Year of New Beer: The Event Horizon Spectrum 2, Olde Hickory Brewery (NC)

Written By: Dion on 01/01/2017

Kicking off year #6 in my quest to have a new beer every single day. Brewed with cocoa and orange, then aged in bourbon barrels, this decadent imperial stout may have just set the bar impossibly high for the remainder of the year. The nose starts off as raw brownie batter laced with a generous bourbon kick. As the chill fades from the glass, orange peel begins to appear, integrated nicely into the charred malts. On the tongue, the cocoa powder bitterness that hits initially melts into a milky sweet chocolate, surrounded by bourbon and oak. It's the orange, however, that really begins to shine as this comes up in temperature. Short, quick inhalations from the snifter followed by rapid, small sips reveal straight, fresh-squeezed orange juice on the taste buds. It's the weirdest thing...totally subtle if you just take a drink, but in-your-face OJ if you breathe in those aromas beforehand. Everything just blends remarkably well with the chocolate and bourbon. This is easily one of the best executions of raw ingredients to intended finished product that I've ever tasted. Huge(!!!)  2017, you better bring it, the gauntlet has been thrown.