Guinness Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout worth it?

[zinfamous]

Deschutes - Obsidian Stout
Fremont - Dark Star (no idea if this is available outside the region)
Founders - Breakfast Stout
Left Hand - Galactic Cowboy Nitro

see these are all great.

Left Hand is my favorite of the year--their Nitro Pint cans are amazing, and really work. (avoid the bottles. those are pointless). And even better, I think, than the Galactic Nitro is the Bittersweet Coffee Nitro thingy. I probably drank a gallon of that this year

https://lefthandbrewing.com/beers/bittersweet-nitro

It's like a creamy chocolate beverage. An entire meal in one pint!

 

[zinfamous]

Also, Shakespeare Stout is still the best ever!

World Champion...uh, 2000 or so, I think.

Shakespeare Stout Nitro – Rogue

www.rogue.com

That was in my 21st birthday keg....many years ago!

...but I haven't seen it in forever, so I'm not sure if it still holds up. I live in the worst state ever for alcohol (MD), so we don't really get much beer here and what we do get, it's shitty MD beer--most of which moved here form other places, and then became super shitty (Flying Dog)

 

[Matt390]

nope for me.
4pack 15oz $8

Guinness 4pack 15.9oz $7

The prices are opposite for me. $6.99 vs $7.99. I've grown accustomed to Murphy's so Id probably pay the extra dollar now. Im drinking a lot less these days.

 

[soulcougher73]

If Guinness is the only beer I like, what are other good stouts that can match it?

The Guinness in cans with those plastic balls or what not, that are supposed to make it a bit more draughty, are not bad. Obviously it's much better poured fresh, but the cans are good.

What else should I try? Have multiple liquor stores around here that have very good selections. I've tried a couple other stouts that just didn't feel as thick or dense as a Guinness, which I didn't like

I was always a fan of 8 Ball Stout by Lost Coast Brewery, but i cant find it anymore where i live.

 

[nakedfrog]

wat? Not really. I like Imperial Stouts. Most beers I drink are rarely less than 7% or so, anyway. It's true that a "real stout" doesn't really get above 5.5% or so, but I like all versions. Whiskey stouts are just...gauche and for Youtube longhair types.

I've had a few sours aged in Sauvignon barrels, and that's appropriate for the style and delicious!

Styles change, don't be a prescriptivist curmudgeon
I had some barrel aged Dark Star to celebrate the election results, and it was quite good.
I've tried a number of sours, but it's not something that ever comes home with me anymore.

see these are all great.

Left Hand is my favorite of the year--their Nitro Pint cans are amazing, and really work. (avoid the bottles. those are pointless). And even better, I think, than the Galactic Nitro is the Bittersweet Coffee Nitro thingy. I probably drank a gallon of that this year

https://lefthandbrewing.com/beers/bittersweet-nitro

It's like a creamy chocolate beverage. An entire meal in one pint!

I don't think I've seen it, seems like something I'd have grabbed if I did. But I'll keep an eye out... and since my new place is just under two miles from Total Wine, I'll have to see about cultivating a relationship with the people there

 

[VashHT]

wat? Not really. I like Imperial Stouts. Most beers I drink are rarely less than 7% or so, anyway. It's true that a "real stout" doesn't really get above 5.5% or so, but I like all versions. Whiskey stouts are just...gauche and for Youtube longhair types.

I've had a few sours aged in Sauvignon barrels, and that's appropriate for the style and delicious!

I drink plenty of non barrel aged stouts too (and other beers), but a barrel aged stout or barleywine can be so great. I'd highly recommend Straight Jacket from Revolution, definitely my fav barrel aged beer.

Though I haven't had one in a while Russian River makes my fav sours, the one I really liked is called Supplication, sour brown ale aged in pinot noir barrels I think.

I think mostly bourbon or rye barrels work well with stouts (barleywines too). I've had scotch barrel aged stouts and the peat flavor just does not work well imo. I've also never had a tequila barrel aged beer that tastes good. I've had some decent rum ones but usually makes it too sweet for me. I've been going to the Festival of Barrel aged beers in Chicago for years now so I've had some really weird stuff (sweet potato beer aged in tequila barrels is one of the worst I remember trying).

 

[Fritzo]

Nope. But this stuff...it's one of my favorites You get a very nice mellow bourbon finish:

 

[nakedfrog]

Nope. But this stuff...it's one of my favorites You get a very nice mellow bourbon finish:
View attachment 46143

Euch, that stuff was not good at all, would not recommend. One of the most disappointing beers I've had in recent memory.

 

[sdifox]

Euch, that stuff was not good at all, would not recommend. One of the most disappointing beers I've had in recent memory.

Fritzo has save all his money for guitars.

 

[nakedfrog]

Fritzo has save all his money for guitars.

That was part of the disappointment, it wasn't even cheap

 

[zinfamous]

I don't think I've seen it, seems like something I'd have grabbed if I did. But I'll keep an eye out... and since my new place is just under two miles from Total Wine, I'll have to see about cultivating a relationship with the people there

In the Winter, at least, they were shipping them in those 4-pack pint cans, 9.99 around here. They stopped, though, but I did find another of those 8 can Nitro variety packs from this Left Hand series, the other day (has 2 of those, 2x Galactic, 2x flamingo wheat thingy with uh, some fruit, and 2x of their regular Milk Stout--also delicious).

I kinda doubt they are still shipping that variety pack, because this discovery is probably the result of my local shitty beer store unloading some old stock from the back. That place is so shitty.

