Pike Entire Wood Aged Stout

Brewed by Pike Pub & Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Seattle, Washington USA

This dark brown ale poured mostly foam, which began to seep from the bottle as soon as it was opened. There is a very pleasant chocolate and bourbon aroma. It was some before the head subsided enough to allow a taste, which consisted of unsweetened chocolate, vanilla, plum and a bit of alcohol. It’s a nice winter drink.

22oz bomber courtesy of WriterLJBerg poured into a tulip. Glad I perused the reviews on this one before opening as this one was a massive gusher, with a pour that produced a head bigger than the body of the beer. And it didn’t go anywhere for a while. The aroma is heavy with dark roasted malts and bakers chocolate. There are additional sweet smells, like licorice and dark fruits, and a surprisingly big wood character with hints of bourbon. The taste is dark roasted malts with hints of coffee and bakers chocolate. The finish is surprisingly dry and roasted with a heavy oak character that I wasn’t expecting. It leaves a lingering, almost metallic, bitterness that’s a little off-putting, but not a complete deal-breaker. The mouthfeel seems too light for an impy stout with the overdone carbonation probably contributing to that. I was worried this one might be infected when the carbonation blew up on me, but it seems to be a case of over-carbonation more than anything. It’s got decent flavor but the mouthfeel holds this one back from being a top stout. Good but not great.

Bottle. Nothing special here. An average stout. Barrel aging adds nothing. You can find a version of this beer at any local liquor store. Very average.

22 oz. bottle from Full Throttle Bottles. I don’t think my glass is very conducive to pouring a decent beer...damn. Nice chocolate head with a black body. Didn’t have a viscous pour, but still looks pretty good. Sharpy bourbon/whiskey aroma, with a wood backing. Not really much of a roast, chocolate, or coffee aroma. The bourbon, to me, just overrides everything else, but I like it. Wow, this beer is way too carbonated for an imperial stout. Doesn’t have that creamy smoothness. Not saying it doesn’t have a nice wood and bourbon flavor/aroma, but the friggin carbonation. There is some roast and chocolate going on in the flavor, but the carbonation and bourbon just cut right into it.

The pour came out a bit frothy, I tried pouring as slow as possible down the glass but this thing just wouldnt stop foaming. Eventually I ended up with a dark cola like liquid with a 2 inch head. Sticky, thick, and lots of lacing. The nose was oak, roast, vanilla, chocolate. The taste was the same with hints of some smoke at the end. I didn’t get any bourbon taste out of this though. Great stout from Pike. Cheers!

Bottle as shown. Pours a very dark brown almost black with a large tan head that lasts awhile leaving good sticky lacing along the glass. The aroma is a strong roast, oak and alcohol and dark fruit. Thin mouthfeel with a smokey wood flavor with a very smokey dry finish. Alcohol present but not too overpowering. A very good stout from Pike.

22 oz. bottle served in shaker- mispoured and ended up with one finger of a solid black liquid and a solid 4 inch foamy tanish brown head that refused to leave, hearty lacing. Medium carbonation, aroma of oak, vanilla, dark roasted malt, and majickal beer goodness. Hits the mouth with a hearty and heavy body, malt was masterfully roasted- damn near perfect, smoke, oak, and dark chocolate in the middle, finish has hearty lingering with vanilla, cream, and the warmth that comes from the color black. Very creamy throughout, and I can’t notice the alcohol level at all. Now get that finger up, wave it around... HOME RUN!!!

2008 bomber, aged about a year. Pours nearly black, dark cola-mahogany in hue. A small, frothy head of chocolate milk colored foam leaves sticky ribbons of lacing behind. The aroma shows a malt base of dark chocolate and burnt caramel, with notes of smoky molasses and hints of toffee. Vanilla comes through from the barrel, as does a sweet bourbony warmth. Flavors follow suit, quite sweet for a stout, loaded with molasses and caramel. The dry cocoa lends some earthiness, but the sweet oak and vanilla prove overly saccharine. Medium-full, sweet, and sticky, the light carbonation is nice, but it’s just too boozy and sugary. Good, but far from great.