The Brewery: Heavy Seas (Halethorpe, MD)
The Brew: Siren Noire (Imperial Chocolate Stout)
Availability: Bottles (Bomber)
ABV: 9.5% // IBU: 18.5
Rating: 8.5
Location: Home
The Story? For 2013, Heavy Seas rebooted their 'Mutiny Fleet' series to the 'Uncharted Waters' series. Vastly improved artwork (I've always been a fan of their 12 oz. branding) over 'Mutiny', plus upgrades with the brews themselves. This first release in the series sees their Imperial Chocolate Stout tossed into bourbon barrels (which always draws me in...) and tripled the amount of chocolate nibs and added vanilla bean.
The Beer? At first pour I know I'm going to like this one - dark black and about a millimeter of head with chocolate and raisin on the nose. Open the hatch... not as thick as I was expecting, but it hangs on the front of the tongue (moreso than on the back).
Creamy, nice dark chocolate flavor with the bourbon well balanced and not boozy. Beautiful malts (2-Row, Crystal, Chocolate, plus Roasted Barley) dance around my mouth as a dryness begins to build - a pleasant, dry bitterness begins to build, like eating a whole dark chocolate bar. Oddly enough, the mouthfeel lingers more than the taste.
Overall, a solid stab at the bourbon barrel imperial stout. If you've never had one, this is a great place to start. I give respect to house well balanced the bourbon is with this. It's obviously affected the stout in all the ways it should, but it doesn't come off as a sipping, potent concoction (not that those who do don't have a place in my top ranks). A wonderful beer for the price. Not much from Heavy Seas has ever disappointing.
Nickname: The Apprentice
No comments:
Post a Comment