The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company Cellar Series Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout 2016 Single Edition Russian Imperial Stout at 10.2% ABV (C$11.90 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, packaged on 16-Nov-2017, acquired 13-Dec-2017, reviewed 28-Feb-2018)
Appearance: solid black with no hint of relief, tan head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bourbon, dark chocolate, anise, coconut, vanilla, dark fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mildly bitter finish. (4/5)
I’m a bit puzzled by the dating on this: the label calls it the “2016 Single Edition” but the bottling date impression says “16NOV17”, so I dunno – I’m gonna go with, brewed in 2016, barrel aged 12 months, bottled in 2017? I expected this to be brutally hot, but it actually isn’t. In fact, it’s pretty smooth, warm but not hot, with lots of flavour. I like this a lot. (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
