Charbay S Hop Flavored Whiskey Review [In Depth]
Charbay S Hop Flavored Whiskey Lot 2
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Charbay S Hop Flavored Whiskey Details
Distillery: Charbay
Type & Region: Hop flavored whiskey, California, USA
Alcohol: 49.5%
Composition: 100% malted barley
Aged: 50 months in French oak
Color: 1.2/2.0 on the color scale (chestnut, oloroso sherry)
Price: $110-130
From the company website:
In 2011 Marko became intrigued with the idea of distilling a whiskey from one of his favorite dark beers, Bear Republic’s Big Bear Black Stout (which they don’t make anymore). Made with over five different malts, Centennial and Cascade Hops, and at 8.1%, it sure had plenty to be curious about. If a distinctive flavor, far from the tried and true, makes you excited, this hopped whiskey distilled from Stout will be to your liking.
Charbay S Hop Flavored Whiskey overview
If you’re familiar with Charbay (like me), there’s a lot to learn about the distillery and this whole hop-flavored whiskey thing. There’s a lot to unpack with Charbay S Lot 2 whiskey, so buckle up.
But first, I’ll mention that the “S” in the name means Stout, meaning that this whiskey was distilled from a stout beer (yes really). More specifically, it was distilled from ready to drink Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout, which is no longer produced. Distilling ready to drink beer is a novel concept to me, on top of distilling a beer that no longer is made. Both are very interesting.
Honestly, I’m not going to spend much time re-hashing Charbay’s history. If you want more detail, the Charbay website already provides a lot of it here Here’s a history of the distillery and a timeline of the family and their involvement in making alcoholic beverages. It’s all interesting to read, so I recommend reading it if you can.
The short version is that the Karakasevic family has been in the alcohol business for a long time, and not just in the United States. Charbay as we know it was founded in the 1980’s, and distills a wide range of spirits. The focus of this review, and where my curiosity is, is with their single malt and hop flavored whiskeys.
And this is where a little learning clears up my misconceptions about this type of whiskey. Hop flavored whiskey makes me think of flavored vodka or some other flavored whiskey that feels…cheap and bad. I do not want to drink that type of stuff, not for me. In reality, it’s really just distilled beer that has been hopped, which is virtually all beers.
It’s also a close cousin to American single malt whiskey, but can’t be called that because of the hops. With that little bit of knowledge, my view of this completely changed. Now I’m stoked to try it. I like beer and I like whiskey, so seems like a good fit for me.
If you think about it, distilling beer makes sense. Beer is usually made with barley. Guess what, single malt Scotch / single malt whiskey is also made from barley. Beer and single malt both at one point were fermented barley mash.
For beer, the mash is hopped, and for single malt whiskey it is not. Peated maybe, but not hopped. Beer is consumed after brewing, but single malt whiskey must first be distilled and oak aged. You might even consider beer and single malt whiskey to be cousins too.
As a reminder, Charbay took beer, in this case the now discontinued Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout, and gave it whiskey’s fate, meaning that anything else that goes into beer, such as hops, is also included in the whiskey. It’s such a cool concept. And by the way, I love stouts.
Let’s find out what a distilled stout beer tastes like in this Charbay S lot 2 review.
This bottle was provided to me at no cost. All opinions are still my own.
As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
Charbay S Hop Flavored Whiskey smell
Charbay S Hop Flavored Whiskey has this dark yet bright fragrance that’s lychee, honey, hops, orange peel, toasted oak, cinnamon, a slight gumminess that may come from the hops, some darker and rounder peach, and grapefruit. It’s bright, vibrant, effervescent, and juicy with the toastediness and spiciness to complement everything else.
If you drink hoppy beer, then you’ll immediately notice that fragrant, bright, and tropical scent that comes from hops…although if you hate hoppy beer you may be immediately turned off by this. I enjoy hoppy beers, so this is familiar and enjoyable.
In some ways, the tropical and vibrant scents feel comparable to a rye whiskey or a bourbon cask aged single malt Scotch, although this doesn’t have the earthiness that often comes with rye. It’s also not quite as citrusy as bourbon cask-aged single malts tend to be.
