Iced Imperial Eclipse Stout - FiftyFifty Brewing Co.

aasher

Indiana

4.18/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle courtesy of BrewerB, shared with the Charlotte crew. Thanks Brian!

This one pours a full bodied midnight black with a slight off white lacing around the glass. The nose is rich and syrupy. It is sweet and malty with dark roasted malt, molasses, honey, and light whiskey. The flavors too, sweet and rich. There is a load of melted sweet and dark chocolates, honeycomb, molasses, choclate and covered raisins. Luckily this one is full bodied, and thicker than most Eclipses. It is big and rich with nice, well rounded flavors. I was very pleased as.was the tasting group.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2012 03:14:25 | More by aasher

HopHead84

California

4.3/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

7/6/2012 and 4/13/2013

Bottle shared by Jason and a bottle from Chris. Thanks!

A: Brown bordering on black with dark red highlights. Small head quickly fades.

S: Cocoa and vanilla. Touch of smoke with strong molasses, anise, and licorice notes. Some booze. Bourbon and oak are faint. A touch of cinnamon, kind of Mexican chocolatesque.

T: Big licorice and roasted notes with a firm anise presence. Light bourbon. Dark chocolate. Strong licorice finish. Mellowed out in 9 months (cold stored though).

M: Full body with medium carbonation. Sticky with warming.

Overall: This second bottle was a lot better than the one I had in 2012. Very nice.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2013 16:27:14 | More by HopHead84

jbuddle

New York

3.75/5  rDev -11.1%

03-19-2013 14:07:03 | More by jbuddle

mendvicdog

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +0.7%

03-10-2013 17:01:59 | More by mendvicdog

oline73

Maryland

3.85/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from the bottle into a tasting snifter.

This beer pours a dark mahogany color with almost no head. The smell is rather sweet with a mild bourbon note. I'm also getting dark chocolate and some dark fruit. I didn't think the taste was particularly special. I would have liked to have more barrel show up here. Sweet roasted malt teams up with the bourbon and some dark fruit. I would say it was pleasant, but not particularly special. The finish is roasty and still a bit sweet. There wasn't much carbonation in this beer. Definitely wish there was more barrel in the taste, but I still enjoyed it and it was a treat to try.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 04:08:50 | More by oline73

duceswild

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +0.7%

03-09-2013 20:54:05 | More by duceswild

smokeypeat

Maryland

4/5  rDev -5.2%

03-09-2013 17:16:04 | More by smokeypeat

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

3.79/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Thanks to Chance for sharing!

The beer is dark brown with very minimal head. The aroma has a big oak presence, even tannic. Roast and chocolate. While the increased abv is well hidden, the beer really runs together with most of the rest of the beers in the series. Bourbon presence is certainly the, but not as bold as I was hoping. Slightly sweet. A bit bland. Low carbonation, almost still. Highly anticipated, this was exciting to try, but not among my favorites of the series.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2013 01:12:30 | More by Huhzubendah

Azrael

3.75/5  rDev -11.1%

01-25-2013 06:23:16 | More by Azrael

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -11.1%

01-16-2013 15:37:44 | More by Thorpe429

spycow

Illinois

4/5  rDev -5.2%

01-12-2013 06:46:56 | More by spycow

westcoastbeerlvr

California

4.25/5  rDev +0.7%

01-09-2013 00:23:14 | More by westcoastbeerlvr

SpeedwayJim

New York

3.85/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Brought this to a tasting 12/8. 5oz pour into a Bruery snifter. Reviewed from notes.

Pours a rich mocha head with little retention. Pitch black color with spotty and sparse lace but thick, oily legs. Luscious.

Nose is fudge, mocha, chocolate, molasses with some light booze overtones. Very robust, aromatic, and deep.

Opens roasted malt bitterness combined with chocolate, fudge, cocoa powder and molasses sweetness. Dark coffee towards the middle and end. Mounds of smoke. Roasted malt in the finish and aftertaste. Decent, but definitely not even close to the best of the bunch.

Medium bodied with low carbonation. Oily and slick in the mouth and surprisingly a bit thin. Messy finish with a lingering aftertaste. A bit abrasive in the carbonation also. Still decent but a bit of a letdown.

