Skeleton Key
(has 5 batches)
Bellwoods Brewery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦
Stout - Pastry / Flavoured - Imperial Regular|
Score
7.68
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A Bellwoods take on spiced rum, this imperial stout was aged for a year in rum barrels with a melange of ginger, all spice, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, and juniper berries. What has emerged is a refined, smooth, warming, and lethally delicious spiced stout that’ll induce sharp pangs of nostalgia long after your final bottle is empty. And though it’s our highest alcohol beer to date, you’ll find the beauty is in the balance.
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6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Cotteridge 2 tasting. Black beer lasting tan head. Mint chocolate chip ice cream . It’s a bit too much soy chocolate. Too much mint fades. OK dark chocolate
Tried
on 05 Mar 2016
at 09:10
7/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
(tap) clear very drk brown with a small brown head; aroma of stewed fruit, balanced flavour with a long light bitter finish
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Feb 2016
at 16:47
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
[1/30/16] Bottle sample at the Encomium bottle share, after RateBeer Best awards ceremony at Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel in Santa Rosa. Thanks everyone who shared bottles! black with a tan head. Toast, spice, wood, some fruitiness. Sweet, bitter finish. Full-bodied.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Feb 2016
at 18:45
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
2017-04-18, Oxford tasting, bottle, vintage 2016, 8-4-8-4-16=40
Dark brown color, oily and with no head. Wonderful aroma, rum, chocolate, tar. Oily mouthfeel, tar, chocolate, with rum boozyness.
Interesting.
2015-07-29, tasting at Matt's, bottle 1629/2100, 8-4-7-3-15=37
Jet black color, frothy small brown head. Very nice aroma, strong, a bit phenolic, raisins, rye bread, malt, a bit of alcohol, luscious (8.5). The strong alcohol helps to cut the thickness, it's lean, it has a bit too much liquorice, moderately sweet, a bit spicy in the middle, and boozy in the finish.
The aroma was inviting, but it ends being quite messy.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 Dec 2015
at 19:12
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Lots of roast and a touch of peat. Barrel subtle and well balanced. Pours black with good mocha head. Some booze. Thick and slightly syrupy consistency. Bitter sweet finish with some rum. A touch of spice. Tap at brewpub.
Tried
from Draft
on 24 Oct 2015
at 15:56
8.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
500mL bottle, sent from wilco (thanks a lot, Mike), pours jet black with a small tan head. Aroma brings out loads of rum, prominent spiciness and roast. Flavour is about as decadent as can be, with loads of rum, spices and roast. So impeccably well-balanced. Rich, decadent and surprisingly easy to drink for being 13%. Phenomenal.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 Jul 2015
at 12:48
8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of light rum notes with some spicy notes including cinnamon. Taste is also a smooth mix between some lightly roasted malt notes with some cinnamon notes with some rum notes clearly identifiable. Body is full with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Very well balanced between the base beer, the spices and the barrel aging notes which really round off any rough edges on this beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Jan 2015
at 15:05
8.1/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle thanks to Sammy. Pours black tan head. Nose/taste of cinnamon, rum, oak, roast chocolate, milk chocolate, molasses, brown sugar, nutmeg and vanilla. Full bodied. A touch hot.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Dec 2014
at 17:23
8.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
(500ml bottle from the brewery) Pours inky black with basically no head to speak of, a few stray off white bubbles. Aroma has really rich deep dark malts, a bit of burnt wood, a little coffee, dates, cardamom, anise, hint of ginger, other blended spice notes, black pepper when I inhale really deeply, vanilla/oak, rum notes present but far from overpowering, acting in support of spice and malt to give a dark spiced rum feel without the spirit booziness. Just a bit of alcohol in the nose. On the palate, intense rich flavors again. Core is dark malts with a fairly strong burnt roast, concentrated flavours of dates, prunes and other dark dried fruit lend sweetness, dark chocolate, balanced flavors of rum with its caramel, oak, vanilla, fruitiness and spice, anise, cinnamon and black pepper prickles the tongue on the finish. Chocolate, strong coffee and roast on the finish as well, a bit of alcohol warmth as expected. Medium full palate with fairly soft carb. Really enjoyed the integration of spices and barrel to create a rum-like imperial stout without just loading it with rum spirit heat. Deft brewing. Layers of complexity, still balanced for the ABV, very sippable, superb beer from Bellwoods, or anywhere. (For comparison, I had it on draft at the brewpub the next day and it was a bit more obviously boozy, with stronger raisin/date character and less pepper, still great).
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Nov 2014
at 20:35
8.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9.5
Bouteille 500ml, 1631/2100, gracieuseté de wilco. Thanks Mike! Couleur noir abyssal , mousse lait au chocolat crémeuse mais fuyante laissant une dentelle éparse. Arôme de lait au chocolat, épices, boisé, rhum, malt torréfié, cardamome. Goût de malt torréfié, sucré, boisé, chaleur d’alcool, épices surtout en fin de bouche. Carbonatation faible, corps dense. Les épices sont très bien intégrées et ne sont pas trop présentes, l’alcool est quant à lui presque indétectable. Un autre chef-d’œuvre de Bellwoods!
Tried
on 20 Nov 2014
at 05:15