!

500 ml bottle thanks to Doug. This is a large chocolaty roasty beer. A dry beer. Barrel character, spicy coffee, and slight alcohol hot notes. A good beer. Enjoyed this beer, very nice.

500 ml bottle thanks to Dean. Poured a good looking silky black body underneath a large foamy beiege head. Aroma of light bourbon notes, vanilla and toasted coconut, oranges,dark liquid chocoalte. Medium bodied with light tight bubly carbonation, slight slight heat on the end. Flavor of bourbon, burnt malts, burnt toast, dark bakers chocoalte, vanilla extract, grapefruit rind. Solid beer.

A - pours deep opaque coffee brown with very high chocolate fluffy head that last. Strong lacing. S - oatmeal, coffee, burbon aromas up front. Hints of smoke, oak and chocolate. Interesting aroma. M - medium strong body with some quiet carb. Some alcohol warming and toasted malt/coffee end. T - toasted malts, coffee grounds up front. Smoke, oak, oats, hint of fruits(apples) on the palate. Lingering coffee grounds burned malt ending with some sticky sweet feel and alcohol warming. Vegetal notes and hints of chocolate. O - nice showing from Hill Farmstead. Not too sweet, not too bourbony. 7+

In short: A chocolate & coffee cake in a bottle with a mild bourbon presence. Excellent
How: Bottle 500ml, a few times, this rating for a bottle 9 months after the first (and only so far) bottle release.
The look: Black body topped by a large beige head with medium retention
In long: Nose of rich coffee-chocolate cake with only mild bourbon barrel presence. Taste is surprisingly smooth, nothing aggressive here, round, really not heavy and surprisingly easy to drink for a BA big stout. Creamy coffee cake, a slice of chocolate cake, fresh brownies, some earth, some wood, mild bourbon presence, medium roastiness. Unlike most barrel aged beers the carbonation here is very lively. Excellent beer, average Hill Farmstead. I wish everything in life was Hill Farmstead beer.

Bottle pours deep brown/black with a khaki head. Aroma is dark chocolate, moderate roast, coffee, vanilla, and bourbon. Flavor shows the same with additional notes of oak and a slight green quality. Overall body is moderate and the finish is slightly warm.

Thanks Shaun! Super black pour with a robust frothy tan head. The aroma holds massive coffee incarnations (think mocha), hints of oatmeal, caramel, creamy milk chocolate, cocoa nib, and vanilla. Pure bliss. The flavor holds a sweet side of latte, vanilla sweetness, caramel, and milk chocolate, with a roasty side of cocoa nib, espresso, and bakers chocolate. The palate is thick, rich, and caressing with low carbonation that still maintains soft and pillowy carbonation. The finish is roasty with a hint of alcohol. Excellent barreling on an excellent base beer equals great success.