Given the rarity of this bottle and the fact that it was given out as a gift to Eclipse Release party attendees, I'm a little disappointed by this one. Body is surprisingly thin and the icing just really didn't impart a whole lot into this beer. Still solid but definitely not worth the hype.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 23:07:57 | More by SpeedwayJim

AgentZero

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +0.7%

12-28-2012 22:34:20 | More by AgentZero

UCLABrewN84

California

4.1/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Tieman for sharing this one at mrbubbler's "end of the world" tasting.

2011 vintage.

Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, vanilla, wood, and alcohol. Taste is much the same with an alcohol kick and a mild roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is tasty but pretty strong.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 05:18:55 | More by UCLABrewN84

HaveUSeenMyCellar

California

4.25/5  rDev +0.7%

12-15-2012 06:48:58 | More by HaveUSeenMyCellar

GrumpyOldTroll

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -5.2%

12-11-2012 03:23:16 | More by GrumpyOldTroll

thagr81us

South Carolina

4.45/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks goes out to aasher for sharing this one during the One Year Anniversary of My Wreck Tasting! Bottle #195 of 209? Served from bottle into a Crooked Stave ‘Crooked Line’ tulip. Poured pitch black with a minimal tan head. Maintained nice lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of roasted malt, sweet malt, dark chocolate, dark fruit, caramel, vanilla, wood, sweet alcohol, and raisin. The flavor was of sweet malt, dark fruit, vanilla, wood, sweet alcohol, caramel, and raisin. It had a medium feel on the palate with medium-high carbonation. Overall this was a fairly great brew. The complexity on this brew was nothing short of mind-blowing if I’m honest. There was so much going on upon inspection in both the nose and flavor that I never knew what I was going to get next. What I did know was that it was going to be enjoyable. There was no bite from the alcohol at all as it more blended in with all the other things going on. A really well done brew that I’m happy I got the opportunity to try. Thanks for this one Al!

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2012 11:56:28 | More by thagr81us

MrVonzipper

California

4.5/5  rDev +6.6%

11-11-2012 11:03:24 | More by MrVonzipper

Arbitrator

California

4.03/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Chilled bottle into a glass. I got this at the Eclipse 2011 party.

A: Pours pitch black with a tan head.

S: Even if you hadn't told me this involved Elijah Craig 18 Eclipse, I'd be able to guess it from the nose. It has the sweet chocolate-brownie and licorice aromas of Totality, amped up to a level that supports notes of coconut, caramel, oak, and vanilla. If you ever complained that the base beer didn't shine through enough in other Eclipse variations, you will be happier with this one.

T: If anything, this is more Iced Totality than Iced Eclipse. The base beer lends milk chocolate (brownie), licorice, and mild roast to the experience. The EC 18 Eclipse brings its signature bourbon-coconut-vanilla melange to the flavor profile. The result is a nice mixture, though the barrels are almost an afterthought.

M: Smooth in texture with a medium-plus body. Carbonation is on the lower end of medium. No booziness; even some EC 18s I've had have been a little boozy, so for something to be higher in ABV than those and yet smoother on the palate is impressive.

O: I was hoping this would be heavier, but that's just my expectation (and not necessarily a reasonable one). I wonder why they didn't go for 100% iced EC 18 Eclipse instead of the blend that they chose. It might be interesting to barrel age iced Totality instead of doing it all after the fact. Good beer, but I thought my better bottles of EC 18 Eclipse exceeded this by a fair margin.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2012 01:48:17 | More by Arbitrator

leschkie

California

4.5/5  rDev +6.6%

10-08-2012 14:40:03 | More by leschkie

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev -5.2%

09-26-2012 22:28:45 | More by t0rin0

Rempo

Indiana

4/5  rDev -5.2%

09-24-2012 00:57:34 | More by Rempo

illidurit

California

4.23/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle shared at Woodshop 7 at Beachwood BBQ in Long Beach during Ratebeer Summer Gathering 2012. Deathly black with a dark-tan head. Strong and sweet with plenty of chocolate and a blatant honey note in the middle. Finish is actually rather dry and bitter.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2012 07:23:59 | More by illidurit

SpdKilz

Illinois

4/5  rDev -5.2%

08-25-2012 02:26:26 | More by SpdKilz