“Lost in the frozen woods, you stumble upon a small, silent town blanketed in snow. It is eerily silent, with no sounds except the soft crunch of snow underfoot and the occasional groan of ice-laden roofs. An unnatural hush lies over the narrow streets. No smoke rises from any chimneys, no lights in the windows. The peculiar, hollow-eyed locals you encounter peer at you with suspicion. They speak in riddles, gesturing ominously for you to depart before melting into the shadows between buildings. As daylight fades, an unnatural chill permeates the icy air, and a terrifying transformation unfolds…”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Pours as black as midnight with a short and fizzy dark brown head which rapidly disappears. Zero retention equals zero lacing.

Aroma: Extremely rich but still unbelievably slick and opulent. Good depth and complexity too. We’re getting the Bourbon/oak, rich Stout notes and all but it’s the feature vanilla and nutty almond scents that are just edging out in front. It has this all-encompassing creamy sweetness that acts like icing on a delicious, Bourbon-y, charred cake. Impressive.

Flavour: Brilliant transition from the nose. All of the richness, all of the intense flavours, the high ABV, all of it is so nicely trimmed and tailored into this neat package and it’s truly magnificent how they’ve managed to do it. As it all progresses we taste every little flavour that makes it up – the rich Stout base of smooth dark chocolate and coffee, the Bourbon, oak, vanilla, roasted almonds. All the way through to the drawn out finish.

Mouthfeel: Dense, gelatinous and unbelievably smooth for its size (12.7% ABV). Low-ish Co2, full bodied.

Overall: It’s a perfect beer to throw in the mix as we’ve reviewed a couple of 50/50’s Eclipse Stouts recently. We’ve compared them to Deeds on both occasions and we believe that Deeds comes out on top. Which should come as a massive accolade for them. Superb.