Barrel Project: Happy Finish 2024 - Eaux De Vie Prune
Mad Scientist in Budapest, Capital City of Budapest, Hungary 🇭🇺
Stout - Imperial Series Out of Production|
Score
7.18
|
|
MAD SCIENTIST BARREL PROJECT
Port Wine And Plum Liquor Double Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
CELLAR MASTER NOTES
In this bottle, you can find the beautiful harmony of port wine and dried plum brandy
We came back fifth time with this series in series concept, the Happy Finish, where we double barrel age nasty imperial stouts, finishing them in particularly interesting barrels, in this case, french dried plum brandy, which spoke for itself immediately at the first sniff. Rich fruitiness, deep dried flavours, backboning chocolate and some berries from the port barrel. Altogether 2 and a half years of wood maturing had a deep impact indeed. Not only on the beer but also on us!
Port Wine And Plum Liquor Double Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
CELLAR MASTER NOTES
In this bottle, you can find the beautiful harmony of port wine and dried plum brandy
We came back fifth time with this series in series concept, the Happy Finish, where we double barrel age nasty imperial stouts, finishing them in particularly interesting barrels, in this case, french dried plum brandy, which spoke for itself immediately at the first sniff. Rich fruitiness, deep dried flavours, backboning chocolate and some berries from the port barrel. Altogether 2 and a half years of wood maturing had a deep impact indeed. Not only on the beer but also on us!
Sign up to add a tick or review
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7.5
Texture 8
Overall 8
Imperial stout by this trusted Hungarian craft brewery - one of many barrel aged variants, this time (i.e. two years ago) on eau de vie barrels, something I do not recall ever having encountered before (but who knows). Shared by Martijn on Proevertjesdag, cheers! Thin and open, pale yellow beige, tiny-bubbled ring of foam on a black robe with burgundy edge. Aroma of dark chocolate, eau de vie or perhaps more its cruder Eastern European cousin slivovitz (which I do not have particularly fond memories of, to be honest), ground hazelnuts, cappuccino, burnt blackcurrants, charred toast, clove, black pepper, treacle, nutmeg. Dried prunes and burnt currants falling off a cake in the onset - sweetish, but not as sweet as many other contemporary strong stouts, with slight notes of sourishness and umami here and there - too weak to fully describe them though. Softish carb, full to somewhat viscous mouthfeel, almost syrupy - with layers of bitter black chocolate, toast and treacle, while this dried plum aspect lingers, probably because it also comes from the eau de vie (French mirabelle plum brandy). Hints of leafy bittering hops, roasted coffeeish bitterness and treacle linger while the alcohol becomes a bit peppery, warming the throat and depositing a flavour I again associate more with slivovitz than with true eau de vie. I do not get any of the port effects the description above mentions, though. Solid and well structured, somewhat oldskool in not wanting to be overly sweet like so many - especially American - imperial stouts today, but I still maintain slight reservations whether eau de vie is the best liquor to barrel age this stout in.
Tried
on 25 Jul 2026
at 23:43
8.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8.5
Flavor 8.5
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
19th October 2025
Bottle, a very expensive one from the Nitrox pub in old Kotor. Opaque dark brown with a decent dark tan head. Smooth and slightly viscous palate with good superfine carbonation. Fluffy but rich dark malts, a good balance of dark and milk chocolate, mebbe around 70:30. Spot of earthy coffee. Lovely barrelling, some oak induced vanilla. The plum brandy and port barrels are in good balance (and balance seems to be a key feature of this brewery). Soft rich plum, some soft rich date and prune. Just a touch of red berries. Can't see any specifics on the labelling but, I am guessing this is a tawny port barrel. A light touch of savoury wood. It all comes together into a splendid coherence of a finish. These mad Hungarians know how to brew and they really really know how to balance.
Bottle, a very expensive one from the Nitrox pub in old Kotor. Opaque dark brown with a decent dark tan head. Smooth and slightly viscous palate with good superfine carbonation. Fluffy but rich dark malts, a good balance of dark and milk chocolate, mebbe around 70:30. Spot of earthy coffee. Lovely barrelling, some oak induced vanilla. The plum brandy and port barrels are in good balance (and balance seems to be a key feature of this brewery). Soft rich plum, some soft rich date and prune. Just a touch of red berries. Can't see any specifics on the labelling but, I am guessing this is a tawny port barrel. A light touch of savoury wood. It all comes together into a splendid coherence of a finish. These mad Hungarians know how to brew and they really really know how to balance.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Oct 2025
at 13:54