Pike Entire

Fifty percent of this blended stout was aged in Bourbon barrels for over seven months. The other component was fermented and then aged for 40 days in stainless. Smooth and chocolaty with a great vanilla wood overtone. IBU: 60 OG: 1.092

Editor’s note: recent vintages (e.g. 2013) are 75% whiskey barrel aged

3.7

171 reviews

Seattle, United States

Community reviews

4.1 Big Boozy Stout. Very thick. Unfortunately, the whiskey dominates too much. The 2013 version is 75% wood aged, and I'm guessing if it were cranked down to <=50% it would be better. Hot alcohol burn at the tail end. Wood aging is indeed hard. B-

3.8 2013 Pours black with a giant tan head good lacing. Smell ripe fruit, huge oak, vanilla, and coffee. Going to be a bit bitter. Taste smooth and sticky caramel, coco, and vanilla, leather and a big roasty tail. Fuller bodied. Very good for Pike

4.6 2013 bomber. Unbelievable. This is the best beer Pike had ever made. Thick, rich, layered, complex stout. And very well balanced. They knocked this one out of the park.

4.0 On tap @ Chuck’s 85th. Pours deep inky black with thin lacey mocha head. Aroma is dark roasty somewhat flat malt, with milk chocolate. Taste is big thick charred malt, with notes of oak, espresso, and dark chocolate. Finishes dry, boozy, and oaky. Easily tastes bigger than 9%. I’ll be honest - this is a serious step up in quality from Pike - I didn’t know they could do a barrel aged beer this good. Impressed.

3.8 2013 Vintage Wax Dipped Bomber. Pours jet black with a cap of dark brown foam and bubbles. Notes of bittersweet chocolate, dark fruits and molasses in the aroma with a bit of black cherry and oak. The taste is dominated by dark chocolate, roasted malt and espresso upfront followed by toffee, vanilla and a shot of whiskey at the end. The body is thick and creamy with a dry, charred malt finish. Overall, a solid chocolate whiskey stout.

3.1 2009 Vintage 4/07/2011: Pike Entire Wood Ages Stout... Aroma: Vineous, yeasty, touch of chocolate, infected? Appearance: Very deep brown color; huge fluffy brown head. Flavor: Roasted malts, chocolate, a hint of red wine. Palate: Medium body, VERY carbonated - TOO carbonated. Overall: Definitely seems infected, but is still farily drinkable - a testiment to what this beer must have been like originally. 1 pint 6 fl. oz. waxed bottle (9.5 ALC./VOL., IBU 60, OG 1.092) shared by alexsdad06. Thanks Brad! Rating #148 for this beer.

3.9 On tap at Beer Junction in Seattle. Black pour, average head, aroma of malt and chocolate. Taste intense and sweet, with a big presence of chocolate, bourbon, and alcohol. Palate is slightly thick, and the finish lingers nicely with the flavors. A big tasty brew that almost pushes the limits, but really works and is something I wish Pike would bottle once a year.

3.8 650ml bottle pours black in color with a 3 finger light beige head that retains well and leaves some thin lacing on the glass. Aroma is roasted grains with some chocolate, Bourbon and woody notes with hints of vanilla. Taste is chocolate malty sweetness with some vanilla and wood and some roasted barley bitterness. Medium to heavy bodied with mild carbonation. An Impy that can be enjoyed over and over again.

3.5 Bomber from Odeed 2008 Vintage. Nose is dark bitter chocolate, with hints of bourbon, molasses, and vanilla. Black with a medium tan head that lightly laces. Flavor is peppery spices, woody oak, light alcohol warmth, with some molasses and chocolate. Body a little on the thin side.

4.0 On tap at Brouwer’s Big Wood. Pours solid black with no head. Aroma of roasted malts, espresso and wood. Flavour of roasted malts, lots of espresso, wood and some spice, light smoke and toasted nuts. Full bodied, roasty and toasty. Nice.

4.0 On tap at Brouwer’s for Big Wood, pours pitch black with a tiny foamy ring of tan head. Aroma of mild vanilla, bourbon, and light molasses. Flavour is both sweet and woody, with light vanilla, wood, light roast, and some espresso. Light on the palate for an impy but rich and full of complex flavours. Delicious.

3.3 Black, with a HUGE brown head that lasts a good while. I actually can’t even pour much, the head just blows up. Aroma of nuts, wood, sour cherry, and musty molasses. The taste is strange. It’s dark malt and wood, but with a sour yeast-like character and what tastes to me a bit like nutmeg. Decent bitterness at the finish. The main drawback to this is the carbonation. For one, I can hardly get any beer in the glass, for two, I don’t expect aged imperial stouts to feel fizzy. That being said, it’s not great, but it’s a fair enough concoction when you get to it.

