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9983
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Serve in Snifter

bottled
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on tap
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RATINGS: 337   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.8   SEASONAL: Special   IBU: 60   EST. CALORIES: 345   ABV: 11.5%
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COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Inspired by the epic skyline of Chicago, Goose Island’s brewers set out to craft Big John; a tall, bold slugger of a stout that stands out vividly against the little soft beers out there. Epic amounts of roasted malt and an addition of cacao nibs give Big John a massive chocolate flavor and aroma. With a body as substantial and black as the building to which it pays homage, Big John is sure to inspire a sense of awe with every sip.


nyindiansfan's rating

3.6
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 16/20
nyindiansfan (443) - rochester, New York, USA - JAN 17, 2013
Bottle pours bkack not much head. Smells tastes sweet booze chocolate caramel malt. It was ok it wasn’t as good as I was hoping stick to night stalker that’s where it’s at.


most recent ratings

3.9
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 16/20
Elwood (2552) - Leesburg, Virginia, USA - JUN 13, 2013
Serving: 22 oz. bottle from Total Wine Sterling. It pours a very viscous black with a small but dense dark brown head. The nose is boozy with lots of roasted malt and chocolate notes. The flavor has tons of chewy malt with nice tobacco, leather, chocolate, and dried stone fruit notes. Lots of evolving flavor as it warms. Speaking of warming, the alcohol is front and center, but it does help dry things out on the back end. Otherwise this brew is thick and oily on the tongue. Definitely a night cap or sipping type of brew.

3.8
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 15/20
XmnwildX12 (1623) - Farmington, Minnesota, USA - JUN 8, 2013
Bottle from Jared, dark brown pour with a tan head. Aroma of chocolate, malt and booze. Taste is lots of chocolate, malt and black licorice, super thick mouth feel. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

3.9
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 17/20
nsquishee (517) - Richfield, Minnesota, USA - JUN 4, 2013
Dark, chocolatey, and thick. Slightly boozy finish, but very good for the high ABV.

4.4
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 17/20
richc83 (25) - Illinois, USA - JUN 4, 2013
pours very dark chocolate color with a dark creamy head... nose consists of cherry and chocolate... smoother than i expected for an imperial stout. finishes great.. very happily surprised

3.4
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 15/20
mnmike (701) - Minnesota, USA - JUN 2, 2013
2012 vintage bottle. I was disappointed with this one. Cocoa nibs were hardly there. Palate was muddled and didn’t finish all that well.

3.7
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 15/20
BillWyce (539) - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA - MAY 25, 2013
From notes: Bottled 12/7/12, aged 2 1/2 months. Poured deep, inky black with a small, thin tan head. Roasty, chocolatey aroma with some booziness and maybe a touch of anise. Full body with an oily, syrupy thickness. Roasty malt flavor with cocoa in the finish. As it warmed, it picked up some boozy and grainy notes, with maybe some coffee up front. Perhaps needed to age a bit more.

4.1
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 18/20
jahshuwuh (196) - USA - MAY 24, 2013
Pretty much a black color, thick. Smells of chocolate, coffee, brown sugar. Thick mouth feel, lot of chocolate and coffee. Boozy with good sweets. Good with a cigar, brought out the cocoa tastes. Big bold stout that's well balanced. Well done. I can taste the bourbon county character in there too. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

3.6
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 14/20
boxofrane (1219) - pottstown, Pennsylvania, USA - MAY 16, 2013
Draft at craft ale house. Pours pitch black with minimal head. The aroma is faint for a beer of this size. The are some roasty notes. The taste has a nice chocolate flavor with some residual sweetness and a boozy luck at the end. Solid hey not as great as the bcs series.

4.7
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 19/20
DocLock (6826) - Lower Pottsgrove, Pennsylvania, USA - MAY 11, 2013
Bombers from Capone’s, Craft, and Wegman’s Collegeville. Pours thick, rich, jet black, with gorgeous dark brown head. Nose is a luscious medley of roasty choc malt, cacao, I get a lot of pruney/raisiny aromas, and some black currant esters and hazelnut. Tastes thick, rich, complex, perfectly matches with my Oliva Series V maduro Churchill cigar, with a big roasty malt, vanilla, cacao, somewhat sweet, molasses, and raisin/fig/prune/black currant undertones. This one is the Energizer Bunny of impy Stouts in that it never lets up. It pounds your palate and olfactory membranes from beginning to end. What a great beer.

4.3
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 18/20
jstraw (1700) - Chicago, Illinois, USA - MAY 9, 2013
Inky black with modest, creamy, brown head / Intense nose of backstrap molasses, dark chocolate, dark fruit / Very full body, inky and dense, chewy, moderately sweet but with good balance, and noticeable bitterness on the finish / Intense flavors of backstrap molasses, semisweet chocolate, prune, plum, roast coffee, licorice / Something this intense isn’t something I would choose to drink, but it’s undeniably a great thing.


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