DuClaw Black Jack Stout

Brewed by DuClaw Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Abingdon, Maryland USA

Serve in Snifter

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Fantastic. An excellent stout in every sense of the word. Had this one aged a year. Extreme roast complex. All dry and sweet but no fruity complexity as you would expect in an imperial. Chocolate baking powder and strong coffee. Very potent malts and hops are well in balance.

I had a 4oz sample of this beer at the 2012 Frederick Beer Festival. The beer had a dark brown/black color with a creamy dark tan head with average size and retention, and light cling. The aroma featured a toasty sweet chocolate malt scent along with caramel and a bit of toffee, to go with some slight earthy hops. Its taste was sweet with notes of chocolate and some coffee, along with caramel, toffee, and a slight bitterness. It was a creamy, fairly wet, smooth beer with high carbonation and a lively, full mouthfeel,

On tap 4 oz. sample at Maryland Craft Beer Festival 2012. Opaque, black brown with brown head and good lacing. Aroma of chocolate, coffee, toffee and roasted grain. Taste of toasted malt, toffee, raisins, figs other dark fruit and molasses with enough bitter hops in the finish to offset the sweetness. Medium/full body and medium carbonation. A fairly sweet, but very well-balanced, big stout. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bomber from lukin013. Black color; a vigorous pour produces a thick tan head with a thin layer lasting most of the way. The aroma is ashy, with vanilla, dark fruit, sheet rock, and mocha. This is rich and creamy; vanilla cream and dark chocolate flavors stick out at first with rosted malt and roasty bitter coffee finishing this off. There’s a nice balance between the sweetness and bitter roast flavors. This is a borderline Imperial, but I like it that way. It’s drinkable without sacrificing flavor. In fact, I’m glad it’s not any stronger than it is. Good beer!

Bomber via trade. Black in color with a small brown head. The aroma is nice and well-balanced with coffee, dark chocolate, roast, and sweet maltiness. Good balanced flavor as well. Roasty and chocolatey with a good medium level of sweetness, sharp espresso notes, bitterness, and mild booze. Medium-full bodied and very slick on the mouthfeel with lower carbonation. Very good imperial stout overall, although it doesn’t have the polish and complexity of the best.

This beer was delicious, tons of flavor with a smooth chocolate malt backbone, nice and velvty this beer will be enjoyed by all stout fans.

Draft. Pours deep, dark brown with frothy tan head; good retention and lacing. Aroma is roasted malt, espresso, dark chocolate, and dark fruit. Flavor matches the nose, but is balanced by light, earthy hops; dry finish. Medium body, carbonation, and warmth.

(22 oz. bottle (2010) from Jason’s) Pours very, very dark brown with a tan head. Aroma of chocolate, coffee and molasses. Mouthfeel thick, smooth, creamy. Flavor of chocolate, lots of coffee roast and molasses. A little hot, esp. in the finish. A nice, thick imp. stout.

22 ounce bottle into snifter; no bottle date but this is a winter release so it must be pushing a year old. Pours dark as night with a fairly dense 1 finger tan head with nice retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap that lasts. Some nice lacing clings all around the glass as well. Aromas of big dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, caramel, molasses, smoked wood, and a bit of dark fruit. Some very nice and interesting aromas for an RIS here, nice balance as well. Taste of tons of chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, smoke, wood, caramel, and light dark fruits. Good amount of coffee-like bitterness present on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, coffee, caramel, molasses, dark fruit, smoke, and wood for a decent amount of time. Medium-high carbonation and medium bodied; with a fairly nice and creamy mouthfeel that drinks smoothly for the level of alcohol. Alcohol is nicely hidden as well, didn’t really notice anything other than a slight warming on the finish. Overall this was an excellent and unique Russian Imperial Stout. Tons of nice complexity and balance.

Brown black with an inch of brown head. Roasty coffee aroma translates into much the same taste, but, it has an odd slightly tart minerality to it, along with a mildly astringent coffee finish. $7/22oz

22 oz bottle served in a pint glass. Pour is deep cola with two fingers of beige head on top; this pour also featured decent lacing and excellent retention. Nose is java, licorice, basement, must, malt, and raisons. Taste is big licorice and java up front, which is then joined by a boisterously carbonated basement/raison that blends into the finish. This is easy to drink, and not a bad brew, but I am not a huge licorice fan and this brew amps that aspect up. Still, it is worth the time.