King in the North Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout

Another entry in their series of beers co-branded with HBO’s epic Game of Thrones, King in the North Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout comes from Brewery Ommegang. Brewed in honour of fan favourite character Jon Snow, this ale is a member of Ommegang’s “Royal Reserve Collection”. The beer is an 11% alcohol pugilist sold in frosted 750mL bottles. According to the copy, it’s aged at least six months in bourbon barrels.

Unsurprisingly, KitN has oodles of boozy sweetness, woody aromatics, and roasty malt notes. A definite slow-sipper, KitN is powerfully sweet and impressively strong. The flavour is rich and roasty, malt-forward, and woody as hell. It has a syrup-thick mouthfeel, but it narrowly dodged the threat of cloyingness.

I don’t think I’ll ever fully embrace the capitalistic combo of synergy and opportunism that comes with branded beers. However, I did love Game of Thrones and Brewery Ommegang rarely disappoints, so if ever there was a combo to pull it off, this might be it. KitN is a big, sweet, strong, and tasty beer. It’s close to too sweet, but the boozy, woody, malt-bomb gets the job done.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Boulevard Whiskey Barrel Stout

Kansas City, Missouri is home to the Boulevard Brewing Co. and their enormous 11.8% alcohol Whiskey Barrel Stout. Sold in 355mL bottles, just one WBS is a pretty fair start to a long night. The beer supplements its boozy heft with 32 IBUs as well—not particularly bitter, but certainly not timid.

Boulevard’s WBS is, as the name gives away, a barrel-aged imperial stout. It’s a black ale with a thin, short-lived wisp of tan head. It has a sweet, woody nose built around a molasses foundation. The flavour is packed with wood sweetness, chocolatey malt, and a boozy backdraft. Through it all, the beer has a thick. languid mouthfeel.

Boulevard’s Whiskey Barrel Stout is a take no prisoners ale with loads of flavour and even more booze. A quality after dinner beer, this is stuff best tacked on a full stomach. If you like your stouts sweet, thick, and woody, this is your brew.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

The Patriarchy-The Father

Like its lower alcohol progeny, the 8.5% alcohol, 45 IBU brew known as The Father comes in wax-capped 650mL bombers. From Parsons Brewing Company in Picton, Prince Edward County, Ontario, this edition of the Devil’s Right Hand Stout series weighs In at a hefty 8.5% alcohol. 

Barrel-aged in bourbon (Woodford Reserve) and rye (Jack Daniels Rye—note to self: investigate JD Rye) casks, The Father has a thick and sticky licorice nose, mellowed with some woody aromatics. The flavour combines cocoa, espresso, licorice, vanilla, and a warm and boozy finish to create a formidable offering. Not too sweet (a regular failing of wood-aged beers)not too bitter, this beer had caramelized brown sugar notes and bitter coffee notes in moderation. 

A black beer nestled under a durable tan head, this beer looks exactly like a stout should, and tastes big: it’s both flavourful and strong. I drank The Father while I waited for a particularly exquisite steak to grill (thanks for taking my money Cumbrae’s—it was more than worth it), and by the time my cow was pink, I was salivating to a grotesque degree. This beer was a huge, indispensable part of the late lunch, and I am richer (actually fatter and poorer) for having enjoyed it. It’s late June, but I’m willing to gamble that this will be the best stout I have in 2018—prove me wrong, world!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.

Woodrunner Barrel Aged Stout

Imaginatively, the Kingsville Brewery is located in Kingsville, Ontario—a place that I totally knew existed before I bought a 473mL can of Woodrunner Barrel Aged Stout. Emblazoned with the motto “Pour ceux qui errent” ("for those who wander"), the brew is a 6.7% alcohol job.

Woodrunner has a hefty nose that tends toward molasses, with malt and a boozy/woody notes. The beer is sweet, initially, with some sugary coffee notes. Complimenting these are oaky notes and a finish that has bit of espresso bitterness.

Excellent strength, with a pretty nice if over-sweet flavour, and a nice finish, Woodrunner is a very decent beer, but more than good enough to have me interested in Kingsville Brewery’s offerings. Also, I’m kinda pumped to see a barrel aged stout as the first commercially available beer for a local brewery—take that pale ale!

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.