Smuttynose Short Batch #8 Apple Brandy Oak Aged Imperial Stout

Formerly brewed at Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Serve in Snifter

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Tap at Pony Bar. Dark brown pour with a huge, dense beige head. Mostly sweet, dark and roasted malt aroma, though there are definitely some apple notes. Also chocolate. Flavor is sweet, the brandy is present, as are pleasant candied dark fruits. The faintest hints of coffee and smoke, particularly in the finish. Medium to big in body with average carbonation, and mild burn. Overall very good.

Pouring at EBF’s Night of the Barrels. Pours a deep black with a medium tanned beige head. Wood, bourbon, vanilla on the nose. Chocolate, vanilla, more barrel flavors, wood, roasnt. Sweet and a touch of alcohol on the finish.

In short: An excellent imperial stout with subtle Apple Brandy barrel notes
How: Tap at Boston Extreme Beer Fest 2010. Night Of The Barrel session.
The look: Black body topped by a large tan head with good retention
In long: Compared to the Smuttynose Imperial Stout: tone down the chocolate a bit, a little less roasted, toned down citrusy hops, add some wood flavor, add some fruity notes. The barrel aging is really not overdone here. Almost subtle. I suspect it didn’t spend much time in the barrels or it was re-blended with fresh beer. All in all this is a light variation on the excellent Smuttynose Imperial Stout. Different enough to be worth having, yet similar enough to make it hard to pick a favourite one. I think I prefer the regular version by a tiny tiny margin. I love EBF for all those rare special treats. Every year when I walk into EBF I feel like Mike Tyson at a star-trek Vulcan’s convention.

Draft at EBF. Pours a black body with a tan off white head. Malty chewy sweetness some light lactose with a roast y lactose sweetness. The barrel with seems hardly present presents with a mild oakiness hardly any apple but more a brandy fuller body with some light sweetness. Not bad.

Tap at EBF NOTB 2010. Pours a rish deep brownish black with a foamy head- fades a bit. Aroma is big roast chocolate, nuts, apple jack, wood, oak, a touch green and acetaldehyde, but also still a kick of hops as well. Flavor is still minty and piney hops mixed with chocolate, roast, char, light smoke, wood earth, oak, vanilla, and more apple jack - slight burn and a bit more green apple but mostly smooth in the finish. Not bad.

[BBD 10] Opaque black color with a medium sized, tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of dark chocolate, roasted malts, vanilla, some oxidation apple brandy, smoke, and alcohol. Taste of apple brandy up front, with some vanilla, roast, smoke, dark chocolate, oak, some oxidation, and light alcohol. This was a real hit!

Thanks to Alex for this growler... A few weeks old, can’t comment on the appearance but theres no head and mouthfeel is weak too. I presume this could have been even better... Incredible nose, very sweet, tons of the brandy comes through, like candy. Not much of RIS character... The taste is sweet as well, not so sweet to detract but not as good as the nose. Would love to have this again.

Draft at Redlight Redlight. The pour yields an extremely deep, dark, mahogany colored body that borders on black at first glance. A thin, smooth, wispy blanket of khaki colored foam sits at the head. Sheer, broken windowpanes of lacing coat large spans of the glass. The aroma is delectable, showing notes of sweet apple and big, oaky vanilla amidst a darker, richer base of chocolate covered raisins, anise, and dark cherries. It comes across quite fruity, and the bold citrus hops that show in the fresh, base imperial stout are completely faded, it seems. Flavors again feature bittersweet chocolate roast, loads of anise, dark stewed fruits, and a heft of sweet, vanilla-laden calvados. As imperial stouts go, the palate on this one checks in a little under weight, as the barrel has quite obviously thinned it out a bit. It seems a little too sticky as well, though the carbonation is balanced. Overall, this is quite a tasty little concoction, but it has a few flaws that hold it back from elite status.

Draft at FoBAB 8. Pours looking like a fantastic Imperial Stout, brown/black with dark tan head. Nose is quite nice. There is a perfume quality from the apple brandy that interplay quite well with the roast and fruity notes of the stout. Some roast and milk chocolate as well. On taste, it is a very full flavor, nice floral aspects, moderate bitterness and excellent balance that tie it together. Some clean apple brandy notes as well. Very interesting one.

Tap at The Gate. The aroma is surprisingly simple, light, not boozy, with a pinch of apple, some glue, evergreen sap. There is alcohol burn in the flavor, kind of vile, with grassy notes and vodka. Not very good.