Indeed Rum King Review

Name: Indeed Rum King
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.5%
IBUs: 70

I remember a few years back when Surly Darkness was the first Minnesota beer that developed a strong enough following to the point where people would camp outside the brewery itself or be put on the waiting list at liquor stores just to get a bottle of the stuff. Even though Darkness is still a big deal, the new Imperial Stout to have a huge following has been passed to Indeed Brewing's Rum King, which is an Imperial Stout aged in Rum Barrels.

For the past 2 years, I have missed out on getting this. The first time in 2014 was because Indeed wasn't readily available in Duluth at that point and the second time last year was because I was working at the time and unable to reserve or find any by the time I got off. This year is different because I actually managed to secure a four-pack for myself, I'm guessing people are willing to pay more for a 4-pack of cans as opposed to a single 750ml bottle; Who would've guessed?

Appearance - Pitch black with no visible carbonation. The head takes on a very foamy brown color tons of lacing left along the sides of the glass.

Aroma - Rich chocolate malts with some vanilla and rum raisin notes, along with some oak and roasted barley. I'm also picking up on some fairly strong bitter hop notes as well.

Taste - Bitter hops and roastiness upfront followed by some vanilla, rum raisin, and oak notes towards the middle...which is followed up by some more bitter hops, toffee and dark chocolate malt sweetness. The back end of the palate is made up mostly of roasted barley and light cherry sweetness. As for the aftertaste, it's more vanilla and oak notes with a slight bitter hoppiness.

It's got a complex flavor and it goes down smooth to cap things off. In short, this is one of the best Imperial Stouts to come out of Minnesota since Darkness first burst onto the scene 10 years ago. Now as much as I loved this, my favorite barrel aged Imperial Stout still belongs to Central Waters but this one comes pretty damned close in terms of quality.

With that said, those who are wondering whether or not to purchase it, my answer to you is still a resounding yes and the fact it's aged in Rum barrels as opposed to bourbon barrels give it a nice twist, that which alone makes this worth trying out.

Indeed Rum King - 9.5/10