 fordest (1684), Santee/San Diego, California, USA
Dec 2, 2005
Wow what great stuff. Had this at the first ever tapping at O’Brien’s Pub. Felt lucky to get my share of the 2.5 gal keg. Dark dark, with a brown head. Strong aromas of barrel. The flavor of the barrel was evident too, but more in the aroma. Flavors of chocolate, whisky, alcohol, and roastiness. Wonderful.
garthicus (547), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Aug 27, 2008 My bottle via a tremendous trade with Irishboy - Shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow, Tupalev,Jerc & Blankboy. Bottle 57/235. App: Deep black/brown colour with a brown bubbly head. Aroma: I could get the aroma at arms length - ohhh yeah. Nutty, creamy, cappuccino, chocolate and caramel, mouth watering. Flavour: Nutty-coffee, brandy, alcohol, cinnamon, mocha!! So much going on, simply incredible. Very very drinkable with a long soothing finish, a great beer sent by a great ratebeerian and shared with great ratebeerians.
fiver29 (303), Strongsville, Ohio, USA
Aug 23, 2008 Tasted at Cleveland tasting on 8-23-08. Thanks!! We had a verical of 03, 04, and 06.
03: Pours pitch black with no head or carbonation. Has a nice aroma of vanilla, roasted chocolate malt, and coffee. Has a medium mouthfeel. Taste is bourbon, malt, chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and it all melds together in a nice smooth chocolate bourbon finish. Overall a world class brew.
04: Everything above, but with carbonation and a thin tan head. This made my experience a little better with this brew.
06: Everything above and has more alcohol aroma and flavor to it.
Overall, all three beers taste exactly the same. The only difference in my mind is that the 03 had no carbonation, the 04 was carbonated, and the 06 had more alcohol in the aroma and taste with even more carbonation. The lesson here is don’t let these go too long or you won’t be drinking a carbonated world class brew versus a flat one.
blankboy (2565), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Aug 19, 2008 Bottle (750ml) shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow, tupalev, jerc & garthicus -- courtesy of garthicus. 2006 vintage, bottle 57 of 235. Pours an oily black with a small creamy light-brown head. Aroma has a good amount of bourbon barrel along with roasted malt, vanilla, chocolate and dark fruit -- if I had to nitpick I would say I’ve smelt this before in several other BA Impy Stouts, it’s not unique, but it’s still very nice. Flavour of bourbon, roasted malt, coffee, rich chocolate, vanilla and a bit of alcohol. Long roasty bitter finish. Oily / creamy mouthfeel, medium bodied. It’s all very well balanced and the BA isn’t overdone. Wow, this is absolute treat -- many thanks to garthicus and IrishBoy!
Beerman6686 (680), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Aug 19, 2008 Poured a nice black color with a light tan head. Aroma was lots of coffee beans and a strong scent of alcohol. Flavor was somewaht complex with a nice espresso flavor mixed in with some chocolate sweetness, but a bit too much overpowered by the bourbon barrel flavor.
JMFG (1117), Florida, USA
Aug 17, 2008 Well, I never thought I’d try BA Speedway from ordering it off a menu, but they had it at the Linkery. The menu stated the vintage as 2007. Black pour with a dark, persistent tan head. Aroma has a lot of oak and barrel character present right away over some heavy roast and defined alcoholic heat. The taste is brash but great - the barrel sits so nicely under the coffee and roast. The alcohol is a bit rough at this early age, but I’m often tolerant of booziness in my brews. Great now, but this beer really needs to sit down for a couple years.
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