Great Lakes Barrel-Aged Blackout Stout

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Cleveland, Ohio USA

2009 Bottle - Thanks inflatablehair! - Pours thick and dark with a small beige head...aroma is very sweet vanilla, almost buttery, but the oaky tannins and booze reel it back in, dark cocoa...taste is very similar, ashy bitterness and sweet dk fruit, wood, chocolate and nice whiskey notes...this was tasty...

650 ml bottle courtesy of RCL. Thanks. pours an opaque black color with a very small tan head that soon dissipates to a fine ring. The aroma is strong with bourbon. leather and some dark fruits. The flavor is similar to the aroma--bourbon whiskey dominates with earthy leather, raisins and prunes. The palate is full and smooth with very soft carbonation. The finish is long with lingering whiskey. Overall: A very solid BA stout.

Bottle shared by the crew at the amazing Imperial Stout tasting in Boise, Idaho 2010. Pours a dark brown color with a medium white head. A great aroma; oaky, lots of vanilla and sweet dark fruits. A similar aroma; a ton of character, oak and sludge, dark fruit, smooth toasted malts and ash. Nice. Very tasty. It stood out.

2008 Bottle shared by mspindler. Poured a dark blackish color with brown head. Aroma was coconut, chocolate, vanilla, perfume, bourbon. Taste was similar. Pallet was low yet sticky. Overall good.

Bottle shared at a Portland BA/RB tasting held at Bailey’s Taproom... Poured dark brown -- almost black -- with a thin head. Boozy, oaky, roasted nose. Pasty-like bread characters which created a nice sweetness. Cocoa, lots of malts and the alcohol tones were balanced and just nice.

22 oz. bottle from shawnm213- thanks, Shawn, I owe you big for this. Pours black with a tan head that doesn’t last long and leaves only a few bubbles around the edge of the beer. Aroma is heavy on the bourbon and wood, and my only gripe is that component of it drowns out some of the other notes, but vanilla, chocolate, molasses, coffee, and dark fruits are all present. The flavor improves upon that and while the bourbon, oak, and vanilla are at the forefront, they settle in and complement the notes of dark fruits, molasses, coffee, hops, brown sugar, and alcohol. Full-bodied, with an oily, smooth moutfheel and roasty, woody, boozy character. This was the final of 10 beers in a tasting I hosted, and it blew everyone away. Great stuff, and I want to get my hands on another and try it side-by-side with the regular Blackout Stout.

08 bottle. Pours coffee brown with a very small tan head. Aroma is chocolate and bourbon with some vanilla. Flavor is chocolate, roast, bourbon, and oaky vanilla. Full bodied, sticky, low carbonation.

Appearance: Poured a midnight brown with no head. Aroma: Coffee, roast, vanilla and toffee. Taste: Oak, bourbon, roast and chocolate. Mouthfeel: Full bodied, but no syrupy. Overall: Slightly more interesting that regular Blackout, but not a mind blowing barrel aged beer for me.