My latest article for The Bulletin was published last Thursday (or Wednesday online), in which I write about Frontier Justice Coffee Stout from Three Creeks Brewing. Apropos of that article, I’d also received a selection of beers from head brewer Jeff Cornett, including the rum-barrel aged version of Frontier Justice, Immortal Justice. I included a shorter note about Immortal Justice in the article itself, but I’m including my bonus review notes (and photo) below.

First Frontier Justice; from the article:

Stout and coffee are a natural pairing, with each offering up complementary flavors and aromas, and breweries have been crafting coffee-infused stouts for years. Brewers employ different methods of incorporating coffee into the brew, from conditioning with whole beans to adding cold brew or concentrate.

For Frontier Justice, the base beer is an imperial stout, and Three Creeks partners with Sisters Coffee Company each year for the coffee addition. According to the description, there are four pounds of Sumatra dark roast coffee per barrel. I reached out to the brewery for more information.

“Sisters Coffee Company does a special dark roast on approximately 40 pounds of Sumatra beans and then makes a double strength cold brew,” said head brewer Jeff Cornett via email. “Which equates to about 12 gallons of cold brew coffee for our 10 barrel batches at the pub. We add it into the brite/conditioning stage before carbing (adding carbonation) and then serving.”

Originally called Bulletproof Coffee Stout, the recipe has remained unchanged for nearly a decade, brewed with 10 different malts and Cascade hops. It has 8% alcohol by volume and 55 IBUs.

You can read the full review at the Bulletin link.

So let’s talk about Immortal Justice!

It’s an amped-up, rum barrel-aged version of Frontier Justice, which replaces the usual rye whiskey barrel-aged version this year. Here’s the brewery’s description:

This amazing brew represents an epic Caskmates project – three years in the making! Oak barrels, previously containing our Frontier Justice Coffee Stout, were sent to our friends at Immortal Spirits Distillery in Medford, OR to age some of their incredible rum for one year. After bottling, they sent the rum barrels back to us, where they were refilled with our stout and aged for 2 more years, then blended with cold brew from Sisters Coffee. Enough said…you’ll just have to test the results of this big, bold, boozy, rich and roasty, Imperial Coffee Stout for yourself!

It’s 11% ABV and 23 IBUs and yes, Cornett provided me a crowler of it to drink since it’s only available on draft. It was a slow sipping day!

Appearance: Thick black and opaque, with a lusciously creamy thick brown head, almost like a whipped cappuccino topping.

Smell: Rich and complex, with molasses, dark chocolate syrup, Turkish coffee; smells like liquid chocolate dessert—a dark chocolate liqueur. Espresso, cocoa, warming alcohol note with a hint of oak.

Taste: Layer cake of dark chocolate, coffee, sweet dark rum, vanilla, homemade chocolate syrup (the kind you’d make from cocoa), mocha, coffee liqueur with a touch of boozy heat. Super rich and complex, the rum brings a sweet oaky note, and it’s just like a really good boozy coffee.

Mouthfeel: Full-bodied and nicely thick with lingering oaky-sweet chocolate on the palate.

Overall: This is a really good beer, a great example of spirit barrel aging and one of the best Three Creeks beers I’ve had.