Bottle from the release day. Nice pour into a cantillion glass. Nice and well rounded. Notes of dark bark, oak and molasses. A bit of cola taste but doesn't distract like others do that are cola forward. The barrel is mostly noticeable on the back end.

Bottle thanks to Nick. Pours a dark brown with small beige head that lasts. The aroma is wood, cocoa, vanilla, roast. Medium body, milk chocolate, vanilla bean, roast, boozy finish, very good.

2014 version (at Beer Junction)... Raven-cola body with ring of chocolate. Puissant, in-your-face coconut rum and chocolate nose. Vanilla bourbon notes soon unfurl as well and soon seem to dominate. On the palate, this one is decadently rich--a marriage of Black Forest chocolate cake with coconut, vanilla, and bourbon notes.Thoroughly, unwaveringly rich and boozy. A delicious dessert beer, but would be overwhelming in quantities any larger than a few ounces.

Draft at AK BW fest 2016. Jet black color, thick tan head. Aroma of light licorice and coffee. Taste is burnt espreso. Light body.

Draft at Chuck’s CD. Jet black pour, smallish but dense tan head. Nose and flavor hold enormous bourbon heat and vanilla sweetness, cinnamon, plum, anise, mocha, and brandy. Boozy, hot, and somehow completely delicious. Maybe just my mood; it’s overdone on the barrel, but it tastes damn good. Likely would be incredible with 6 months on it. Technically unbalanced so hard to rate well numerically, but this stuff is nuts. Big boy beer.

Draft at sb. Well now, this is just rad. Pours jet black with a dense and creamy dark tan head that lasts a bit. Huge bourbony nose, a little too much apricot and vanilla and sticky, but not way too much. Sticky thick goopy body with sluggish carb. Roasty swert chocolatey malt base under an avalanche of bourbon. Forceful and dimensional, but coherent...just barely. Sweet and heavy. Long roasty chocolatey apricotty finish.

Poured from draught into a goblet today. A: Milk chocolate, bourbon, woodiness, cocoa, raisin, and dark fruit. A: Tan ring of foam with swirls. Midnight black body with a little red in the glass. T: Milk chocolate, cocoa, dark fruit, bourbon, toasted coconut, and maybe a rye spicy finish dominate. Woodiness is subtle. P: On the syrupy side, but not too much like BCBS. Some light bubbles on the end. O: Everything is very well balanced in this one. There must be some rye in this because it does have a spicy zip at the end. It works nicely to balance the sweetness.

2015 version on tap @ Black Raven, listed as 11.7% here. Pours deep brownish black with very thin dark mocha head. Aroma is charred dark chocolate malt, heavy coffee, soy sauce, licorice, oak, and a bit of bourbon. Taste is similar - big chocolate notes throughout, lots of soy sauce and umami flavors. Super rich, obviously, but lighter mouthfeel than expected. Bourbon is there too, but not dominant like BCBS or Fremont KDS. More neutral oak comes out. Adds some real depth to regular Grandfather Raven, which is hard enough to find - never even seen this around. Definitely worth trying if you come across.

Tap@ gABBF 2015. Black body with tan head.  Dry wood, bourbon, dark chocolate aromas. Medium body.  Wet wood, bourbon, semi sweet chocolate flavors ----good

Probably the best beer at GABBF 2015. Pours a pure black color with a wispy brown head. A big bourbon and roast nose. Huge dry roast base, licorice, massive bourbon, vanilla, but the beer manages to be roasty and dry with cocoa. Dark fruit. Excellent. Damn awesome.