3.2 22 oz. bottle. Pours a dark brown color with a huge foamy tan head. At this point I’m concerned. The aroma is strongly acidic with signs of brett, soured dark malts; nothing that resembles the smooth chocolaty with vanilla wood overtones from the description. Now I’m disappointed. The flavor still shows the infection, but the stout character does come through a bit more. Some roasted malts, dark chocolate with a mild tart character. I should have tried this sooner, but it fell victim to the cellar shuffle.

2.6 2/7/2010 I’ve had 2 bottles of this beer from 2 different sources and both have been infected. Emails from the brewery state that this beer is the way it supposed to be albeit a little over carbonated so I will review it as is. Pours a solid black with about 3/4 of a glass of tightly bubbled tan foam. I pour four ounces or so then I wait 10 minutes and pour some more. Nose definitely has a Belgianesque character to it. Smells a bit tart but hidden deep underneath I get some roasty and chocolatey stout like aromas. There’s some vanilla and bourbon in there as well. Taste is less tart than the aroma. Up front I get a blast of dark fruits and a slight spicy Belgian yeast twang. Fruits continue midway then slowly fade to reveal some oakey vanilla and bourbon, chocolate and roast. Finishes with a long lingering roast and hop bitterness. It actually doesn’t taste half bad, but it is turning sour. Carbonation is off the charts, body is medium to thick, mouthfeel is bubbly like seltzer water. I have to ding this one pretty good because it is infected despite what the brewery wants me to believe. It didn’t taste half bad, but it also didn’t taste the way an American double stout should taste. The mouthfeel was totally ruined by the insane level of carbonation. At $15.00 a bottle, never again.

4.2 Year Two (2009 Vintage): My god, this has some serious head. Uncontrollable, even! Its medium-brown head is stiff and strong. After two years of aging I’m surprised it’s held up so well. The aroma is really, really good! For some reason it brings be back to childhood. The wood is strong, not soggy. The flavor is hard, sharp, and delicious. It’s soft in the mouth with hints in the finish of soft, sweet whiskey. I really like this one... woody, dark, and sharp! Aging has done wonders for this beer. I highly suggest it.

3.8 Bomber thanks to BVC. Pours a pure jet black color with a large brown head. A smooth oak and light bourbon nose, some roast. The flavor is a mellow ashy and bitter Impy; light bourbon, smoke and ash, chocolate, bitter hops and metal throughout- it is fine and works-, a bit of sour cherries and wood, actually very woody. Nice and very drinkable.

1.9 650ml bomber poured into a pint glass. I’ve been aging this for a year, and after reading multiple reviews stating it wasn’t aging well, I decided to see for myself. As expected, even pouring slowly, it poured pitch black with a huge, frothy head... and when I say huge, I mean HUGE! I can already tell there’s something wrong with this. Aroma is malty, woody, but overall metallic. Flavor is much of the same. I can tell this had some major bourbon and chocolate undertones, but they’re too heavily masked by the metallic flavor. Palate is over-carbonated and dry. Sadly, I didn’t drink the whole thing. Overall, very promising beer that turned out to have something wrong, maybe an infection.

1.3 Tasted okay on tap at Nov. 2008 WABL party, but purchased bottles of this beer in both 2009 and 2010. In all cases, whether opened right away or aged, the beer was infected (unintentional sour) and had to be drain poured.

3.0 Bottled. A pitch black beer with a brown head. The aroma has notes of sweet and roasted malt. The flavor is sweet with notes of both sweet and roasted malt, , leading to a dry roasted finish.

4.0 22 oz bomber. Pours a black cola with a medium sized brown head. Aroma of light oak wood, malts, chocolate and alcohol. Taste is much the same as the aroma.

3.9 Bottle, shared with Parksy and Josephson. Pours a very dark walnut brown with a surprisingly lively brown bubbly head that takes eons to settle. Aroma is quite woody and earthy, with chocolate and coffee. Flavour is chocolate, coffee, vanilla, with accents of smokey wood and pepper. Finish has an interesting tartness to it, that seems to lighten up the body somewhat. Very good.