 

[JEDI]

I had this stout:

All That I Have Learned (Ghost 986) - Adroit Theory - Untappd

All That I Have Learned (Ghost 986) by Adroit Theory is a Stout - Russian Imperial which has a rating of 4.3 out of 5, with 1,194 ratings and reviews on Untappd.

untappd.com

16.7% alcohol.
It was delicious and ironically, I didn't even get a buzz

 

[MrSquished]

Was at a beer bar last night in Manhattan for one drink while bar hopping. Had a Firestone milk stout. That was quite tasty.

 

[MrSquished]

see these are all great.

Left Hand is my favorite of the year--their Nitro Pint cans are amazing, and really work. (avoid the bottles. those are pointless). And even better, I think, than the Galactic Nitro is the Bittersweet Coffee Nitro thingy. I probably drank a gallon of that this year

https://lefthandbrewing.com/beers/bittersweet-nitro

It's like a creamy chocolate beverage. An entire meal in one pint!

Store by me had like 4 different left hand stouts, just not the bittersweet. I got the classic milk stout. Almost got the peanut butter or the galactic cowboy one, but this should be good.

 

[KB]

"bourbon barrel" beers are for people that like neither beer nor whiskey.

fuck that noise.

I disagree. Bourbon barrel beers are for those that love both bourbon and beer and want them together.

 

[KB]

All Guiness is too watery.

This is what you want

KBS - Founders Brewing Company

This bold imperial stout is brewed with premium chocolate and coffee then aged in bourbon barrels that introduce notes of vanilla, cocoa, and charred oak.

foundersbrewing.com

 

[nakedfrog]

Store by me had like 4 different left hand stouts, just not the bittersweet. I got the classic milk stout. Almost got the peanut butter or the galactic cowboy one, but this should be good.

Was it just the milk stout, or nitro milk stout? If it was regular, try the nitro next time, but make sure you know how to pour a nitro first to really get the creamy head experience (it's not hard, it's just contrary to how you would normally pour a beer)

 

[MrSquished]

Was it just the milk stout, or nitro milk stout? If it was regular, try the nitro next time, but make sure you know how to pour a nitro first to really get the creamy head experience (it's not hard, it's just contrary to how you would normally pour a beer)

I got the nitro in the cans. They had the bottles too but I got the nitro since you guys mentioned it earlier

 

[nakedfrog]

I got the nitro in the cans. They had the bottles too but I got the nitro since you guys mentioned it earlier

Cheers, should be enjoyable

 

[VashHT]

The nitro Milk Stout is really nice, I like Left Hand's Wake up Dead imperial stout too. I've tried the BA version of that at their taproom and it was good too but I enjoyed the regular one a lot.

Avery is another good one that has a lot of really good non BA stouts, their Uncle Jacobs stout is like 16% and is pretty damn good.

 

[nakedfrog]

The nitro Milk Stout is really nice, I like Left Hand's Wake up Dead imperial stout too. I've tried the BA version of that at their taproom and it was good too but I enjoyed the regular one a lot.

Avery is another good one that has a lot of really good non BA stouts, their Uncle Jacobs stout is like 16% and is pretty damn good.

Damn, I feel like we're getting the short end of the stick, I don't think I've seen that one on shelves here either.
Good thing I'm taking a trip to CO next month, will have to get some of these delights.

 

[MtnMan]

I like a good stout, especially in cooler weather. On nitro, even better.

Too bad that Guinness doesn't make a good stout when compared to some local craft breweries.

But I won't judge this without tasting. Guinness recruited the head brewer, Hollie Stephenson, from a local brewery, in 2017, that has turned out some excellent stouts for their Guinness Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House.

11oz bottles... that is a trend that needs to die.

 

[zinfamous]

I mean, how can you not still go back to Guinness at times? It's still so consistently, preposterously phenomenal, when you just settle down and consider, among all of the other great beers that have come and gone, many times over, within the lifetime of Guinness.

It's remarkable. The Draught is still legendary for what it is. The Extra is great. The Foreign Extra is even greaterer. Their Milk Stout is not shit.

I think Sierra Nevada has proven themselves the same type of company, for what they do. They have it figured out.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

"bourbon barrel" beers are for people that like neither beer nor whiskey.

fuck that noise.

My history is rusty on this, but didn't things like scotch and whiskey ultimately come as a byproduct of beer development?

 

[zinfamous]

My history is rusty on this, but didn't things like scotch and whiskey ultimately come as a byproduct of beer development?

I would imagine that the difference between the two in age--"beer" was basically Mesopatamia, I think; spirits were many generations later, and further north and west?--and that beer was generally fermented in clay flasks or pitchers, in small batches for so long, it's either not likely or very hard to show such a connection?

I dunno, really. But the process is generally the same...idea, just wholly dependent on your local resources for fermentable products (wheat vs fruits vs...uh, gross stems and shit, and maize and whatnot) and the local climate, that this was just a long series of refinements that likely had some sort of overlap in processing, but the difference between yeasty grain beers and grain spirits...I'm thinking that transition was more sporadic or simply, very different regions of the planet, separated by serious climate differences (Eastern/Asian haplotypes typically have only one copy of the ADH gene--for metabolizing alcohol, where they get the flush, and is also the part of the world that is tied mostly to teas and weaker alcoholic beverages; vs western European haplotypes, that have 2x copies of ADH, and have been generationally attached to strong ales, wine and spirits (beer was actually more like 6-12% prior to the Depression, Prohibition--especially Prohibiition). That's a pretty solid allele, planted in very specific haplotypes, with marked boundaries to this day. It's pretty set...however, I guess the knowledge could have freely passed over a very short period of time between cultures, that wouldn't implant itself in our modern genome based on simply being separated geographically for like, 30k years.

Anyway, "beer" came first. More like Mead. ...something very similar to mead, anyway. so.....maybe?