Full Sail Black Gold Imperial Stout Bourbon Barrel Aged

Bottle from Sun Devil. Pours an opaque gray-black with full brown head. Nose is light bourbon, wood, and milk chocolate. Flavor is much the same with cinnamon and cream. Really smooth.

bottle shared at July BA tasting. Pours black with a light brown head. Nose is of bourbon, molasses, wood, roast malt and some chocolate. Taste is bourbon with molasses, chocolate and licorice. Mouthfeel is medium-thin. Thinner and not mouth-coating like some other Impy Stouts. Good, but not the top tier of Impy Stouts.

Bottle shared by Zack. Thanks! Pours black, and smells like bourbon and chocolate. Taste is the same and its a touch warming. Flavorful, a bit dry, and probably the best Full Sail beer I’ve had.

In short: A boozy roasted imperial stout that does not overdo the bourbon barrel thing. A kick-ass sipper.
How: Bottle 22oz. Sent to me by ygtbsm94, thanks a lot Brad.
The look: Black body topped by a tan ring of foam
In long: Nose has moderate bourbon, some vanilla, some roasted wood. Overall an enticing aroma. Taste is a bit boozy which I usually don’t like but here it works well with the rest of the beer. The alcohol, the medium-high roastiness level, the black chocolate and the vanilla notes all blend in to give a burnt alcoholised chocolate desert. The roastiness and strong wood presence really dry out the beer nicely and it is that dryness that takes it to the next level. Nothing is overdone here and unlike many BBA impy stout the body remains full, crisp and dry. A little less boozy and this would be in my top 20 impy stout. Black Gold in Barrels!?! Dick Cheney is probably plotting a “liberation” of Full Sail Brewery.

2009 vintage. Nice thick pour, with a fast-disappearing carbonation. Prickly bubbles and decent retention, but - as the name would suggest - there’s some oil in this baby, even if you wouldn’t necessarily crack one open by the cement pond. Soft sweet oak notes in the nose, and the bourbon is pleasantly fragrant as opposed to sharp and overbearing. Slightly thin mouthfeel and a bit too much heat at the outset, but there’s a solid and flavorful base beer that’s rich and malty. Slight anise and bitter notes play around with the barrel. Overall, pretty good.

Bottle shared by hopscotch. Pours black with brown head. Burnt malt and boubon aromas. Roasted malt, coffee, bourbon, vanilla and oak flavors. The bourbon really dominates this beer. Full body with soft carbonation. Well done.

22oz Bomber on Pizza Plants Miss Buffalo Cruise. Courtesy of Metzger. Pours deep dark black. Bourbon dominated aroma. Big bourbon. Taste was bourbon dominated & hard to decipher anything else. Roasty malts & bourbon. Mouthfeel was a tad light. Otherwise a total treat

For this one you gotta like bourbon. Almost tastes like pure bourbon, actually. Sweet, toasted malt, molasses and caramel.