At Saint Arnold, we strive to create balanced beers. This was a key initiative in the creation of Bishop's Barrel No. 14. Bourbon barrel aged Russian Imperial Stouts are expected to have big, bold, aggressive flavors of chocolate, bourbon, roast and booze. When developing the fifth version of this style in our barrel program, we wanted to explore the complexity of balancing these flavors, while going a bit further and adding a new element, coffee.



BB14 utilizes a cult favorite, the recipe used for Divine Reserve No. 5 and 15, as the base beer and takes it to the next level. It begins as a rich beer with chocolate, toffee and roast. We aged BB14 in Woodford Reserve bourbon barrels for eleven months, where it picked up notes of oak, vanilla, coconut and bourbon.



After this, we wanted to give it something more, so we partnered again with our friends at Java Pura to find a roast that complements the flavors. After several trials, we selected the Espresso blended roast. (This is the same coffee we used in our recent Icon Blue - Coffee Porter.) The completed blend with the coffee addition subdued the overwhelming alcohol heat that is typical of the Russian Imperial Stout and brought balance to a style that is usually defined by being unbalanced.



As we've stated previously with our Bishop's Barrel beers, we expect this one to age nicely. We've noticed, however, coffee flavors tend to fade over time. We suggest serving BB14 between 45 and 55° to allow for full aroma and flavor.



As with all Bishop's Barrel releases, bottles are available only at bars and restaurants. Keep up with the hashtag #BB14 on Twitter to find it in your area.