Full Sail Black Gold Imperial Stout Bourbon Barrel Aged

Brewed by Full Sail Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Hood River, Oregon USA

2009 bottle. Pours a deep black with a small burnt brown head. Aroma of vanilla, bourbon, oak, chocolate, coffee. Flavor is bourbon, vanilla, oak, brown sugar, chocolate, molasses, licorice. Has an awesome mouthfeel and isn’t too cloyingly sweet like a lot of big stouts are. This is a great BA stout, I really enjoyed it.

Despite the label on the bottle I was taken a bit by surprise. This is loaded with bourbon aroma and flavor and I love every second of it. The intense flavor subsides quick enough and leaves a stoutly dark chocolate flavor. Little bit of toffee, little bit of roasted coffee... quite a lot of flavors. Looks like a quart of oil with almost no head. Ten percent ABV? I wouldn’t have guessed if you hadn’t told me. Excellent brew.

I’m *very* impressed with this one. Pours black, with a dense, light tan head. The thing I love the most is how they managed to impart so much bourbon into the aroma and flavor, yet maintain a rich complexity beneath that note. The aroma was overwhelmingly of bourbon - this is the closest a brew has come to the Bourbon County Stout as I’ve seen. Bourbon and oak, underlaid with toffee, chocolate, brown sugar, and a strong vanilla note as well. Mouthfeel is fantastic - just thick enough, and with just enough carbonation to keep it clean. Sweet, but dry. The one flaw is a slightly sour note that lingers. Slightly boozy, though pretty well-covered for 10.5%. Very drinkable for that ABV. Way to go, Full Sail!

400th Rating - 2009 Bottle - Pours black and a bit thinner than I expected with a tiny cream coloured head...aroma is intoxicating, huge bourbon barrel nose, vanilla oak, chocolate, old fruit...flavour is a complete surprise...creme cafe, chocolate, raisin, fairly high carbonation for the style, and alcohol is well hidden...it is creamy and smooth, finishes with a charred oak bitterness...very enjoyable...

22oz bottle from 5000(’06), huge thanks for this gem Andre. Very dark with very little head. Strong bourbon notes in the aroma. Lots of vanilla up front, woody with the alcohol very noticable in the back of the throat. Very good shit.

love the bourbon barrel age. malt coffee, yadda yadda.... the unique attribute of this is that it has a slightly sour note across the tongue, front to back, that lingers in the finish. For me, it is what is keeping it from getting a higher score. This is cellared 2006.

Bottle in a trade. Pours a black body with tan head. Sweet malt, coffee, bourbon and oak, creamy vanilla and etoh notes. A solid Impy.

Another backlogged rating from RBSG ’08 Grand Tasting at Pizza Port Carlsbad. Sampled at the end of a crazy evening of insane beers. Dark brown color with clear edges and a tan ring. Huge bourbon and smoked wood aroma, smothered in vanilla. Flavor is sweet with tones of molasses, whiskey and some black licorice. Smooth, mature palate with a lingering oak finish. Awesome stuff.