Big Blue Stacks
The Bruery in Placentia, California, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Pastry / Flavoured - Imperial Rotating|
Score
7.59
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When it comes to Black Tuesday, we go BIG. We took the fan-favorite Blueberry Pancake variant from our 2019 Black Tuesday Box, double-stacked the ooey-gooey goodness, and doubled the barrel aging to make this towering treat. Big Blue Stacks developed through consecutive aging in two different bourbon barrels for even bigger and bolder character, and was then treated with heaps of blueberries and a generous helping of maple syrup. After all, the only thing better than a short stack is a big ol’ double barrel-aged stack.
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Alengrin (11675) reviewed Big Blue Stacks from The Bruery 1 year ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Fruit stouts have been a thing for longer than one would think, though always somewhat in the sidelines, so I get curious each time I encounter one – they tend to tilt either to the sour side or to the desserty sweet side so it is always a surprise what it will be. This is The Bruery’s interpretation of a blueberry stout, super strong, enhanced by barrel ageing and enriched with maple syrup – thanks to Martijn for sharing at Proevertjesdag in Oudenburg. Off-white, waferthin, open head dissolving under the influence of the alcohol, over a jet black robe. Intense nose of toffee, blueberry crumble and blueberry jam, bourbon, fruit paste-filled ‘pralines’, chocolate ganache and chocolate crisps, raisin bread, maple syrup indeed, vanilla (oak), background hints of cinnamon, lavender and cola. Densely sweet, candied onset, candied dates, evidently clear blueberry but in a coulis-like way and lacking the soft spicy and tangy accents I usually get with fresh blueberries, though some acidity is retained; the maple syrup, however, floods everything with a sticky, sugary sweetness. Moderately carbonated with very full, oily body, layers of dark chocolate, toffee, cashew nut paste and raisinbread carrying this sweet-and-softly-sourish blueberry effect to a dense, boozy finish, with dark chocolate lingering but only softly so in bitterness – though a touch of (latté) coffee is certainly present; oaky vanilla and very gentle tannins only support the dark chocolateyness, while the maple syrup and blueberry coulis flavours remain very dominant and even sticky-sweet. Needless to say, everything is heated by warming bourbon, supporting the sweetness. I wonder why this creation needed to be close to 20% ABV – but I had the same question with Black Tuesday, this brewery’s famed stout, on which this one is probably based; I assume they see the beery equivalent of fortified wines in this kind of superstrong stouts, which for me is rather unnecessary. That said, it cannot be reasonably denied that their creations are ‘awesome’ – excusez le mot, mr. Webb – more often than not and things like this do impress with their intensity paired with elegance. Having a sip of this is like consuming the liquid form of a blueberry paste- and liqueur-filled Belgian chocolate of a high quality level, and I cannot deny that part of me is fascinated by these highly desserty, boozy yet sophisticated and complex, satiating brews. This is fruit stout taken to another dimension – a bold endeavour, but a successful one as far as I am concerned; had it been a tad less cloying, it would have received quite a formidable score from me.
tderoeck (22946) reviewed Big Blue Stacks from The Bruery 1 year ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
7/XII/24 - 75cl bottle @ the Big Bottles Tasting / Proevertjesdag (Oudenburg), BB: n/a, 2021 vintage (2024-1267) Thanks to Martijn for sharing the bottle!
Clear dark brown to black beer, no head. Aroma: oh my, that’s lovely! Lots and lots of blueberry jam, a bit of a sugary impression, earthy, very nice stuff. MF: ok carbon, medium to full body. Taste: a bit sugary, very nice, lots of alcohol, chocolate notes, more sugary, blueberry jam, lots of it. Aftertaste: earthy, sugary, caramel, alcohol, blueberry jam, gentle roast, sugary, pretty sweet but nice stuff!
Iznogud (14911) reviewed Big Blue Stacks from The Bruery 4 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
Bottle, 750 ml shared with Max, Miro B and Zec at my 10k tasting. Black with beige head. Lots of chocolate, maty, bourbon, maple, lots of blueberries, specially in aromas. Sweet. Juicy. Warming. Tad boozy, less than expected for such over the top behemoth. Nicely done.