Flossmoor Station Bourbon Barrel Big Black Pumpkin

Brewed by Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Flossmoor, Illinois USA

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

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FoBAB 2009, the last of must try beers. Deep brown with a creamy head and good lace. The aroma is still PUMPKIN, YEA!!! I was worried that the barrel aging may dominate the base beer but that is not the case. Plenty of roast, chocolate, walnuts, coffee, plum and moderate bourbony vapours. The taste has a wonderful balance of pumpkin spice and porter with a bourbon barrel background. Fruity and woody finish. The mouth feel is lush and oily, this is a top notch "holiday" brew that would fit in with either All Hallows Eve or XMAS. I DIG IT, even better than the base beer! (Hey Shawn, save that bottle of the Midnight Sun so I can do a comparison)

Really great job on this one! Pours an intense black with dark tan foam that lingers and laces well. Wonderfully subtle bourbon, chocolate, and coffe nose. The falvors follow suit; bourbon (subtle), chocolate. coffee, and the base pumpkin beer with it’s subtle holiday spicing. Very, very drinkable, repeatable, and enjoyable. Could not be improved upon in any measurable way that I could suggest. (So then why isn’t it a "5"?)

FOBAB -2009- pours a deep brown with a tan head. Notes of chocolate, cocoa, dust, pumpkin, bourbon, and vanilla. very smooth. nice body. barrel is a nice compliment to this. great beer.

$6 tap @ pub 10/16. Pours black into snifter, with cocoa brown head. Aroma of pumpkin, spice, vanilla, chocolate and bourbon. Mouth was lively, with spice, bourbon and roasty chocolate linger. Mild mouth, tad over carbonated, but fitting. Barrel seemed to enhance the body and spice very well, as I do not recall the original being as prominent. Though that was a long time ago, and my palate is quite off @ times. Excellent beer. Curious as to how long this has spent in the barrel. Hoping they have plenty left for the season, and maybe some kegs 2 year? Thanks Matt!

FOBAB 09. Pours black. Interesting aroma and flavor of spices, nutmug, pumpkins, and chocolate. Well done.

On tap at brewpub
I had a chance to try this the day that it first went on tap. I am very impressed with the way that the brewer artfully blended chocolate, pumpkin, and bourbon barrel aging into a seasonal masterpiece. I don’t know how long this was sitting around but it came out at the right time and not too soon.

Aroma / Appearance - Everything mixes nicely into an arrangement of vanilla and bourbon, chocolate, mint, pumpkin seed, and malt that reminds me of an after dinner mint coupled with a glass of bourbon. Holding it all is a creamy black body with nice sandy head.

Flavor / Palate - A little on the warm side it otherwise has very few flaws. Chocolate, pumpkin, spices, coffee, and ash collide without overwhelming the senses. With this much flavor packed into a single beer it would be easy to overdo any single aspect. This was a great dessert beer and because of its complexity would fit well with almost anything.

sampled at FOBAB 2009... poured a deep black with a fluffy tan head... generally sweet aroma with vanilla, pumpkin, nutmeg, and other spices. subdued barrel influence but present nonetheless... smooth pumpkin flavors with added nuances of vanilla, nutmeg, and other spices. again, light on the barrel which was a nice touch. creamy smooth mouthfeel. i liked the base beer and almost liked this as much.

Snifter poured on tap at the Station (Flossmoor, IL). Got a chance to sneak out for this one. Pours a pitchblack pour, opaque, huge brown head that laces very well, stays large in size, cakes well and is difficult to pour. What was once a perfect head eventually dies to a film, spotty lacing. Aromas are a nice chocolatey roast malt, light coffee, good pumpkin and cinnamon with caramel and nutmeg still present, a decent bourbon booziness, vanilla, and oak wet wood sit on the nose. Pumpkin flavors still weigh pretty heavy, not overrun by Bourbon or heat. Initial is a touch thinned out, roasted and chocolate malts, a decent ash with pumpkin sweetness, cinnamon and nutmeg spice coming in. Vanilla, oak and lighter bourbon and booziness kiss. Almost a bit of tangy tartness in there, a bit out of place. Decent dose of of coffee and dark chocolate. The beer finishes with decent roast, lighter bourbon and heat, I’d take a guess and say the alcohol is better hidden in this beer. Decent bitterness sticks from the roast, coffee and feels a bit ashy. Pumpkin elements remain intact, a bit thinned out. Very good, improvement over the base in my opinion

FoBAB ’09, pours black with tan head. nose of vanilla, clove, pumpkin. flavor is hot!, pumpkin, clove. boozy beer.

black color, tiny tan head, lacy. heavy bourbon barrel nose, which nicely offsets the spice and maltiness of the base brew. flavor is pretty much the same as the nose, bourbon and spice, but as it warms it gets a bit more complex, vineous, and a bit fruity. this one is much better than i expected for a spice beer, well worth repeating.