Over 3 years since I drank this and it’s held up very well. Carbonation has increased, naturally. The head is lively and effervescent with rasping tan bubbles that soon disappear. Aromas of cough medicine and waves of smoke-like co2 ooze out of the bottle. Lots of the generic stout-like flavours have either disappeared or are lurking in the background. Prominence belongs to the barrel. Mellowed peaty, medicinal and smokey whisky flavours dominate. Earthy and metallic notes come next with bitter roastiness pulling up the rear. It’s a great beer, it’s rather unique. It’s very peaty!

This is getting a big score cos it’s such a fun beer! Certain elements could be improved but all in all for a small batch Homebrew breaking out in to the commercial world, this is a great beer. Raspberry takes centre stage in a great way, milk chocolate comes a close second. There’s a slight creaminess and a hint of tart acidity. The carbonation which was excessive on first opening dissipates and helps the drinkability, as does the medium body. It’s effortlessly drinkable.

Oh what a beer! A handmade tiny one-off brew, from a garage in Midlothian, Scotland. Brewed with copious amounts of chocolate malts, this mild mannered animal was forced into a Kelvin Cooperage bourbon barrel with only a few vanilla pods for company. Barrel-aged and placed into individually numbered wax sealed bottles, this is bottle 42 of 182! Straight up dark berry fruitiness, dark chocolates and a hint of roasty bitterness hit you from the start. Aromas of tonka subside and evidently become vanilla. Well carbonated with a head that stays true and lasts longer than my dad’s hard-on, this beer has plenty going for it. Bourbon characteristics come through with subtle vanilla and caramel notes, but I think the carbonation may have put paid to more depth. Smooth as hell there’s no hint of booziness. Kill the carbonation a little and you’ve got yourself a top beer! All in all, a solid home brewed beer that has great potential. I wish Logan all the best in his future endeavours as he makes his way from hobby to commercial brewing, he deserves it! 👍

A home brewed imperial oyster stout barrel aged in Islay whisky cask. A very unique beer with great body and mouthfeel, almost chewy. Carbonation cuts through nicely though. Aromas of peat and smoke flood from the bottle, it’s not a beer for the faint hearted that’s for sure. The peat, smoke and oysters combine to give a metallic medicinal flavour to the beer. It dominates and overpowers other flavours however there is complexity, it’s just well hidden. Cinder toffee, chocolate, liquorice and lots of roastiness all sit comfortably in the background. There’s a nice warm booziness that rounds the beer off perfectly. This beer doesn’t hold back. It’s bold and in your face, and delivers layers of flavours. It lacks the balance that a big beer like this needs but then it was brewed by a guy in his garage, I’m certainly not complaining! Hints of a dry fruitiness do provide an offset to all the earthy peat. The oysters probably provide for this too, which shouldn’t be underestimated.

Aromas of mocha and toffee. Flavours are mellow and balanced. Roastiness is there but is kept in check, hints of chocolate and a slight sweetness. Clean and relatively crisp, this beer drinks very well indeed. So far I haven’t paid for this beer but it’s definitely worth a few quid! Schwarzbier has to be one of the most underrated beer styles, especially here in the UK. Their drinkability is second to none!