From Strange Fellows Brewing Company in East Vancouver comes their “Boris Russian Imperial Stout” the 2017 Vintage aged in Woodford Reserve Barrels if my memory serves me right.  The beer pours a jet black with a chocolate brown head.  The aroma consists of roasty malts, ash, leather, anise, chocolate, treacle, toffee and sweetness.  The flavour is of roasted malts, burnt coffee, ash, earth, leather, anise, vanilla, oak, bourbon, treacle, chocolate, brown sugar, peat, dark fruits and an alcohol burn probably coming from the bourbon.  The alcohol content comes in at 10.3% with an IBU of 80.  This has always been a really good brew but this years edition with some tweaks and a new barrel is amazingly balanced and flavourful.

Commercial Description:  Swift & silent, Owl glides through the dark, his screech believed to portend death & misfortune. Some revere him as a messenger of the spirit world, an oracle of secret knowledge. Inspired by Owl’s omniscience this rich, barrel-aged stout penetrates the inky darkness of the soul, illuminating unseen truths.  First brewed for the Russian Czar Peter the Great this beer style is as rich in history as it is in character. A huge roast barley & dark chocolate flavour give this 9% stout & assertive backbone. Suggestions of dark & dried fruits add complexity & peat smoked barley lends a scotch like nose.

Food Pairing as per brewery:  Dessert, rich & smokey meats