January 27th, 2023. At Saint Arnold Brewing for their Barrel Aged night with Ryan. This is our 5th Brew of the evening. A modest 9.9%. Had this beer last year at home. Enjoyed it very much. Gave it a 5.0 then. I will stay with that.

This Saint Arnold (a great Houston brewery) beer was my very first Duo beer with my son-in-law in Texas, more than one year 4 months ago. This 2020 Bourbon Barrel French Press was before he even had a website. He's killing it now. Aged a year in a bourbon barrel and now two more years in a bottle, it's time for us to enjoy this brew. Another Duo experience. Pop the cap and get strong aroma direct from the bottle of ripe raisin and an abundance of alcohol. Expected dark color, short head that dissipates quickly, same as before. Aroma in the glass is even more intense with the dark fruit, raisin dominant, and the alcohol begins to show the bourbon barrel quality. First sip exclaims that this is special. Bourbon alcohol leads the flavors. Warm the mouth all the way to the stomach. This 9.9% alcohol is definitely incorrect. Rich, creamy, lightly roasted malt, semi-sweet dark dried raisin, expresso dark coffee, all incredibly well balanced. Finish brings a low level of bitterness, an expresso coffee type of bitterness. Never relents on the gentle but persistent alcohol warmth head to toe. This 2020 edition received a 4.6 a little over 16 months ago. Today, I can find no fault with this beer, it's wonderful. Wish we had bought more for the years to come. We pledge to do that in the future. As it is, we both agree this is a 5.0. Maybe we'll rate the 2021 edition soon.

Enjoying a DUO phone call with my son-in-law in Galveston Texas. Comparing a Texas beer he brought to me at New Year's. Using a sniffer glass, the first impression is strong bourbon combined with raisin. Has a opaque brown color, moderate head that dissipates quickly. Medium weight texture that is very soft and creamy. Get an immediate impact of bourbon alcohol that transforms into a robust roasted coffee. Finish starts with a bitter coffee then towards the end brings forth a milk chocolate that was unexpected this late. Surprising. Many of St Arnold's stouts are 12 and 13% and too strong and powerful for me to enjoy. Pulling this back to 9.9% I believe hits the mark perfectly.