Fremont Rusty Nail
Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with Licorice and Cinnamon Bark
The Rusty Nail begins life as The First Nail, an oatmeal stout of epic proportions with brewer’s licorice, smoked barley, and pale malt and is then aged on cinnamon bark. She becomes The Rusty Nail after spending 15 months in 12 year old bourbon barrels. The Rusty Nail pounds your palate, challenges your perception of all that you’ve known of beer, and leaves you wanting … another sip. “A fine beer may be judged by one sip, but it’s better to be thoroughly sure.” – VWP.
Down & Dirty: 2-Row Pale, Vienna, Midnight Wheat, Flaked Oats, Roast Barley, and Smoked malts with Magnum and US Golding hops, and brewer's licorice and cassia cinnamon chips.
2014-2017 - 13.2%, 50 IBU
2018 - 14.5%, 40 IBU
2019 - 13.9%
2020 - 13.3%, 36 IBU
2021 - 12.3%, 40 IBU
The Rusty Nail begins life as The First Nail, an oatmeal stout of epic proportions with brewer’s licorice, smoked barley, and pale malt and is then aged on cinnamon bark. She becomes The Rusty Nail after spending 15 months in 12 year old bourbon barrels. The Rusty Nail pounds your palate, challenges your perception of all that you’ve known of beer, and leaves you wanting … another sip. “A fine beer may be judged by one sip, but it’s better to be thoroughly sure.” – VWP.
Down & Dirty: 2-Row Pale, Vienna, Midnight Wheat, Flaked Oats, Roast Barley, and Smoked malts with Magnum and US Golding hops, and brewer's licorice and cassia cinnamon chips.
2014-2017 - 13.2%, 50 IBU
2018 - 14.5%, 40 IBU
2019 - 13.9%
2020 - 13.3%, 36 IBU
2021 - 12.3%, 40 IBU
4.1
188 reviews
Seattle, United States
Community reviews
--Bottled, from Systembolaget. -- Black, small head. Rich aroma of chocolate, cinnamon and hazelnuts. Syrupy sweet with maple syrup, hazelnuts, cinnamon. Licorice and honey. Sticky finish. Too cakey.
2017 bottle from hopt. waxed and capped.
pitch dark, small brown head.
strong heavy aroma of dark roasted malts, bourbon, licorice, chocolate, so well blended, lots of bourbon aroma.
flavor is sweet hard roasted malts, dead hops (it's from 2017 we're almost 2022 now) several kinds of wood, sweeter woody notes, from borbon probably, almost tastes like cedar wood, very faint note of raisins and dark dried fruit. Has aged quite well, balance and the level that stuff is mixed together is so impressive..
RUSTY NAIL 2020
Totalmente nera con schiuma mogano chiaro cremosa e dalla buona persistenza.
Profumo estremamente elegante, ricco e definito. Cannella, cioccolato, zucchero grezzo, prugne ed uvetta, lieve liquirizia, vaniglia e cocco, dolci note di bourbon. Al palato c’è tutto quello che si percepisce all’olfatto, toffee e caramello, cake al cacao e cannella, frutta scura disidratata, vaniglia e leggero cocco, sullo sfondo lieve liquirizia, tutto abbracciato dal tepore del bourbon. Finale con gentile ma marcata amaricatura e sempre lunghissima scia di bourbon. Corpo vellutato e morbidamente tondo con bassa ma fine carbonazione.
Black pour, brown head. Aroma of chocolate, cinnamon, and oats. Taste follows, sweet and full.
2021 version …. Black pour with a tan head and spots of lacing …. Aroma of a granola bar, molasses, oats, cinnamon, brown sugar, licorice, chocolate and caramel malts … dominated by cinnamon …. Taste is of sugar, spicy cinnamon, oats, grains and chocolate …. Like a granola bar in a bottle … sadly it’s way too sweet …. Cinnamon and sugar covers the abv but sadly it covers the beer completely …. Very natural cinnamon flavors, early, bark and spice …. Big beer, abv covered well by sugar and cinnamon ….. not sure what the last rater says about bourbon and lack of cinnamon … this clearly states bourbon, but lacks it and is very much full of cinnamon bark ….may have some spicy bourbon on the back end, but had mostly Cinnamon Toast Crunch to it
Waxed bomber from Tavour. Pours dark brn/blk with a dark tan head which didn't last long. Aroma of cinnamon and chocolate with some smoke notes, plus smooth toasted malt and dark fruit. It smells sweet. Extremely full bodied. Flavor is bourbon, cinnamon, chocolate, dark malt, dark fruits and some not musty wood. Lots going on here. Some anise in the finish. Not dry. Heat is well concealed. Something provides bitterness. Great ale.
