UPDATED: DEC 24, 2019 22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled in 5/2009. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and rocky light khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, apple, apricot, red grape, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, smoke, char, wood, herbal, grass, peppercorn, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Minimal booziness in the aromas as it warms. Damn nice aromas with great complexity, and balance of black/roast/bready malts, bourbon barrels, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with big strength. Taste of big raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, apple, apricot, red grape, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, smoke, char, wood, herbal, grass, peppercorn, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Light pine, smoke, char, wood, herbal, grass, peppercorn, smoke, charred bitterness; and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness after the finish. Lingering notes of light/dark fruits, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, bourbon, toasted oak, dark bread/crust, coconut, licorice, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, smoke, char, wood, herbal, grass, peppercorn, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of black/roast/bready malts, bourbon barrels, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great great hop/char bitter/sweet and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying/acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Very clean on lager flavors, not overly fruity/yeasty. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/char bitterness, and bourbon/oak spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/silky/bready/grainy, and fairly sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 8.5%, with minimal lingering booziness after the finish. Overall this is an excellent barrel aged schwarzbier style. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of black/roast/bready malts, bourbon barrels, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and easy to drink for the ABV, with the mellowly bitter/charred/tannic/drying finish. Great soft feel and lightly bitter/charred/tannic. Light residual sweetness with lingering charred/tannic dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and impressive style example. Aged really well for 11 years.

Notes from summer. Pours dark brown. Aroma and taste are toffee, roasted malts, and some vanilla.

Bottle. Color dark brown with small head. Aroma bourbon, wood, caramel. Taste sweet, bourbon, malt, caramel.

The beer is black with moderate nougat colored foam. It is a further development of the brewery Sustenance Black Beer, which was very popular in a very short time. The brewer got the idea to barrel age it 11 months in bourbon barrels and the result is a beautiful black beer that smells of oak, vanilla, bourbon and some smoke. The taste is weak bourbon with oak distinct flavor of fresh wood, a little acid and a little vanilla sweetness. Moreover schwarzbiers licorice flavor that is clear and long-lasting. It has a retracted hop bitterness that prolongs the aftertaste of licorice and vanilla in union.

Inviting bourbon nose, heavy bourbon flavor with a solid roasty base and vanilla on the back end.

Pours thick dark, unclear forest blackish brown with a light sandy colored head. Aroma brings huge sweet dark fruits, brown sugar, and smooth bourbon so complex and rich on the palate! Flavor is just as rich and complex with dark fruits, raisins, and smooth bourbon sugar on a rich but smooth balanced body!

Smell is sweet heavy bourbon, vanilla, and toffee. Taste is bourbon, malt, toffee, and caramel. In that order. Medium body, medium carbonation, and mild foam.

Pour on tap at Old Chicago, dark brownish black pour with tan head, aroma brought notes of big caramel, toffee, dark chocolate, roasted malt, dark fruits come in to a bit of bourbon, vanilla, hints of oak. Taste is a mix of toffee, oak, vanilla into big bourbon, hints of chocolate, coffee and roast, nice molasses, hints of earth, finishing sweet.

Dark brown colour, white head. Aroma of bourbon, vanilla, caramel, light wood. Sweet bourbon flavour, caramel, light sour notes, raisins. Quite light body, wood, raisins.
(from 355mL bottle @ Mother Kelly’s, RBESG 2014, London. Thanks for sharing, rb crew!)

Bottle at Craig’s. Pours deep brown, nose is toffee, vanilla, roast malts, taste is sweet vanilla, roasty.