Mother Earth Brewing- Silent Night: Merry X-Mas 2 Me

As some of you may know I had a chance to get out to North Carolina this past August and aside from having a great vacation with my family, I had (what I consider) a L.A.M.  L.A.M. you ask??  Life altering moment is what I am referencing.  I had a chance to escape the family for a few hours and visit Mother Earth Brewing in Kinston, NC.  You can read the details in the write up I did a few months back but I had an absolute blast and head brewer, Josh Brewer (yeah, I know his last name is Brewer, how fitting) was a great host and I had fun hanging with him and learning about Mother Earth Brewing.  What was most interesting is that Josh & I are the same age and grew up about 35 miles from each other in the Western suburbs of Chicago.  A couple of months later I had a chance to bump into him again at the Great American Beer Festival and shoot the shit as well as get to meet Trent and Stephen.  Yes, this is going somewhere…a few months back I saw a post about barrel aging some stout on Mother Earth’s Facebook page.  Initially I glanced over it not thinking anything of it until a few weeks later I see this amazing picture of what the label was going to look like for this finely crafted concoction.  It was to be their winter seasonal; a bourbon barrel aged Imperial Stout by the name of Silent Night.  The label is of an image of snow covered pine trees with a starry night lurking above, the addition of a shale outdoor fireplace warmly lit with a single rocking chair standing guard.  Hell, even if you don’t like beer, the artwork on the label is gallery worthy.  As I gazed upon this imagery I realized that I had to get my hands on some, 1) because Mother Earth makes great beer and 2) I love me some stouts!  Luckily for me I was able to acquire a bottle from Josh, for which he had to do some arm twisting to seal the deal.  A few days later my Silent Night arrived and despite wanting to pour myself a glass and get after it I decided to save the bottle to share with some close friends.

Mother Earth Brewing classifies this brew as an Imperial Stout and their website describes Silent Night as, “Invite friends, stoke the fire, and uncork a bottle of indulgence. Silent Night offers a coffee aroma and the taste of an exceptionally rich malty flavor. Robust yet smooth and black as coal, each sip is a delightful gift. Old man winter gave you just what you were hoping for.”  Josh states, “Embellished with a hint of coffee and a touch of molasses, you’ll enjoy a bold, yet delightfully smooth brew. I pronounce this Barrel Aged Imperial Stout a sipper."

Silent Night pours a dark chocolate color with a chocolate chip cookie brown head. The aroma was a big chocolate hug with hints of bourbon, roasted malts, slight vanilla and a faint raisin/plum smell.

Once everyone arrived at Finnegan’s for the tasting I proceeded to ask Dale if we could pour the Silent Night first, as I wanted to make sure that I got to enjoy it on a clean palate.  He obliged, I poured about 6 ounces into an 8 ounce snifter glass and passed the rest around for all to enjoy as a beer this good should be shared and not hoarded (not to mention I don’t believe very many bottles made it out of North Carolina).  The aroma from this black beauty was as inviting as a warm winter fire.  Silent Night’s flavor was equally as warm and inviting with a both complex and balanced combination that was chocolate in nature but matched with dark roasted malts and hints of bourbon and fruit.  At 9.0% ABV, there is no hint of alcohol in the flavor and only a slight warming as it goes down.  One of my biggest beefs with bourbon barrel aged beers is that often times the flavor is dominated with the taste of bourbon.  Silent Night is the opposite of this as the barrel aging lends a complimentary note to the flavor instead of taking away from it.  I am so glad that I got to try this wonderful brew, Silent Night was exactly what I wanted for Christmas and I will make sure that however it has to happen, I will get more than 1 bottle in 2011.

ABV: 9.0%

Consumed: 8oz Snifter Glass

Verdict: Buy a Case