Av Cody La Bière
Barrel Full of Monkeys Imperial Stout by Paddock Wood out of Saskatoon is a beer I’ve been saving for over two months now. My amazing beer geek friend Stephen saved a bottle for me to try while on his cross-Can trip stop in Brandon in July. I think it’s about time to review this, because this has been taunting me every day since then..
Appearance: Pours a thick dark chocolatey blackness, similar to pouring a dark coffee but even thicker. A caramel brown (almost double double) thin tan head, no notice of carbonation.
Aroma: Well this is one interesting stout.. First thing that comes to my mind is a roasted coffee aroma from the roasted malt. There’s a hint of a bit of oak as well as what appears to be.. rum, quite sweet, bitter and overall I can tell this will be a complex yet incredibly tasty stout. Parts of the stout are reminiscent of Black Boss Porter thanks to the similarity of the sweet roasty aroma.
Taste: Bitterly strong, holy eff.. it’s as if I’m taking a shot of my dad’s whisky. I was wrong about it being rummy, this is very much a whisky flavour now to come to think of it. This imperial stout is actually aged in bourbon whiskey barrels, so that explains the bitterness. Whisk(e)y, oak, a bit of vanilla, slightly coffee taste and roasted malt. It’s even more of a PUNCH IN THE FACE of a stout than the La Corriveau Oatmeal Stout that I had yesterday. Quite sweet, very alcoholy and a hint of caramel.
Overall Thoughts: Damn, Paddock Wood, you make an AMAZING freaking imperial stout. Honestly one of the best imperial stouts I’ve had, it has that usual chocolatey, roasted malt and coffee notes we’re used to but I really didn’t expect a large infusion of (bourbon) whisky and oak in this brew, that really made the highlight of my day.. it’s almost as if I took a shot of whisky and poured it in a good stout.. yeah, like that! If you were able to get your hands on this, you were lucky! I really appreciate oaky and whisky taste in this brew. Wow.. a very powerful tasting stout, sweet, bitter, and uh.. boom goes the dynamite! Barrel Full of Monkeys has an insane ABV of 10% so don’t drink and drive. Paddock Wood lists the Barrel Full of Monkeys Imperial Stout of being an intensely flavourful beer bursting with dark fruits and roasted grains with a strength to survive shipping around the world.
I didn’t notice the dark fruits, but the oak/whisky are what did it for me. Damn.. thanks Stephen!.