Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

Brewed by Saint Louis Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Maplewood, Missouri USA

2006 750mL bottle from heemer77, thanks for sharing Eric! Notes from a January ’07 tasting. Black with ruby edges and a one finger beige head. Aroma has a fair amount of boubon, coffee and roasted malts, alcohol, some grain, and sweet figs. Flavor had a lot of bourbon and roasted malts again, and the alcohol is pretty hot. Moderate carbonation with a full body. Not too bad.

Very dark brown with ruby highlights and a frothy light brown head. Aroma is malty with faint roasted odor and faint bourbon. Taste is roasted malt, bourbon, oak, and some vanilla.

Shared with General66 and Illini08 at 10:45am waiting in line for Darklord Day ’08. Poured deep black with a brownish head and excellent lacing. Aroma was bourbon, burned woodchips, dark chocolate, vanilla, and some fruit. The taste was similar, blending the bourbon, vanilla, and chocolate along with roasted coffee. I was definitely impressed with the variety in this beer.

750ml 2007 release bottle shared by Illini08, nimrod, and myself at 10:45am while in line at Dark Lord Day! Thanks, Jeremy! Poured a jet black color with a small brown head. The aroma consisted of a lot of vanilla, bourbon, burnt wood, chocolate, and dark fruit. Very complex aroma! The taste was excellent and consisted of vanilla and bourbon up front with bitter chocolate in the background. Finished exceptionally well... left you wanting more. This was definitely true considering Illini08 finished the bottle without realizing it!

750ml 2007 Reserve Recieved this in one of a few trades with Vancer, thanks Vance! Schlafly’s Reserve Imperial Stout empties black into the snifter, looks dark and deep but shows faint cherry highlights when directly backlit. An aggressive pour brought about a half finger beige head that falls to a cap and leaves spotty lacing on its way. A healthy dose of bourbon tickles the nose hairs right off the bat followed closely by underipe berries and vanilla from the oak. There is a booziness imparted by the heft of this brew and the bourbon aging. Roasted maltiness lays the foundation and makes for a tasty brew. There even seems to be a molten fudge like quality deep down in there. To keep from repeating myself I can comfortably say the flavor is spot on with the aroma. Bourbon, vanilla, berries, chocolate and roastiness all come together to create a really good stout. The alcohol is a little bigger than I would like right now but I could see a little time on this taking the edge off. The mouthfeel is where it should be. There’s a good amount of body involved and it’s slick throughout but the barrel aging brought a nice dryness to make things unique. Good drinkability for a big barrel aged stout such as this. Smooth, pleasurable and will warm up your cheeks without a doubt. A good offering from Schlafly. One I would not hesitate to pick up again. I have another in the cellar to mellow for a year. Can’t wait to give it another go. Good job on the barrel aging. 4/12/08

750 mL bottle. Pours black with a little bit of orange, thin but sturdy beige head. The aroma is bitter chocolate and bourbon, nice soft vanilla, sharp alcohol. Flavor is obvious bourbon with soft vanilla and chocolate notes. A strong oak and whisky type flavor dominates toward the finish. Some sweet dark fruit notes come out as it warms. Somewhat one dimensional, but not bad.

750ml into a snifter. Pours pretty black, nothing impressive for an imperial stout, but it’s fairly black. The nose is very rich of bourbon. This is going to be one of those over-the-top bourbon beers. Rich malty, oaken, vanilla notes dominate the aroma with raisins and a hint of port as an afterthought. Mouthfeel is nice enough, low carbonation and semi-dense. Again, bourbon is way up front in the flavor. An almost sour mash quality is apparent along with rich vanilla, oak, and a tasty raisin/fig thing going on. This is way heavy on the bourbon influence, but it works well and even retains some of the pleasing nuances that are found in southern whiskies.

750 mL bottle received via trade with tjthresh. Pours near opaque with a small, fizzy, light brown head, somewhat lasting with spare lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (chocolate, coffee, toffee, caramel), light hops (perfume), average yeast (leather) with notes of bourbon, vanilla, and oak. Full bodied, creamy and alcoholic texture, average carbonation, and a bitter finish. Average duration, moderate sweetness, acidity, and bitterness.