 yespr (6259), Copenhagen O, Denmark
Aug 7, 2008 From tap at Stone Bistro. Pours pitch black with a short lasting head. Sweet fruity and dense roasted malt aroma. Flavour is fruity, dense caramel and mild chocolate. Holds a nice note of vanilla too. Warming alchol finish.
kp (6200), Woodstock, Georgia, USA
Sep 1, 2007 Date: 02/09/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Extreme Beer
black, frothy tan head, light bourbon aroma, rich roasted malt flavor well balanced with the bourbon character, nice chocolate coming through,
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: ***/4
argo0 (6167), Washington DC, USA
May 28, 2008 (thanks kmweaver) Small brown head atop black body with dark brown edge. Aroma is moderately sweet, vanilla/Bourbon, chocolate, marshmallow, some bubblegum, coffee/roast, light burnt, wood. Taste is moderately sweet, chocolate, roast/burnt, Bourbon/vanilla. Light alcohol burn. Low carbonation, medium body, possibly a trifle thin for the beer.
Rastacouere (5270), Montréal, Quebec, Canada
May 26, 2008 Objectively speaking:
From a 1L growler brought back by François. Thanks! Another bourbon barrel aged imperial stout who uses the powerful weapon that rarity is against Ratebeer’s Bayesian scale!
I like:
No annoying vegetal (spent grain, corn syrup) character from the barrel, more like pure wood and vanilla components. Rather rich body for a beer that went through a barrel, no apparent thinning. Roastiness manages to pass through the bourbon. No cloying factor.
I dislike:
It’s hard to figure out what sets it apart from its concurrents enough to justify a current 4.4 average. No bottles available to age up the edges (Some flavours head in totally opposite directions, namely the bitterness). Not very balanced as this stage (still intensely bourbony) and to me, not superior to their regular impy.
CaptainCougar (4633), Rockville, Maryland, USA
Dec 17, 2007 Sampled at the second annual Bistro’s West Coast Barrel Aged Beer Fest: Pours an oily opaque with a thin ring of wispy dark tan head. Aroma of sweet dark caramel and chocolate with nice oaky bourbon complexity. Starts fairly sweet and caramely malty with some sticky dark chocolate and drier smoky notes toward an earthy, oaky bittersweet finish. A well-balanced and fairly complex brew.
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