Anchorage Darkest Hour Stout

This is a Belgian-style Imperial Stout aged in French oak pinot noir barrels and rye whiskey barrels. It comes from theAnchorage Brewing Company of Anchorage, Alaska and is a whopping 13% ABV It is brewed with Summit hops. It is triple fermented. First with a Belgian yeast, then in the Pinot Noir and rye whiskey barrels. Finally, it ferments again in the bottle with a wine yeast.

The beer pours a dense black, a bit like used motor oil. There is a short head of brown foam, dark as brown sugar. The aroma is vinous, tart, a touch boozy, raisins, prunes, some dark roast, brown sugar, vanilla, light whiskey. The taste hits all the notes of the aromas, but adds in much more dark roast, adding notes of char. The tastes meld together quite well, and the flavor is more harmonious than the aroma which is a cacophony of differing notes.