3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Sampled February 2010
A vigorous pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces an almost four-finger thick, richly browned head. The beer is very dark, almost perfectly black color that is quite opaque when held up to the light. The head manages to leave some spotty lacing on the sides of the glass as the head subsides. The aroma smells of vanillin and sweetened toasted coconut up front. This leads into a richly toasted malt character that leans towards barley husk notes, sweetened dark cocoa, and a cream laden, sweetened, French roast coffee drink. Interestingly enough this beer is not nearly as complex as I expected from a Bourbon Barrel aged Imperial Stout; I do like that this is very smooth and well integrated as the Bourbon character has not run rough-shod and hot over the aromatic profile.
The beer tastes quite sweet up front and finishes with a touch of Bourbon spice, acrid burnt malt, and a spicy carbonic bite that is a bit unexpected given that this isn’t highly carbonated. Flavors of vanillin interweave with rich toasted coconut notes and the dark, chocolate like malt character to make this seem quite a bit like a rich desert. The body is rich and viscous as it lingers fatly on the palate without being cloying. As the beer warms up it loses some of the sweetness that was almost too much initially. This helps to bring out a rich, savory malt character that brings out a sort of salty, sort of smoky, definitely umami character.
A quite enjoyable beer whose biggest flaw is that it is perhaps a bit simplistic. This definitely needs to be drunk on the warm side of cool where the savory quality becomes noticed and helps to boost the complexity. The most pleasant part of this beer is that it doesn’t get overwhelmed by the Bourbon Barrel aging, which is a huge relief to me.
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
Big bottle kindly provided by OleR and shared with him, Skomakern, larsga, Gr0ve and KnutAlbert. The oily pour revealed a deep, jet black body and a brownish, bubbly head. Delicious aromatic with bourbon vanilla and chocolate malts. Vanilla oak, bourbon whiskey, chocolate and roasted oats in comprehensive and superb taste profile. Gentle, lingering bittersweet tail. Full bodied. Top notch and my best of the evening (garden tasting session at OleRs, Stovner 25.05.2012).
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Small brown head. Opaque black body. Roasty alcohol and earthy vanilla aroma with chocolate and butterscotch notes. Fullish body. Hot mouthfeel. Dry alcohol and chocolate aftertaste with vanilla fudge and flour notes. Nice and highly drinkable. (0.65l bottle shared by Ole_R.)
4.6 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 19/20
Pours black as night and thick as motor oil. Head is brown and quickly fades. Hop aroma is noticeable but oak, chocolate, and tobacco fills the room. Flavor is intense coffee and roasted malt. Full and smooth from the oats, this is a easy drinking imperial. Black malt finishes the beer with a dry burnt ending. Absolutely delicious.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bomber from Schaumburg Binny’s. Pours near black with dark tan head. Aromas of roasted malt, chocolate, bourbon, and vanilla. Flavors of roasted malts, chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, and slight hop bitterness. Finishes dry and boozy. Didn’t love the base beer and the barrel didn’t improve it much.
4.2 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle. Black colour with a tan head. Aroma is oak, vanilla, coffee, alcohol. Flavour is oak, vanilla, coffee, cocoa, roasted malt, licorice, hop. Easy drinkable nice beer.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle pours black nice head tastes of coffee chocolate booze sticky thickness very nice beer. Fresh
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
650ml bottle (grreen cap) thanks to Joes. Pitch black color, small to medium sized dense brown colored head. Smell malts, dark malts, roastyness, coffee, whiskey. Taste malts, roasted malts, coffee, whiskey and nicely bitter. Nice lightly burning finish. Very delicate, velvety mouthfeel but a bit thin body, at least not that oily.
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 16/20
Green cap bottle @ home thx to joes. Opague, pitch blavk colour with a brown head. Smells peat, wood, chocolate, coffee, sweet. Definately a nice barrel-aged smell. Tastes coffee, chocolate, wood, whiskey, sweet, roasty and raisins. Lovely soft and silky, nice warming effect. Full body, great carbo. Great beer!
4.2 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
22oz bottle shared by someone at The Bottle Shop.
Pitch black brew with a good amount of tan head. Smells incredibly decadent - chocolate, roasted malt, bourbon, vanilla, and oak. Barrel aging at it’s finest. Flavor is woody and chocolatey - crazy smooth and easy drinking. I want more!
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
0.66 l bottle at Harry’s, Jyväskylä. Black color with dark rusty head. Rich roasty aroma and flavor with raisins, bitter chocolate, oak, vanilla and some earthy and herbal notes. Full body. Good combination of flavors, clearly oaky, but not too woody. Not too roasty or filling either. Firm hop precence but not overdone. In fact, despite the powerful taste, fairly easy drinking. Great and unique taste.
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