Brooklyn Black Ops

Brewed by Brooklyn Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Brooklyn, New York USA

Serve in Snifter

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Pour is dark with only a slight white head. Smell is leather vanilla and a little Worcestershire like. Taste like vanilla syrup dark chocolate very light roast slightly resiny in the front. if the body was thicker this would be a great stout.

11/4/11. 750mL bottle thanks to Ian! Pitch black pour with a small brown head that fades. Strong whiskey aroma, almost a bit much, with undertones of wood, vanilla, and sweet chocolate. Woody, bitter flavor at first with char, dark chocolate, vanilla, and lingering milk chocolate and coffee. Not bad, but not blown away.

Poured 750ml into a snifter... Rich black pour with a full finger head which lingered for a minute turning into a tan halo around the perimeter of the glass. Aroma is sweet, bourbon and dark notes... some coffee, chocolate, molasses... Flavor is similar with good sweetness, like caramel or molasses. Bourbon is definitely there, and mixes well with the sweetness, and as the glass warms, the flavors of dark chocolate and coffee mellow. My final sip, oddly, gave me notes of merlot... The mouth is medium to full, nice and lingering. My third time having it and it never disappoints

UPDATED: FEB 16, 2012 Bottle # 3178 (or maybe 3187), 2008 Batch; Sampled October 2011
The beer pours pitch black in color and it is quite opaque when held up to the light with maybe a hint of brown showing in its black depths. A vigorous pour produces a three finger thick, darkly browned head. The beer smells strongly of Bourbon as I pour this beer and a more focused look makes it seem a touch softer with more of a focus on vanillin, toasted coconut, dark chocolate, coffee liquor as well as notes rich, deeply toasted nuts that have been aged in umami laden richness; this last isn’t really soy sauce, perhaps a touch of teriyaki, but this is contributed by some oxidation of the malt character. The oxidation at this point is just adding richness rather than detracting with unwanted notes of cardboard and overly oxidized. There is a substantial backbone of roast malt that provides burnt and roast notes that manage to remain quite smooth and well integrated with the other notes. The Bourbon barrel seems to accentuate fruit notes of cherry and perhaps a touch of raisins.

Smooth and creamy textured a touch sweet (though perhaps not quite as much as I was expecting), and the beer is also a touch lighter bodied than I was expecting, but it is still quite rich and definitely a sipping beer. The flavor finishes with bitter hops and roasted malt notes as well some spicy Bourbon notes, a drying toasted grain huskiness and some alcohol. There is a fruitiness to the Bourbon character that reminds me of cherries somehow and perhaps like a touch of apple jack. The roast character is pretty well tamed here, it does contribute some roasted / toasted notes, and touches of cold coffee. The beer is quite a bit thinner than I would prefer, though it isn’t horrible. The dominant Bourbon contributes definite notes of vanillin, woody oak and perhaps a touch of buttery character.

Not a bad beer, its biggest flaw is that the body makes it seem too thin; the flavors are pretty well spot on and I really like that the Bourbon barrel did not end up being too overwhelming for the base beer flavors and they remain pretty smooth. As the beer warms up it seems to get a bit thinner and a bit more Bourbon dominated, neither of which really helps things.

75cl, Botlle N° 3159, at 11.6%Vol, exclusive American brew, thx to Wimenels!, complex Stout, spicy/roasted and slightly alcoholic/sweet, not too heavy, balanced, hazy, good head, very good brew, yet very expensive!

Dark and opaque. Fairly high carbonation. Slightly thinner body than I recall on their standard stout. Very balanced for a bourbon stout. Just saw this is done in Woodford Reserve barrels. No wonder I love this so much-that’s my go-to bourbon. Very restrained but complex. It’s got it all but doesn’t bludgeon you over the head with any of it.

2010 vintage. It pours a dense black with a foamy caramel colored head that dissipates kind of quickly with no lacing. The smell is definitely bourbony. It has a sharp alcoholic scent with caramel and cocoa. There is a bit of vanilla and oak. The taste is a bit more bittersweet chocolatey. The oak is definitely there and the bourbon notes as well. It isn’t as alcoholic as the nose would lead you to believe, but it is sharp and alcoholic overall. The mouthfeel is interesting for a stout, prickling but still smooth. It is nice. It isn’t too sweet imo (maybe it is my palate tonight) and that is why it deserves some credit, it has more subtlety than most Russian imperial stouts. Nice one.

Gabf. Black appearance with a dark brown head. Roasty, nutty, toffee, oaky, dark chocolate aroma. Strong, dark chocolate, sweet malty, oaky flavor.

Everything I love about beer. Deep black pour with thin beige head. Aromas of coffee, chocolate and roast. Flavors of coffee, chocolate , coacoa and a dark chocolate dry finish.

750ml, says 11.6%abv, thanks to phaleslu. Pours black with a thin, mocha brown head. Aroma is BIG on booze, some roast, chocolate, vanilla, isopropyl alcohol, dark fruit, molasses, light smoke and heavy clove. Flavor is booze, chocolate, vanilla, medium toasted oak, caramel, creme brulee, toast, roasted nuts, hazelnut, cashew, clove, toasted fennel, bourbon, cooked berries and burnt sugar. Palate is heavy in body, slick and dry feeling on entry, has a light, but sharp carbonation and dry, boozy finish. Pretty tasty, but it is a bit over-boozy for an 11.6%abv Impy Stout. Which is saying lots.