“Now in its 12th vintage, 2019 Eclipse is our rich Imperial Stout aged to perfection in whiskey and spirit barrels. All Eclipse starts with the same base beer bringing hints of dark chocolate, espresso, and a smooth complexity, with each barrel treatment delivering its own unique character after a minimum of 180 days of aging. Baker’s (code BAK) is aged in select bourbon barrels.”

Appearance: Pitch black with a finger of brown foam resting atop. Fairly decent retention considering the lack of head. Healthy lace sticks as we go.

Aroma: Straight away we get Vegemite, molasses and a mix between Worcestershire and soy sauce. They quickly fade and the gorgeous bourbon oak comes to the party with its usual bag of tricks; vanilla, spice, toffee, coconut and caramel. Underneath is that marvellous impy stout base of dark chocolate, charred malts, coffee and campfire/burned wood. Holy moly, that is world class stuff.

Flavour: She comes on with all the aggression and indulgence one would expect from the style. Kinda warming upfront but it’s backed by the sharp bourbon and delicious woody oak, vanilla, spice and treacle. We love the way it progresses through…the dark chocolate, charred malts and coffee are passed the baton and take off running into the heavily roasted, bourbon-infused finish which lingers for a life time.

Mouthfeel: Thick beer soup…but with an added oily-ness and warmth from the 11.5% ABV. Low-ish Co2.

Overall: It’s enough to put hairs on your chest that’s for sure. She’s big and fiery but at the same time it’s totally moreish. It’s actually hard to decide which of the 2 is better – BKR or BAK?! They’re both magnificent beers. Decided.