Great Lakes Barrel-Aged Blackout Stout

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Cleveland, Ohio USA

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle to oversized snifter (2012 vintage; thanks Beerpig317). Bottle says it’s 9.5%. Looks good a mostly opaque dark brownish-black with beige lacing. Smells good too; sweet, malty, chocolatey, and oaky. Tastes like it smells with a nice bourbon presence. Nice and smooth on the palate. Great beer.

Bottle thanks to ICEatALAMO. Black pour, with a small tan head. The first thing that stands out is that it’s heavily boozey, lots of alcohol in the nose, with warming palate, milk chocolate, bourbon, mild vanilla, roasted malt, and notes of dark fruit. Pretty tasty, but the body is a bit thin. Glad too have tried it.

Bottle pours black with thin tan head. Aroma roast malts and a little bourbon. Taste follows aroma, mainly ashy malts with a little chocolate and faint bourbon. Finish mild roast. Palate a bit thin but decent. The bourbon does cut a little of the bitterness.

I thought the base beer was just OK and barrel aging hasn’t helped it much. Nice beer but not superlative.

12 oz. bottle served in Westbrook snifter. 2012/2013 bottle. A: Pours a semi-translucent black color with some dark ruby edges. A light khaki head forms on the pour and recedes quickly to a thin ring. No real lace. S: Bourbon up front with some toasted coconut and a little vanilla. Smooth oak barrel with some rich chocolate notes, fudge and a little roasted malts. T: Light chocolate with minimal bourbon. Oaky with light vanilla and some odd residual heat on the back end. Light roast as well. M: Very thin bodied, but the finish is smooth. Medium high carbonation as well. O: This was alright, but I’m just not a fan of this beer or the base. It’s too thin to begin with and the barrel aging thins this out even more and the base gets kind of lost. Serving type: bottle

Black pour, brownish head. Vanilla, chocolate and bourbon aroma. Taste is creamy and good. The right amount of booze flavor to accentuate the vanilla and chocolate with a lit of bit of toffee. Very good!

12 ounce thanks to UDBeernut. Creamy head. Creamy taste of chocolate. Touch of bourbon in taste lingers on. Pretty smooth and creamy overall without being dominated by bourbon or oak. Nice.

One of the best barrel aged stouts I’ve had. Thin but sweet and burnt marshmallowey goodness.

12 oz. bottle, sent from StFun (thanks a lot, Josh), pours black with a small tan / light brown head. Aroma brings out pronounced oak barrels, loads of wood, moderate bourbon, some vanilla, and roasted malts. Flavour brings out fairly heavy bourbon notes, loads of woody oak, a little vanilla and still some roasted malt. The bourbon is dominant and front-and-centre, though somehow without being too overburdening. Finishes with notes of vanilla, bourbon and wood. Thick, full-bodied palate with everything in wonderful proportion. The barrels are used supremely here. Fantastic impie stout.

(Cuvée 2013): Le vieillissement en baril lui a définitivement aminci la charpente et ajouté des tannins. L’éventail des saveurs n’est pas le plus complexe mais les notes de vanilles, de chocolat et de réglisse rouge fonctionnent très bien. Elle n’a pas ce qu’il faut pour se blottir avec les grands mais sa conception reste hautement respectable.

Bottle, 2013 thanks to awlcordell. Pours black with a thin dark brown head. Nose is booze and vanilla, moderate roast and dark fruit. Plenty of vanilla and oak. On tasting, almost over oaked but a big burst of roast punchs through to dry it up. It’s too thin bodied overall, though, which cuts it down. Still a neat beer overall.