RBSG 2017. Black beer with a tan head. Definitely quite a sweet beer, but has a really nice roasted malt profile, some bourbon, and plenty of chocolate. A little bit of smoke, some molasses, vanilla, and dark fruit. Nice little bitterness of licorice and charred oak. Really quite solid.
This is one delicious beer, if you like them strong, smooth and sweet. The bourbon flavor is the first thing you notice on aroma plus the alcohol and sweetness. The malt comes through and a hint of oatmeal. I didn't notice the cinnamon though. It pours without a head and a dark color. Had at Mahoney's Public House in Vancouver USA.
Earlier Rating: 8/25/2020 Total Score: 4.2
This beer is really good if you like the licorice and smoke. I'm not a real fan of this beer, but my wife loves it. It's a little bit like Scotch whiskey. Very dark in color and no head to speak of, but has a lot going on with flavors.
Nearly black with a thin ring of brown head. Aroma is cinnamon, chocolate, coffee, licorice, molasses, dried dark fruits and wood. Taste is heavy sweet and heavy bitter. Heavy body, thin oily feel, average carbonation, and slight alcohol warming.
Crazy good. Lucky to get some of my own beer at my own birthday party. An original.
Bottle at tasting. Aroma of cinnamon, bourbon vanilla, caramel fudge, earthy coconut, chocolate, malt, coffee and dates. Taste has rich chocolate, cinnamon, bourbon vanilla, caramel fudge, sweet cherry, figs, dates, coffee, malt, earthy coconut, vanilla, fruity booze and a long rich finish. Fantastic.
Black with a brown head - Dark malt aroma with wood and some spicy notes - Dark malt body with wood, spicy cinnamon , some hints of smoke and some alcohol heat in the back - The dark malt , wood , spicy smoke goes into the finish - This was good
Pours a pitch-black coloration with a small, fluffy, dark-brown head. Smells of slightly roasted, caramel malt and a huge cinnamon aroma that drowns out almost everything else except for a distinct Bourbon note, as well as hints of chocolate, vanilla and licorice managing to poke through. Taste is a decent balance of slightly smoked and roasted, quite caramelly malt and a huge, sweet cinnamon presence, although the flavor manages just a bit more depth than the nose, with more distinct chocolate, licorice, molasses and dark fruit notes of raisin and fig coming through here, with a good, not too boozy, Bourbon character and hints of vanilla, tobacco and charred oak. Finishes rather sweet, with a very light bitterness and some cinnamon, licorice and Bourbon lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a rich body and light/medium carbonation.
After BA Dark Star this is another big disappointment from Fremont for me, which I had also been saving for a special occasion, just like the former. Similar to BA Abraxas, which I also consider highly overrated, this is a total cinnamon bomb that is way too sweet for my personal taste and just lacking overall balance, while the mouthfeel, while very nice, is hardly outstanding either in my personal opinion. Although it does make for a very rich brew with a good Bourbon presence that never turns quite as boozy as BA Dark Star, the sweetness from the cinnamon, licorice and molasses is just too much and while there is a decent complexity to this, most of it gets drowned out by the overly dominant cinnamon character that the lightly smoked/roasted malts and mild bitterness are really struggling against, while the dark fruits and vanilla only add to that overdone sweetness here. I'm not saying it's a bad brew, being quite rich and with a good complexity, mouthfeel and bourbon presence, just not that well balanced for my personal taste, being way too sweet and dominated by the cinnamon, while I would have wished for the smoked/roasted malt and bitterness to shine through more distinctly here.
Bottle, vintage 2020. (thanks Eddan) Black with a small tan head. Cinnamon, cocoa, bourbon some chocolate. Not too sweet. A decent one.
Wow, great beer. That’s all they make!!
Bottle, 650 ml. shared with Max, Miro B and Cvrle. Black with brown head. Chocolate, some fruity notes, coffee, bourbon, cinnamon, sweet, fruity, bit tart. Very smooth and balanced. Oily. Full bodied.
2017 bottle
Az újabb Fremont palack ezúttal egy monumentális imperial stoutot rejt, amely ünnepi hangulatot már csak a fajsúlyos fahéj jelenléténél fogva is könnyedén áraszt - nekem sem esett nehezemre karácsony estéjén ezzel a főzettel ünnepelni. Illatai mérhető súllyal bírnak, fahéjas csigás, csokoládés, mézes croissant-os jegyeket viselnek magukon, egyértelmű előjelét adva a minőségi kortyok érkezésének. Szerkezete lenyűgözően összetett és mély, szirupos alapokon nyugszanak az egyszerre desszertszerű és férfiasan alkoholos vonások, amelyek étcsokoládé, vanília, marcipán, medvecukor, kókusz és méz karakterét hordozzák. Exkluzív összetevők nélkül is robban az ízvilág, eközben pedig igényes stílusú, megingathatatlanul stabil marad a főzet; ezt a típust minden egyes nap el tudnám kortyolni.
