Singlecut Barrel Aged Heavy Boots of Lead

Last week, I had a whole election night beer tasting blog planned out and was going to post it Wednesday morning. Then I took one look at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. and felt it would easily get lost in everyone's election reactions. Now that things are starting to slightly cool down, social media seems like a kinder, gentler place to be. I felt it was time to return with a big beer. By chance I happened to walk into one of my favorite bottle shops and stumble upon a bottle of Singlecut Beersmiths Barrel Aged Heavy Boots of Lead. I unfortunately did not have the base beer to compare it to, as I drank that back in March. I remembered it being quite enjoyable and I looked forward to seeing what a year's worth of aging would do for it. I also liked the idea of infusing the barrel with whiskey-marinated maple syrup. All in all this sounded like a really interesting beer. So I popped the top and poured the rich, dense black liquid into a glass. I watched the thick brown head almost crest over the top of the glass. I tried to contain my excitement but I had a feeling that with 16.9 fluid ounces and an 11% ABV I was going to be in for quite an experience.

The aroma of Singlecut Beersmiths Barrel Aged Heavy Boots of Lead was surprisingly sweeter than I expected. I got a lot of rich chocolate, roasted notes and vanilla up front. There were also hints of oak and whiskey but I couldn't seem to find the maple. The first sip of Barrel Aged Heavy Boots of Lead blew me away. I got a bit of everything. It was roasty, full of chocolate, with vanilla up front. I swear I thought I got a bunch of maple too before a dry, spicy oak finish. At this point, I wanted to drop everything and go grab another bottle before they were gone. However, my gut told me to put a pin in that idea. Pro wrestling and football were about to start. More importantly I needed to see how this big stout warmed up.

As Barrel Aged Heavy Boots of Lead began to warm, the flavors dramatically changed. The maple sweetness I thought I got was gone. Sadly, the chocolate & vanilla sweetness I enjoyed so much in those first sips, also seemed like a distant memory. What I did get was a lot of roasted malt up front, a bit of smoke and a whole lot of oak tannins in the finish. It became a very dry, oak-dominated beer the longer I waited to take the next sip. Normally I love a huge barrel presence in an imperial stout, but it did not work for me here. I fully understand this beer could be a bit polarizing. I could see many beer drinkers thinking this was fantastic. I am not in that group. It was a solid beer but not what I'd hoped it would be. When a beer emphasizes the addition of whiskey-infused maple syrup and does not deliver on that, it's disappointing. Perhaps buying another bottle to age would be interesting. I'm just nowhere near motivated to seek this out again.

Overall I would rate Singlecut Beersmiths Barrel Aged Heavy Boots of Lead a 3/5. This is probably the highest rating I have given to a beer I was not particularly crazy about. It's not a bad beer, it's just not as good as it could have been either.

Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional　

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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!