So there I was at Dragoncon. They had beer at Dragoncon, but I couldn’t tell you which ones. I wasn’t there to drink beer, I was there to have fun with my son looking at costumes, watching the parade, and browsing through the vendor booths. Time was when I would come home with an assortment of geeky goodies (shirts, toys, props, books, comics, etc.). Today, though, I was coming up dry except for a Star Wars book signed by the author (Kevin J Anderson) that my son bought for me.

And then I saw it. Something I just had to have, and for only $20! It was a steal, and I grabbed my prize which was a….wait for it….drum roll please….here we go….beer mug! Yes indeed, I told you I wasn’t here for the beer, but somehow it all comes back to beer anyway. So OK, it wasn’t really a beer mug, and yet it was. It was shaped like a very large beer mug with the crest of the Galactic Empire from Star Wars boldly emblazoned across the front.

The thought occurred….what a great mug indeed from which to drink imperial stout!

As it happened, I had just got a box of beer, too, from legendary beer drinker and pizza proprietor Dale Roberts, and so I would christen my new mug with a 19.2 ounce can of Upslope Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, Volume 3 in the brewery’s Lee Hill Series of specialty beers.

Upslope says of this beer on their website:

The Lee Hill Series Volume 3 Barrel Aged Imperial Stout was brewed to be aged in Leopold Bros. Maryland Rye Whiskey barrels. With copious amounts of Maris Otter malted barley and three distinct roasted grains this stout provides a chocolate, coffee and nuanced dark fruit flavor that fuses excellently with the unique character of the oak barrels.

Upslope Barrel Aged Imperial Stout has an alcohol content of 10% by volume with 51 IBUs. My can was packaged on 1/15/2015 and I drank it on September 7^th, so almost 8 months of age it. I do love my imperial stouts with some age on them.

Upslope Barrel Aged Imperial Stout Lee Hill Series Volume 3 pours to a jet black color with a medium sized creamy tan head of foam and a luscious licorice and bourbon nose. Taking a sip, the beer is a bit thinner in body than I expected but it does not lack for flavor: All Sorts licorice, peppery hops, soft boozy bourbon notes, hints of chocolate and coffee and spicy rye. Finishes warm and boozy though not as much as I anticipated.

This beer is delicious, complex and substantial, a stout on which you could build an empire. If that’s your plan, come see me. I know the glass you’re looking for.

Home