Full Sail Black Gold Imperial Stout

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

Serve in Snifter

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Tap @ Parkway. Deep red-black pour with a short tan head leaving heavy lace. Nose is chocolate, licorice and booze. Heavy body and medium carbonation, with an oily mouth feel - particularly near the finish. Baking chocolate, cherry, licorice, vanilla and caramel. Finish is sweet and chocolatey with a touch of coffee late. A bit sweet for me, but really smooth and lovely - one of the better barrel-aged Imperial Stouts.

Bottle, from Vintage Sellers in Great Falls , MT. Poured thick and black into my Maudite glass, 1.5-finger dark tan head, spotty lacing, pretty average looking for a Bourbon Barrel-aged Imperial Stout. Nose is big, sweet bourbon, loads of vanilla and bourbon notes, lots of "chocolate shake" notes, a bit boozy, more complex than I was really expecting. Shades of Bourbon County or Ivan the Terrible in the nose. Flavours are a bit disappointing - Stout shows plenty of dark fruit and decent roast, though a bit thin. The Bourbon notes are pretty fantastic, again - Full Sail clearly spent good money on quality Bourbon casks, and I’m sure the stout underneath is just fine, it just isn’t quite big enough to handle the big bourbon notes. A solid effort from Full Sail.

(2009 bottle, sampled 8/15/10). Black color. Medium tan head. Moderate chocolate aroma with light alcohol. Flavor of the same, with light roastiness. Avg duration. Light alcohol finish.

Sample on tap at PIB. Pours a solid black with a creamy tan head. Aroma of molasses, dark fruits, dark chocolate, lightly smoked wood, bourbon. Flavour of dark fruity sweetness, coffee, molasses, butterscotch and oak. Cloying. Too sweet and boozy.

Sampled on tap at PIB, pours black with a small tan head. Aroma of sweet roasted malts, sugar, licorice and booze. Flavour is quite boozy, with licorice, some oak - finishing boozy and oaky. The booze and oak cancels out any other complexity this beer may have otherwise had. Just drinkable.

Today me and my friend did a side by side of this an BCS. Pours pitch black with hints of brownish reddish edges. Has a pretty active caramel colored head that rises to the top of my Duvel glass. Has a good bourbon oak scent, not as intese as the BCS but good nonetheless. There are also hints of molasses and vanilla. The mouthfeel isn’t as thick as others but the flavors are the standard, nice oak and bourbon flavors mix with layers of malt and chocolate bitterness. I have a cut on my lip and it is burning from this alcohol, though the alcohol doesn’t make a huge presence in the flavor. This is a great ass barrel aged stout, may not be the pinnacle of the style but it is worthy if you can get ahold of it. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 12-14-2009 03:45:59

2005 bottle shared by dbsdelight at the Big Black Beer Bash 2011- thanks again, Dan the Man! I was thrilled to see this after being unsuccessful in tracking one down to match up with my Barrel Aged one. Weird that this one is so much rarer. Anyway, it pours a deep, dark cloudy brown, opaque in the middle, with a minimal tan head. Aroma of chocolate, dark fruits, caramel, toast, and roasted malts. Flavor follows along the same lines, with baker’s chocolate moving into dark fruits, caramel, and toast, and once again finishing with some roasted malt and coffee notes. Medium-full bodied, with low carbonation and a roasty, sweet mouthfeel. This has held up really well for being almost 6 years old. Glad I had the opportunity to try this really nice imperial stout.

Chocolate and coffee on the nose with a strong bourbon note. Pours black with an off white head. Bourbon upfront with oak flavors and vanilla with chocolate malts, a little thin and there’s a very mild tartness. Not bad.

Bottle 650 ml
Aroma clean dark roast , molasses , deep darkness , top made of alcohol. Neat. 7+
Appearance dark brown , minimal carbonation. Medium beige top.
Flavor and Palate : Full bodied with frontal fine carbonation. Dark earthy black malt , roast. Chewy mid dark character , hint of cocoa. Good clean Imperial stout.

Pours black with a big soapy head. Spider webs of lace. Roasty aromas, bold taste, mostly coffee. A bit astringent.Decent enough RIS, thanks Radek.