I love me some stouts. Here is an opportunity to taste three imperial stouts from Elliott Bay Brewing on Wednesday, January 25, including a bourbon barrel-aged version of their 2010 stout. This tasting will be at their West Seattle brewery.

More info from Elliott Bay:

The days may finally be getting longer, but it is still that time of year where darkness rules Seattle.  So in honor of that, Elliott Bay Brewery and Pub presents an Ode to Darkness.  We have broken into our deep, dark cellar and pulled out a couple kegs from years past of our Imperial Stout.  We will be serving a sample tray of three versions of our Imperial Stout: ’11, ’10, and ’10 aged in a bourbon barrel.  These samples will be complemented by candied walnuts and chocolate covered cherries, all for $8.00.  The event starts at 4pm on Wednesday, Jan 25th, with a meet the brewers session starting at 5pm.

A little about the beers:
2011 Elliott Bay Imperial Stout: Imperial Stouts were originally brewed for exportation from England to the Imperial Court of Russia. To survive the long transportation in the days before refrigeration the beer was strong. Elliott Bay’s Imperial Stout was brewed to a high alcohol content (9+%) but kept a drier finish, yielding strong coffee and chocolate flavors and aromas, a silky texture from the use of oats, and a dry, coffee-like bitter finish. Significant amounts of hops were used to balance out the sweetness.

2010 Elliott Bay Imperial Stout: So what does age do to a beer? Hop oils breakdown, leaving a less bitter finish; Yeast continues to do its work, fermenting sugar into a little more alcohol; Probably most importantly, oxidation occurs and time mellows the edges from all that alcohol and hops, so the beer is smooth and well-rounded, showing more of the chocolate and coffee and less alcohol and bitterness.

2010 Elliott Bay Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout: Put an aged beer in a used bourbon barrel from the Heaven Hill Distillery and you get all the benefits of aging beer, plus the flavors and aromas developed during the whiskey’s time in the barrel. Vanilla, chocolate truffle, and oak flavors emerge, creating a wholly different experience: the smoothness and rich flavors of a well aged whiskey, without the alcohol bite…the best of the beer and whiskey worlds.