65 cl bottle @ Fremont Wax Tasting.
Pours black color with a small beige head. Spicy aroma, roasted malts, dark chocolate, cocoa, syrup, caramel. Flavor is chocolaty with lots of Christmas spices, cocoa, some coffee notes, caramel.bourbon and vanilla. Quite nice spicy IS.
4426
65 cl bottle @ Fremont vax tasting
Aroma is strong on cinnamon. Also chocolate. Flavour has strong cinnamon tones, chocolate, alcohol. Finishes some burning spiciness. Strong but pleasant.
Taste from bottle 650ml at Fremont wax tasting. Limited 2020 release. Pours black with beige head. Flavor has roasted malts, bourbon barrel, licorice, cinnamon, coffee. Full body, oily texture, soft carbonation, sweet roasted finish.
Aromat wyraźnie alkoholowy, beczkowy, cynamonowy, lukrecja, czekolada, jabłka. Barwa czarna, nieprzejrzysta. Piana brązowa, drobno pęcherzykowa, obfita i dość trwała. Smak słodki, beczkowy alkoholowy, złamany wyraźną kwaskowością. Sporo paloności, melano. Goryczka słodowo-alkoholowa, powyżej średniej, trochę zbyt palona i ostra. Pełnia wysoka, wysycenie średnie i lekko kwaskowy, alkoholowy finisz.
660ml bottle @ tasting 28.11.2020.
2020 vintage.
Poured pretty much black in color.
cinnamon is strong in the aroma, melasses and roastedness. Some bourbon notes, licorice. On the spicier side really, quite complex. Almondy touch as well.
66cl bottle at home, bought at Hopt.nl. Appearance: pitchblack with a medium sized khaki head. The aroma is strong with warm cinnamon upfront, like cinnamon sugar coated churros, followed by some molasse. Some licorice root, that gives the beer a somewhat earthy aroma. Wiener melange, with some pure chocolate and a bit of vanilla from the bourbon barrels. The taste is sweet with quite high bitterness. Lots of cinnamon, but not overpowering, subtle licorice, molasse, somewhat earthy again. Bitter licorice, but not really licorice root. Some bourbon and vanilla too. Palate: full bodied, sticky but not cloying texture, soft carbonation and quite warming. Overall: I love this brew. Maybe it is the fact that I like cinnamon, but besides that, I like the balance. It is strongly flavoured, but nothing over the top. The licorice could've been a bit stronger for my taste. This was my first Fremont brew and I'm definitely curious for their other brews.
660ml red waxed 2020 ed @ home. Pitch black, viscous, foamy beige head. Liquorice, herbal, cinnamon, burnt caramel, woody, coffee, smooth cacao, lots of whiskey, smooth boozy, light bitter - complex unique stuff. Nice sweetish herbal coffee linger. Good body, lively fine carbonation.
Flaska från Hopt, 2020. Svart med krämig brunbeige krona. Rejält med kanel i doften. Mycket mer finstämt i smaken. Mjuk kanelton, giffel, bourbon, fat, lite läder, kaffe, stor sötma, hetta, kanelbulle, vanilj, lakrits på sin höjd långt i bakgrunden. Mycket gott och finstämt. Oerhört elegant.
In these Covid-19 times I a have to enjoy that the government don't want me to do shares, so having to dome this solo.. ez :)
Pour a thick pitch black dirty viscous motor oil with a small fizzy light brown head. Looking gewd!
Aroma has a big boozy wooden chocolate n' vanilla fudge with hints of liquorice, toasted coconut, faint spice from the cinnamon. Delizz
Taste is rather sweet, slightly boozy, burned bitterness with almost a touch of salty complexity.
Sticky and slightly oily mouthfeel with the perfect amount of lazy bubbly...
I like this a whole lot!!
From a bottle shared at m house. A dark chocolate cocoa. Coconut not too thick ok overall
On draught at Gourmet Haus. Pours black with brown head. Massive complex aroma of leather, roasted barley and slight barrel. Very boozy and hot.
2020 edition. Pours thick, oily black with a one finger, dark tan head. Aroma is cocoa, licorice, cinnamon, roast and bourbon. Taste is chocolate, cinnamon and toffee, moving to licorice, roast and earthy notes. Finish is smooth chocolate, licorice, rich bourbon and cinnamon. Delightful stout.