Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout Rye Barrel-aged - Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

jegross2

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Reviewing the Rye Barrel-Aged Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout from the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company. Thank you Derek for giving me the chance to sample this hard-to-find brew!
Score: 93

Aged one year in rye whiskey barrels. Bottled 8/26/11. Served in a taster glass and enjoyed on 05/11/12. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: It's dark here and beer is black. There is a thin layer of what I think is tan-colored head atop the beer initially. 4/5

Smell: Rollo candy, rye and sweet chocolate. A little smokiness and some caramel too. 4/5

Taste: Tastes just like it smells, but with a stronger and layering smokey rye peppery kick on the midpalate that really lingers in the aftertaste. Very balanced. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus bodied and low carbonation. There is a nice "rye kick" on the tongue. Creamy mouthfeel. 4.5/5

Overall: A delicious improvement over a solid base beer. I liked the bourbon and rye barrel-aged Big Eddy's equally much, and if they were regularly released I would certainly buy them both. Kudos to Leiney's for an excellent foray into the craft beer market.

Recommendation: This beer's first release was incredibly limited, but I'd recommend trying to hunt down a bottle to try.

Pairings: Pastrami sandwich.

Cost: Unknown.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2012 17:34:13 | More by jegross2

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.08/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout Rye Barrel-Aged. Dark and complex with 11 malts and grains balanced by three different and distinct hops. Aged for a year in a Rye Whiskey Barrel from Heaven Hill Distilleries. Batch # 341, Brewed 8/26/10, bottled 8/26/11, OG: 26 Plato, Alc./Vol. 12 %, IBU 59.

complete blackness, under a head of nothing, starts out small and disappears.

Aroma: big vanilla coming through before I lift the glass to my nose. Huge, vast vanilla. Big, ol' sweetness. Not a tremendous amount more than that. But for what it is, deep, complex and beautiful.

Now, to taste: more of the same on the tongue. Rich, malty, delicious. Here come a little heat, here comes the rye spice. A little bready, a little spicy. Not quite getting the whiskey feel I want in this, and the Imperial Stout below is very well smothered by the rye barrel aging.

I like this one, but not as much as the bourbon barrel aged version, which had so much more going on in it. This one hits a few notes and that's all she wrote.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2012 04:29:03 | More by feloniousmonk

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

From BeerAdvocate magazine Issue #60 (Jan 2012):

LOOK: Pitch black, thin lace

SMELL: Charcoal, booze, peppery, carob, nougat, chocolate covered cordial cherries, buckwheat honey

TASTE: Roasty, chocolate, charred wood, mild molasses, warming alcohol, espresso, black peppercorns, figgy, chicory, woody dryness, burnt raisins, roasty finish

Good things come in small packages. Aged for a year in Heaven Hill Rye Whiskey barrels, this one is smoother and more relaxed compared to the bourbon barrel-aged version; however, it shows more depth. Leinies proves that they can get crafty. Hopefully this isn’t just a one-off.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2012 17:53:22 | More by BeerAdvocate