So far, the scents have nice body and fragrance, but I would prefer a little more fullness. This smells so unique and good that I can’t help but keep smelling.
I get more of the same after swirling, but I do get a little more lemon custard / lemon cream and jasmine tea. Overall, Charbay S Whiskey has fragrant and interesting scents that could use a little more age and ABV to fill out the character and body.
Charbay S Hop Flavored Whiskey taste and aftertaste
I taste honey, lychee, candied grapefruit, vibrant and effervescent hops, toasted oak, clove, toasted malt, and some other toasty dryness and grassiness. The flavors start out bright and vibrant, then move to the toastiness and grassiness. The oak definitely is part of that, but it’s hard to say what the hops do because I’m so unfamiliar with it in whiskey. The hops don’t add any bitterness, just vibrant and tropical flavors.
Charbay S is interesting…in a good way. I’ve never had anything quite like it, and that keeps me intrigued and searching as I drink. The hops, while it sounds weird to be part of a whiskey, feels right at home and is a welcome addition. I just wish that it were fuller, maybe with a higher ABV, and a little more deep, which might come with more age.
But so far I do like where this is taking me.
With “chewing”, I taste lychee, candied grapefruit, honey, lightly bitter hops, toasted oak and malt, lemon custard, Jasmine tea, darker caramel sweetness, cinnamon, clove, coffee, and a little bit of earthiness. This really could pass for a rye whiskey, there’s a lot of overlap here. If you like rye whiskey, then I think there’s a good chance that you’d like this too. If you don’t…probably best to stay away.
The finish leaves a pleasant and effervescent sweet grapefruit and lychee, toasted oak, clove, and toasted malt.
Charbay S is flavorful, interesting, and varied, but there are some limitations to the flavors. I was hoping that “chewing” would unleash some amazing vibrance and pop, but it doesn’t do it. More of that would have pushed it to “Top Shelf” for sure, which might have come with more age in oak and/or higher ABV.
It’s such a unique and interesting whiskey, but at the same time “Top Shelf” doesn’t feel right to me.
I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too.
Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.
Charbay S Hop Flavored Whiskey Rating
I went through most of this review not realizing that this was distilled from a stout…no kidding because it doesn’t really smell or taste like it did. It’s neither good nor bad, it’s just such a wild discovery.
It’s interesting that even though this comes from a dense, heavy, and dark stout, the distilled version comes off so much more bright and vibrant. The dark sweetness, toastiness, and coffee-iness from the stout is not as obvious in the whiskified version. I think that the French oak aging overlaps with the stout beer. From experience, French oak adds a surprising amount of toastiness and spiciness, and I think it might mask the stout.
The website states that the profile has a “rich palate of coffee, chocolate and orange zest”, which is weird because I didn’t get much coffee or chocolate. Those were way in the back while I smelled and tasted more citrus, lychee, and chrysanthemum. Funny how tasting notes can vary between people.
Ok back to the rating. This is at the cusp of becoming a “Top Shelf” whiskey, and I’m bummed that I couldn’t quite get there. There’s a lot to enjoy though for sure, but I didn’t get enough of a surge or rush of flavor to get me there. I really think that upping the ABV to 52-54% would have made a meaningful difference in the experience: amp up and fill out the varied personality that already exists.
To be totally honest, now that I’ve reviewed this…I don’t think I would pay $110-130 for this. I definitely enjoy it a lot (Charbay, you can quote me on that) and I’m going to enjoy drinking the rest of it + sharing it with friends, but the value is definitely questionable. That doesn’t reflect in the rating, but it does in my language around recommending it.
Value is such a bad measure for this because making this whiskey was so dang expensive (hey…I need hundreds of gallons of your beer to make some whiskey). That stuff is expensive, so of course the whiskey is also expensive.
But dammit, I’m going to contradict myself (sort of). If you have the money and the burning desire to try something really unique and very good, this is a bottle to consider buying because I’ve never really had anything like it (in a good way).
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
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Shattered glass really sucks, so if you’re on the move, this Glencairn-like stainless steel snifter glass should survive your travels. Full transparency, this is an Amazon affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
BrüMate NOS’R, Double-Wall Stainless Steel Whiskey Nosing Glass – 7oz (Matte Black)
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