Year of New Beer: Country Boy IX: Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, Country Boy Brewing (Georgetown)

Written By: Dion on 02/16/2021

So for the last week or so, my Facebook memories have made it abundantly clear that we are missing out on yet another awesome event. We should be in the middle of week two of Country Boy's 9th birthday celebration. Awesome beers, unbelievable growth, and too many memories to count. I don't know what the revised schedule looks like, but at some point this week, Mother Nature is going to relent, and when she does, this beer will hopefully be your reward. Building on a completely new base beer, this is a barrel aged beast. The nose is filled with dark chocolate and heavy char. Warmth brings on bourbon notes featuring caramel, oak, and hints of vanilla. It takes a certain body...a "thickness", to elevate a barrel aged stout to the next level. This is, in a word, viscous. Rich, milky chocolate seemingly melts atop layers of burnt sugar and dark fruits. The charred malts offer up an earthy bitterness along the middle, transitioning nicely to the velvety, warming bourbon that seems content in the background to start, but tightens its grip toward the finish. Perfectly balanced between sweet, bitter, and bourbon. This checks all the boxes to become a yearly release that everyone looks forward to and gets excited about. Outstanding. Many thanks to the Country Boy crew for giving me an early taste. Don't miss this.