FiftyFifty Imperial Eclipse Stout - Heaven Hill Rye Barrel
This entry serves as the core listing for all Imperial Eclipse Stout vintages aged in rye barrels. These include:
2014 Vintage:
Rittenhouse Rye Version (Forest Green Wax 2014)
2012 Vintage:
Rittenhouse Rye Version (Green Wax 2012)
2011 Vintage:
Rittenhouse Rye Version. (GREEN WAX w/ "2011")
2010 Vintage:
Rittenhouse Rye version. (GREEN WAX with "2010")
2009 Vintage:
Heaven Hill Rye version. (GREEN WAX with "2009")
Original batch was just 2009 Rye barrels sourced from Heaven Hill. For the 2010 release, Todd delved deeper with the barrel provider and found his barrels (and previous barrels) to all be Rittenhouse barrels. Hence, the alias.
2014 Vintage:
Rittenhouse Rye Version (Forest Green Wax 2014)
2012 Vintage:
Rittenhouse Rye Version (Green Wax 2012)
2011 Vintage:
Rittenhouse Rye Version. (GREEN WAX w/ "2011")
2010 Vintage:
Rittenhouse Rye version. (GREEN WAX with "2010")
2009 Vintage:
Heaven Hill Rye version. (GREEN WAX with "2009")
Original batch was just 2009 Rye barrels sourced from Heaven Hill. For the 2010 release, Todd delved deeper with the barrel provider and found his barrels (and previous barrels) to all be Rittenhouse barrels. Hence, the alias.
4
275 reviews
Truckee, United States
Community reviews
Bottle sample at "whales" tasting, thanks Tom. Opaque black. Aroma is roasted, chocolate, wood, cocoa, some wine notes. Sweet, more chocolate, coffee, cocoa, vanilla, oak, boozy and warming finish. Full bodied, smooth.
Bottle sample at a tasting at Tom L’s place. Thanks Tom L. As FiftyFifty Imperial Eclipse Stout - Rittenhouse Rye Barrel 2014. Black with some brown foam. Great aroma full of vanilla, chocolate, whiskey, coconut, wood, spicy note, cookies, a bit of alcohol. Sweet flavor with chocolate, caramel, nuts, vanilla, whiskey, some roast, some alcohol, and a spicy note. Full-bodied, rounded. Really good.
Cocoa liquor, rye and honey notes. Very toasted, vanilla hints. Roasted sourness. Dry bitter finish. Alcoholic a bit. Bitter liquor.
At the whale tasting, Tom’s Place, Pours black with a beige head, aroma of chocolate, coffee, caramel, toffee, dark bread, sherry, flavor is slightly bitter with chocolate, rye, wood, bourbon, coffee, sweet, medium to full bodied, Great
BR/2 2012 Bottle thanks to Toby. Pours out black topped with a tan head. Nose is big bourbon barrel notes vanilla brown sugar molasses chocolate sweetness roast malts plenty of heat some marshmallow fluff. Taste is more of the heavy roast malts chocolate sweetness bourbon barrel vanilla and a nice end.
Bottle run number 1 from 2014. Pours an opaque black with fluffy tan brown head that leaves light lace. Aroma of big barrel notes, vanilla and chocolate, hint of oxidized soy. Taste is more of the vanilla, bourbon, oak, no oxidation here, thick and viscous. Good creamy mouth, soft carbonation, another sold one.
Negro opaco y espuma beis. Aromas de cacao, bourbon, chocolate dulce, bizcocho. Sabor como en aroma y final de amargor tostado equilibrado.
Bottle. Dark pour with tan head. Rye, barrel, roasted and dark malt aromas. Dark malt, chocolate, roasted, rye, barrel Flavors.
Like a dark chocolate whisky-infused praline in liquid form. Not in the mood to write a long review, but this is love.
Bomber @ FiftyFifty Charity Tasting: Vintage 2012: Served in a taster:
Black body with creamy tan lacing.
Aroma is roast, paint, tobacco, light bourbon, meat, soy... Later on it becomes so much better: beautiful roast, bourbon, vanilla, liquorice...
Flavour is molasses, brown sugars, roast, bourbon, light vanila, light pudding, light dry, light molasses...
Aftertaste is roasty, bourbon, coal, vanilla, fudge...
Low carbo, creamy mouthfeel, very close to full bodied.
Bottle @ FiftyFifty Eclipse Charity Tasting. 2012 vintage. Opaque black color, small beige head. Aroma is malts, superb bourbon, vanilla, lightly some grains (rye?). Taste malts, firm bourbon, firm vanilla, sweetish, but a very nice combination. Medium body and carbonation. Quite like this.
Bottle, 2012 Vintage. Pours opaque black, small brown head that dissipates fairly slowly leaving nice residual and lacing. Aroma is rich, cocoa, whiskey, vanilla, some woodiness, rich dark sugars, toffee. Flavor is fairly sweet, medium bitter, rich and boozy, like a desert liquor. Tasty and smooth. Medium body, creamy mouthfeel. One of the good ones, for sure.
