Boatrocker ‘Ryejet’ BA Imperial Stout

Rating:

“We are always looking at new treatments for what we consider a beer style that can have many different faces.  This time around, we chose Rye barrels from Dickel’s to give us a unique, yet delicious alternative to the bourbon barrel variants of Ramjet that people are familiar with.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Pitch black with a thumb of finely beaded brown foam forming on top. The head gradually recedes and leaves random blotches of lace on the glass.

Aroma: Not getting a great deal off it to be honest. It can be said already that rye whiskey barrels have far less penetration than their bourbon or straight whiskey counterparts do. Thing is we love rye malts and we love rye whiskey but we find when some brewers use these barrels they end up with a cat piss and or squashed ant scent that comes off like ammonia. Eventually some dark chocolate, coffee and roast comes through but it’s subtle.

Flavour: It’s improving here. The rye whiskey barrels emanate their true colours and produce that spicy, vanilla and bubblegum-like character they’re so well known for. At the same time the classic Boatrocker Impy Stout base emerges with dark chocolate, coffee, molasses, ash and licorice. It sets up for a nice melange of big roasty coffee notes and spicy rye that draws out well.

Mouthfeel: Dense and viscous. A little oily too. Full bodied and a fairly noticeable 10.6% ABV.

Overall: Not their best iteration of Ramjet but one that can be ticked off and possibly left alone as they keep moving forward.