Big Sky Bottleworks XI Anniversary Ale

Formerly brewed at Big Sky Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Missoula, Montana USA

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

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(750ml bottle) murky black pour with frothy dark tan head. Nose of lactose, sweet chocolate, diaper-like plastic, alcohol and vanilla. Taste of grapes, mild acetic acid, nice thick chocolate flavors, vanilla, and red-wine notes. Thick creamy body.

Forgetfu with the share! Pours dark brown wit ha tan head. Aroms is like a butterscoth disk was dropped in this. Taste is sweet and quite tart. Clearly showing some signs of infection, but not that it ruined the beer flavorwise. Medium bodied and sticky. Interesting, but its pretty tasty.

UPDATED: MAY 21, 2012 Pours dark, but not as dark as some Impy stouts. About a finger of mocha tan head. Smell is almost funky off a small whiff while pouring, lots of oak and bourbon, smooth caramel and vanilla, and yes, a bit of funk going on here. Taste...ummm...interesting. Smell and appearance was leading to stout, taste was a dark sour. Suppose this is the wine barrel aging coming out. Lots of acidity for such a dark beer. Some of the stout flavors come out, but it’s mostly the sour parts in the taste. Very mellow and surprisingly drinkable. Unique to say the least.

Huge thanks to forgetfu. Bottle pours deep brown/black with a quickly disappearing khaki head. Aroma is extremely interesting, showing notes of blue cheese, salted meat, red wine vinegar, oak, and moderate roast. Flavor shows cherry balsamic, dark chocolate, and bourbon. Overall body is moderate and the finish is somewhat roasted with light to moderate acidity. I’m not sure if this is what they intended from the start, but great job at making a head scratcher.

Finally! Thanks to forgetfu. A nice treat Bill. Very dark brown pour, light brown head. Red wine notes, beef jerky, oak, and blue cheese. Flavor is lightly tart, red wine, some light vinegar notes. This is really good.

750mL bottle. Poured medium-deep brown with a creamy, well-retained dark tan head.. looked great in the glass! The aroma picked up a tangy blend of Port and bourbon over milk chocolates, vanilla, and a hit of buttery charred wood.. thick, syrupy vinous notes really stuck on the back of the nose.. boozage was well-masked. The flavor opened with tangy, lightly-metallic barrel plus grape and cherry skins.. bourbon and peppery rye followed before the roasty black malts really showed up (the maltage was fairly muddled and it was hard to pull distinct flavors out of there).. more Port, bourbon, and barrel on the back-end, along with lactic sourness.. overall a little Port-heavy and sloppy. Medium-bodied and tart throughout the palate.. really dry.. there was definitely a whole lot going on, but it didn’t all make sense together.

Name: Bottleworks XI
Date: May 29, 2010
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Bhalter Summersalter
Appearance: opaque dark brown, fine tan head
Aroma: sweet chocolate and wine aroma, very buttery, sour milk
Flavor: dark chocolate flavor, winey sweetness, lacto tartness
Overall: a mess of complex characters that just do not mesh well
Aroma: 3/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 3/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 5/20
Rating: 1.7/5.0
Drinkability: 3/10
Score: * /4

A: Deep black body with a large, creamy khaki cap. Good retention and quite a bit of lacing left in the glass. S: Red wine and grapeskins. Bourbon and oak. Toasted malts and chocolate. T: I couldn’t quite come to terms with the flavor combination. There was a lot of red wine here. It was the most dominant flavor in what was otherwise a strong, hearty bourbon imperial stout. A bit of chocolate and oak. But mostly red wine and bourbon. I think the red wine would have gone better if there was no bourbon as well. M: Large body, oily and slick. The red wine is a soft and sour, whereas the bourbon is harsh and prickly. A bit conflicted. O: Not a bad beer... I just thought it was a bit jumbled and too ambitious.

Bottled. A pitch black beer with a lazing brown head. The aroma has notes of alcohol, wood, and brettanomyces. The flavor is sweet with notes of wine, vinegar, brettanomyces, malt, and over ripe fruits.

Number 700. Bottle. Dark brown/black pour with a tan head. A wonderful nose with chocolate, cabernet, and bourbon notes. Simply outstanding and very complex with all kinds of fascinating undercurrents. Dark fruit and cabernet grape, aged mellow bourbon, caramel, luscious chocolate, and smooth roasted malt flavors. Don’t miss this one!!

Very tasty stuff. Black, big white head. Surprisingly fruity aroma and flavor, plus some oakiness and some chocolate. Kinda like a chocolate cherry, if its a really tart cherry. An really dark chocolate. Quite a bit of red wine is evident as it warms. I liked it..