3.6 Thanks to bhensonb for this one - the pour is foamy as hell - so much so that it took me five minutes just to pour a decent glass of the stuff - looks pretty damn good! - a lot of oaky, tannic character in the nose, a bit of dark cherry tartness/fruit pit/fruit skin - I would hesitate to call that character "funky," but it is damn close - it works really well, though, especially with the intense oak character - vanilla and bourbon underneath - a bit of smoke - carbonation is full in the mouth, and sort of abrasive at first - as the beer warms, this mellows a bit, but the carbonation is still way too much, leading me to believe that the subtle funkiness to the beer is the result of an infection - however, it is just enough to make things interesting, and not yet enough to make the beer taste "off" or sour - fairly dry and lightly tart - red wine character - strong oak, but not overpowering - becomes a bit burnt and ashy-tasting through the middle, though - a bit of smoke - dry, bitter finish, with lingering ash - an interesting and tasty experience, considering that certain elements were obviously not intended by the brewer.

3.4 2009 Bottle courtesy of Glouglouburp: Pours an overcarbonated effervescent opaque black with a clumpy-lacing light brown head. Has a tart cherry and woody oak nose with some roasted maltiness. Starts with a fizzy carbonation atop an oily lightly sweet dark caramel and chocolate body with some tart cherries and vanilla oak complexity before a toasty dry and earthy finish. This definitely seems to have some kind of infection going on, but at this point it’s still drinkable. Would be nice to try a fresh sample.

4.0 Bottle 660ml.Pours black with a beige head.Aroma is spicy and maybe slightly brettish with roasted malts and oak.Flavour is slightly sourish with lots of roasted grains , chocolate and some spicy notes .Slightly brettish with a bitter finish.Full body.Nice

4.0 bottle. Black colour with a tan head. Aroma is roasted, malt, oak. Flavour is harmonic, fruit, coffee, oak, wood, roasted malt, whiskey. Nice beer.

3.3 Bottle, 22oz. A black beer topped by a tan head of moderate size. Slightly milky and roasted nose, some chocolate and alcohol blending in. All too weak, but nice. The flavor is roasted, with chocolate, burnt notes and some alcohol. A little milky sourness too. Medium to full body, dry and slighlty warming. Nicely carbonated. The finish is of the lasting kind, roasted, chocolaty and slightly sour. And warming. A decent beer, but nothing I will miss drinking again. 100409

3.3 Middle stout rather than an imperial In a word, dry. The pour was a gusher, although not handled much in several months. Most was fortunately saved, and it poured mollasses substantially in foam form. Much roastiness. Initially a bit of sweet, anise, though dryness took over and dominated. Drinkable but a pint is much.Thanks Presario.

3.4 WARNING: THIS BEER EXPLODED ON ME - KEEP WITH CARE!!! Deep pitch black coloured body with a thick brown head. Aroma of roasted malt, coffee, oak (of course), vanilla and a crap load of burnt sugars. Full-bodied; Deep roasty flavours throughout with tons of vanilla and pitted fruits, coupled with a lot of spices including licorice and aniseed. Aftertaste is very potent with alcohol and coffee most noticeable with a bit of oak and vanilla noticeable as well. Overall, a good beer - but the exploding bottle really didn’t settle well with me. Luckily my wife and I weren’t near the bottle - just heard it blast. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased earlier in the week (on 23 June 2010) from Brown Jug in Anchorage, Alaska, sampled at home with the remnants of the broken bottle - luckily there was some, on 30 June 2010 at home in Washington. This might have exploded because the yeast and sediment really got mixed around and ’activated’ due to the long flights from Anchorage to Washington [DC], but let this be a warning to people cellaring this, as it will probably happen again!

3.9 Bottle thanks to bvc a long time ago. Pour is almost black with a medium brown head. Aroma is roasted malt; lots of dark fruity notes of fig, pomegranate, and plums; light wood; and faint bourbon. Really has some distant funky notes akin to a sour or lambic. These aromas are quite faint and only come through later, but they are present in the finish of the flavor. Also in the flavor are notes of roasted malt, light bourbon, wood, and a light dark fruitiness. I cannot really put my finger on that unique tart/ sour flavor. It is certainly present, but it is subtle and hard to ID. Body could have been fuller, but that is my only real complaint. I really liked this beer and had no trouble at all finishing a bomber by myself..

4.0 Enormous head, quintupled its volume in foam. Aroma was floral and sweet with very toasty and fruity notes. Flavor was very richly sweet and malty, with a chocolatey, velvety mouthfeel and diverting into a sharply bitter finish like straight cocoa powder. Obnoxious to pour but more delicious than expected. I think this is underrated.