Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin Stout

FoBAB. Lots of people were talking this one up so I had to try it. Pour is pretty much black with a thin tan head. Aroma is bourbon, sweet cream, chocolate, and a light fruitiness. The mouthfeel hurt this one for me as it was rather thin for such a rich looking beer. Very easy to drink though. Flavors were pretty standard bourbon, vanilla, chocolate malt, and light wood. Not a bad beer, just wish it had a fuller body.

FoBAB tasting. 2nd beer of the event. A dark nearly black stout with some head. Smells of sweet malts dominate this beer. Taste is roasty, creamy chocolate, wood and wiskey. Didn’t balance too well but was still a good beer.

Tap at PP C’Bad. Pours dark brown with a nice, frothy, light brown head, specks of lace. Smells light and roasty, chocolatey and malty sweet. Tastes sweet and roasty malty and chocolatey. Smooth and sweet. Body is perfect, super smooth and velvetty, good carbonation.

Tap at Toronado SD. An odd aroma of malt and chocolate that made me think of a Scotch Ale. The flavor bore this out, with only mild coffee notes, an odd bean flavor and a very short finish. They advertised this as barrel aged. WHAT?! Maybe a formica barrel that merely had a bottle of merlot stored in it...

On tap @ Hamilton’s: Dark in appearance with little sign of foam heading. My nose had a difficult time sniffing out any key characteristics so the rating is adlibbed. The flavor was a sweet and dark combination of malt and chocolate with added oats that I simply summarized in one word "rich".

On tap @ Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens 01.06.09. ABV listed as 5.5%. Near black, flat dense low brown head. Rich roasty aroma, along with coffee and oats. Creamy mouthfeel, medium-bodied, flavours of rich roast, coffee, with nuances of prunes, whiskey, and charred wood. I really liked this one!

Oh man I hope that guy from Toronado doesn’t read this. So I was there the other day discussing beers with a friend and this one came up, at which point the guy jumped in and said something like, "You have to get the Velvet Merkin! It’s great! If you don’t like it I’ll have to kick your ass." So I ordered it and tried it and was less than impressed. Nose of coffee, chocolate, roasted malts, and bourbon. Flavor of bourbon. Lots of it. Also some roasted malt, dark fruit, vanilla, and mocha. But mostly bourbon. If I wanted that much bourbon, I would have ordered bourbon. It just didn’t go great with the rest of the flavors. It wasn’t terrible overall, but it was definitely a little off. So the next time I set foot in Toronado, I expect that guy to have read this review and to be there waiting to give me my well-deserved beatdown. Have mercy, Merkin Guy.

Barrel Aged Version, on tap at the Neighborhood: Good looking pour, big frothy head. Roasty nose with a bit of stale chocolate and milky essence. Watery Mouthfeel...lots of vanilla flavors, but almost in a fake tasting way. It tries to be creamy but it ends up feeling a bit curdled. Crisp guiness-like dryness in the end. Overall, way too thin on the palate.