Beer Advent Calendar Day 24- Bristol Beer Factory Imperial Stout Aged In Glenlivet Whisky Casks

Good evening all. Christmas Eve is finally upon us, with only a few hours until the start of the big day. In these circumstances, and because I've been staring at them since I received the delivery at the start of the holiday, I've chosen one of the two cask-aged stouts from the "12 Stouts of Christmas" series brewed by the Bristol Beer Factory. Tonight's choice is their Imperial Stout, aged for 6 months in Glenlivet Casks. What a beer for the penultimate advent calendar post!

This stout comes in at 10.7% ABV, making it a great after-dinner stout to mull over the events of the day with. Shame I haven't had dinner yet and I've only been awake for 4 hours! I opted to serve this beer in a Teku glass to fully appreciate the flavours and aromas from the volatiles supplied by the whisky cask ageing. The beer pours a deep black with a very small, chestnut-brown head that dissolves relatively quickly. The aroma is rich and complex, with lots of roasted malt and chocolate initially present, followed by some sweeter caramel notes. This beer almost smells like a scotch ale, but with a noticeable whisky kick in the background. The taste doesn't disappoint either- plenty of roasted malt flavour accompanied by a caramelised sweetness from the whisky. The finish is very reminiscent of candy floss, quite bittersweet. Despite the high alcohol content the mouthfeel is surprisingly light, with virtually no carbonation. Overall, I would describe this beer as a scotch ale masquerading as an imperial stout, which is certainly not a bad thing when executed so magnificently as this! Highly recommended and very warming for the colder yuletide moments.

Tomorrow evening, the last advent calendar post of 2011 and an alternative Christmas message. Until next time....