Alpine Beer Company Boris

Brewed by Alpine Beer Company (CA)
Style: Imperial Stout
Alpine, California USA

Slightly carbonated. A little tart. Light ash from the coffee. The carbonation is a little over the top on this.

22 oz. bottle via trade with Ughsmash - Pours a thick dark brown color with a huge two finger thick dark tan head. Faint lacing. Aroma is coffee, chocolate, and light oak/bourbon. Flavor is coffee, dark esters, roasted malt, and very light oak. Didn’t get any vanilla though. Finish is somewhat bitter and dry. Medium to full body. A nice beer. Thanks Jason.

Pours pitch black and completely opaque with a 2.5 finger frothy, dark chocolate/coffee-colored head that quickly settles into a lasting cap and ring. Roasted coffee aroma with a nice oaky bourbon character as well as some roasted/burnt malt notes. It’s nice that the other aromas are able to shine and it doesn’t just smell like bourbon. Plenty of dark chocolate, burnt toast, oak, vanilla, dark fruit and roasted coffee bean. Lots of tight carbonation up front along with a very strong charred roastiness that is a bit overpowering. Pretty strong bourbon presence but not too hot with some nice vanilla oak and deep roasted nutty coffee bean. Sweet bitter dark chocolate along with the deep roastiness is a bit intense and hurts it’s drinkability a bit. Pretty sweet with subtle alcohol warmth but the ABV is pretty well masked considering. The dark fruit notes add to the sweetness, creating a beer that is pretty complex but a bit sloppy. Lots of intense flavors that don’t go together very well. I remember liking this a lot more at a recent tasting but this time around I’m not really feeling it.

Bomber. Poured close to black with a lovely cap of deep tan head. The aroma had sharper, almost metallic bourbon and oaky notes over cold-pressed coffee, brown sugar, and molasses.. more lovely, earthy bourbon on the back of the nose. The flavor opened with sour bourbon and oak (similar to the aroma, but not quite as metallic).. coffee, licorice, and molasses on the deeply-roasted core.. coffee bitterness around.. bourbon showed with more coffee on the somewhat sharp finish (but a lot of tasty stuff stuck as well). Medium-plus bodied with the right level of carbonation keeping it moving.. the sourness from the barrel kept it from being great, but I’d gladly give it another shot.

Bottle from South Bay many moons ago. Dark pour, frothy beige head and spotty lace. Big earthy nose with notable hints of espresso. This brew follows the template in the BA RIS flavor department. My only issue is the level of viscosity and how limited it is. Bourbon, oak, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, and dark fruit. Light acidity and alcohol on the finish.

Thanks IBrew2or3, you’re the man! Pours dark brown with dark tan head. Nose is dark chocolate, cafe con leche, earth, spice, smoke, yellow lace, burnt wood, and some bitterness. Flavor is earthy coffee, some vinegary tartness, smoke, ash, spice, wood, and roast. Medium to full bodied and slightly sour. Nice beer, but I swear it is a wine barrel and not a bourbon barrel.

Cafe au lait on the nose, roasty with sweet vanilla. Pours black with dark brown edges. Oaky with coffee flavors and bitter chocolate, sweet vanilla and a slight sourness in the finish.

Black with a good, long-lasting tan head that leaves a spotty lacing. Smell of old burnt coffee, maybe a little chocolate, and some wood. Taste is of old coffee, roast, bitter chocolate, vanilla, and a metallic flavor too. Mouthfeel is thin with high carbonation.