Shared with Sherm1016 on NYE in Lake GENEVA....thanks!
Pours black; thin head...we let it warm....nose and initial taste are heavy with coffee and chocolate....espresso and DARK / bitter chocolate....and heavy with barrel / boozy nose and taste.....sweet with an edge....impressive and tasty.
Bottle sample at SBWF15. Pitch black with small tan head. Aroma of roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, oak, caramel and vanilla. Taste is sweet, roasted, coffee, bitter chocolate, barrel notes, vanilla with a fairly dry and boozy finish
2011 vintage, bottle #2029
Pours pitch black and completely opaque with a two finger, light mocha head that very slowly settles into a lasting cap/ring. Very good retention with streaks of lacing left behind.
Strong barrel presence in the aroma with lots of earthy, toasted oak, vanilla, coconut and spicy rye whiskey character countered by a slightly roasted chocolate malt backbone. The spicy rye and whiskey notes really stand out along with wood barrel, coffee bean, oatmeal and bakers chocolate. Dessert/cake like dessert character underneath the whiskey.
On the fuller end of medium bodied with a stronger whiskey barrel presence than the aroma suggests. Very strong dry oak/toothpick character along with prominent whiskey/boozy heat that overpowers the other notes a bit too much for my preference. Slightly peaty with lots of spicy rye and alcohol sweetness dominating the malt backbone. Underneath, there is some roasted malt and sweet chocolate flavor but it’s overwhelmed by the wood, rye and whiskey flavors. Decent but a bit harsh and one dimensional making it tougher to drink and not as interesting as the other treatments.
Dark brown with caramel head. Smells like bourbon and chocolate and deliciousness in a glass. Taste is fairly bitter chocolate. Not my fave.
2014 bottle with forest green wax shared by AdamChandler. Thanks, Adam! Tasted against the Woodford variant. Pours nearly black with a beige head. Aroma is chocolate, caramel, coffee, , rye. Taste is chocolate, rye, coffee, oak. smoother and slightly sweeter than the Woodford variant.
Poured from bottle thanks AdamChandler. Aromas of vanilla coffee and light bourbon. Taste is smooth and sweet with notes of vanilla caramel and a nice lingering alcohol feel.
Bottle to snifter. Huge vanilla nose with light booze. Lots of cocoa but shirt of dark chocolate. Moderate bitterness and a touch of alcohol warming, especially as the beer warms. Good.
@ SBWF 2015: Riktig fin med lite rökiga toner - mjuk och len munnkänsla och en välbalanserad eftersmak. Kaffe, choklad, toffee...
Bottled. Pours pitch black, with a small, tan head. Aroma of roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, oak, caramel and vanilla. Sweet flavor that ends up more dry with some alcohol. Medium to full bodied, oily texture and soft to flat carbonation. An excellent Impy. 🌟🌟🌟🌟
2012 bomber, Spice, chocolate and vanilla. Very subtle barrel character. Has a bit of the malt getting old thing going on. I remember liking some of the others better, but sampled fresher. Probably would have been better fresh.
Bottle at small tasting at home. 2011 bottle, green wax.
APPEARANCE: black beer, small unstable beige head.
NOSE: chocolate, coffee, alcohol.
TASTE: chocolate, coffee, alcohol, too much? ...
Pours a burgundy brown with a mocha brown head. Aroma of molasses, vanilla, oak and bourbon. Taste is caramel, burnt sugar, molasses, oak, slight alco heat with a warm finish.
Dark, dark brown - not quite full on black with a brown glint. Decent sandy head, ringed and fairly viscous looking film. Nose is boozy peanut butter, off telling booze but a decent brassy woodiness. Solid brown sugar sweetness throughout, struggling choc but big bites of roast later on. Carbonation is viscous, with a dimpled booziness but for it being double figures is great - neat and creamy mouthfeel. Finishes lean sweet roast, more bitterness coming through and lingers out with a peppery brassy rye’d out sweetness.
Bottle, Cheers Steve-o, Beers I Hadn’t Known Tasting
Bottle thanks to Steve. Black with tan head. Aroma has lots of coconut, chocolate. Taste is rich, roasty, chocolate, oaky, vanilla, coconut. Nicely balanced, sweet and clean.
Bottle at Craig’s tasting from Paris
opaque cola brown, beige lacing, sweet, vanilla, fruity, moderate carbonation, cola, caramel. Spicey, umami.
Bottle at Craig’s. Thanks Steve! Pours black with a thin tan head. Aromas of bourbon, dark chocolate. Taste is boozy chocolate. Rye whisky spice. Boozy finish.
12th July, Daisy tasting
Bottle at craig’s. Pours black, nose is coconut, chocolate, vanilla, taste is rich chocolate, bourbon, dry, roasted.
bottle at home ... daisy tasting ... dark brown black .. thin tan lacing ... soft dark chcolate roast malts ... light chocolate roast malt nose ... soft chocolate .. dark roast ... soft malts ... soft chocolate .. sweet chocolate .. light chocolate linger ...