Beer Review: Batch 31 Barrel Aged Imperial Stout With Coffee

Reviewing the Batch 31 Barrel Aged Imperial Stout With Coffee from 8 Wired Brewing Company out of New Zealand. Imported by the Shelton Brothers.
Score: 92

According to the label, this beer was brewed 01/31/11, barreled 03/31/11, bottled 10/31/11 and best before 12/31/18. Served in a Duck Rabbit snifter and enjoyed on 08/12/12.

Appearance: Pours a pitch black color with a thin dark tan ring around the glass. Good lacing and average retention. 4/5

Smell: Sweet boozy raisin, burnt brown sugar, sweet chocolate, toffee, and a touch of cherry and molasses. A hint of roast upfront and light booziness too. The flavor components are nice, but they are not well incorporated. 3.5/5

Taste: This one tastes much better than it smells. Tons of oak flavor upfront followed by cocoa and cherry. A touch of roasted coffee too. Dark chocolate and bitter hot cocoa flavor on the midpalate. A little brown sugar flavor. The dark chocolate sticks through the finish and lingers. Real nice bittersweet flavor balance here, though the sweetness starts to outweigh the bitterness as the beer warms. Unlike the nose, the beer is not boozy in flavor. Incredible drinkable; you would never guess this is 11.0% ABV from the taste. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel: Full bodied, low carbonation. Syrupy mouthfeel. Bittersweet, leaning slightly sweet. 4.5/5

Overall: Too many beers smell better than they taste, but this one gets it right by tasting better than it smells. Batch 31 is a bit pricey for what it is, but I would buy another bottle to try again with a little age on it. Nice job New Zealand!

Recommendation: Drink this one slightly chilled; seek it out if you can.

Pairings: Ribeye.

Cost: $15.99 for a 500 ml bottle.