Friday Night Pints is being postponed this week because I was out of town all week long and didn't really have a chance to try anything new and exciting. So, I went the other way and tried something old and trusted.
That’s right, a 2018 Fremont Barrel Aged Dark Star, complete with black wax. This has been stored in a basement for the last six years in optimal conditions. I opened up and found the oxygen-safe cap had worked to perfection as little bubbles showed on the inside. On some older barrel-aged stouts, you can get a little whiff of ammonia, and I got that here, but it was faint. The pour on this beer was perfect. It poured black as night with a thin, caramel-colored head and just enough bubbles to create a nice mouth feel.
On the nose was still plenty of oak, whiskey, bitter chocolate, and coffee with just a hint of vanilla and the aforementioned ammonia. The ammonia didn’t last long as it quickly vanished from my nostrils and thankfully never made it into the taste of the beer. The first sip was nice with warm oatmeal cookie, bitter chocolate, whiskey, and a nice bit of barrel. A perk of aging these beers is the lack of booze in the finished product. This 13% behemoth gave off no sign of alcohol in the aroma or flavor, making this version of Dark Star very drinkable (aka dangerous). Paired with a nice LCA Golden Locket Maduro and the view from our porch in the mountains of Utah created a very magical experience.
I would recommend opening any 2018s that you have in your cellar or, if you are so lucky, to find at the store, because I cannot imagine this beer getting any better. The flavors were still strong but rounded out and the booze had completely disappeared. The best part of this beer was a lack of floaties or bottle load, which tells me that it was filtered, but still aged nicely. I’ll be very excited to seek out other Fremont barrel-aged beers from around this period to see how they are holding up. For now, I would say open these ones up and enjoy them with a great cigar, a good friend, and an amazing view.