Imperial Eclipse Stout - Elijah Craig (12 Year) - FiftyFifty Brewing Co.

brewskifan55

Mississippi

4.53/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a snifter. 1029/2011 labeled. Thanks, cvm4!

A: Blackish brown, no head, some bubbles. Light lacing.

S: Bourbon strong. Dark fruits chimed in as well.

T: So smooth and sweet. Bourbon dominates with a nice backing of chocolate. Goes down easy. Even better as it warms. Alcohol is well hidden.

M: Medium Not much carbonation. But with a taste like this, who cares?

O: One of the best imperial stouts I've had. A celebratory sipper. Well done, fiftyfifty! Superior.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2013 16:59:03 | More by brewskifan55

mendonza

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -16.1%

06-19-2013 16:33:33 | More by mendonza

Rudy

California

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%

06-18-2013 09:12:12 | More by Rudy

Hanzo

Virginia

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

06-17-2013 06:37:55 | More by Hanzo

LambicKing

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%

06-17-2013 01:01:35 | More by LambicKing

anhigdon

Kentucky

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

06-16-2013 04:21:23 | More by anhigdon

KWMiles

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev -4.9%

06-14-2013 13:00:21 | More by KWMiles

CuddleZombie6

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -16.1%

06-11-2013 16:29:06 | More by CuddleZombie6

Hopbully

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -21.7%

06-11-2013 05:19:28 | More by Hopbully

GraduatedCashew

California

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%

06-10-2013 23:59:27 | More by GraduatedCashew

biggied

California

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%

06-10-2013 22:47:21 | More by biggied

Topher78

California

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

06-10-2013 16:53:45 | More by Topher78

atoulouk

Indiana

4.25/5  rDev -4.9%

06-10-2013 14:42:38 | More by atoulouk

jarrgal

North Dakota

4.5/5  rDev +0.7%

06-10-2013 03:28:02 | More by jarrgal

Roger85

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -4.9%

06-10-2013 02:13:47 | More by Roger85

Boilerfood

Indiana

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

06-09-2013 20:24:20 | More by Boilerfood

theminutemen

Missouri

4.25/5  rDev -4.9%

06-08-2013 22:22:49 | More by theminutemen

Brad007

Vermont

4.44/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

Pours a shade of charcoal with a huge brown head into my glass. Takes a while to settle, leaving a ton of lacing on the sides.

Bourbon, tobacco and cocoa come through on the nose. Obviously, age has mellowed the bourbon presence.

Cocoa, tobacco and dark fruits dominate the taste upfront with a faded bourbon note. Again, very mellow, almost too mellow for me. I find myself searching for more flavors but can't seem to find anything else.

Mouthfeel gets creamy towards the back with a lingering cocoa presence. A bit of searching brings up the tobacco/dark fruit flavors. Clean, creamy finish.

A marvelous imperial stout. Was it worth $26.99? Honestly, I've had better examples for half that price or even less. Still, if you're into aging imperial stouts for a very long time, this is a good investment. I bought this bottle back in December of 2012 and it's been in the fridge since. I do want to try the other varieties available. If you're a fan of imperial stouts and want something different, check this out.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2013 14:40:01 | More by Brad007

Bluecane

North Carolina

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

06-08-2013 02:55:58 | More by Bluecane

HoppyLuckyGoGo

California

4.25/5  rDev -4.9%

06-06-2013 18:36:21 | More by HoppyLuckyGoGo

Matthewpakula

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

06-06-2013 18:04:12 | More by Matthewpakula

allied713

California

4.25/5  rDev -4.9%

06-04-2013 18:28:57 | More by allied713

myersk27

Indiana

4/5  rDev -10.5%

06-04-2013 15:57:53 | More by myersk27

Dope

Massachusetts

4.31/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Bottle 2964 of the 2011 batch.

A: Pours a pitch black with a large, dense medium brown head. Head fades slowly, leaving nice solid walls of lacing behind. Great head retention too.

S: Wonderful sweet bourbon aroma with lots of caramel, brown sugar and vanilla. Toasted sugar too. Chocolate from the roasted malt melds in nicely. Maybe even hints of coconut from the barrels? Sweet and rich smelling. Wonderful.

T: Oh yeah, really nice bourbon up front. Sweet and heavy caramel and toffee and even some molasses it seems. Lots of charred oak in there too. Heavy on the dark chocolate, kinda fudgy in a way. Chocolate turns a bit bitter in the finish with some oak from the barrels and a little burnt sugars to boot. Lingering oak in the aftertaste with just a little alcohol burn between sips.

M: Nice medium-heavy bodied. Smooth and thick.

O: One of the nicer Eclipse variants. This one is a bit heavy on the wood with lots of charred oak. I'll have to try this one fresh sometime, I wonder if the bourbon has faded a bit - this is definitely the oldest eclipse I've had (at least 18 months old now I'm guessing). Strong in the aroma but not as strong as some of the fresher variants I've had. Hard to say. Still quite good, don't get me wrong but it makes me wonder.

Serving type: bottle

06-04-2013 04:14:08 | More by Dope

blkcld

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -10.5%

06-03-2013 22:34:17 | More by blkcld