Ballast Point Sea Monster Stout (Barrel Aged)

Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
San Diego, California USA

Poured from a growler at the HotD dock sale... Poured black with a moderate, tannish head. Noticeable whiskey and boozy warmth with roasted notes of coffee and malts on the nose. Nice hearty, boozy brew with roasted malts, chocolate, vanilla and whiskey flavors. Oaky, wood-like hints there before the finish.

On tap at Stone Bistro. Black in color with a medium-sized frothy tan head and good lacing. Aroma is lots of bourbon along with typical imperial stout coffee, chocolate, and roast. Flavor is chocolatey and roasty with some coffee, vanilla, and wood, but the Jim Beam really dominates and overwhelms the beer a bit. Hot and boozy with and a bit thin on the body for the style. Decent, but a bit underwhelming compared to what I expected.

A deep dark stout with a thin light moka head. In aroma, a light chocolate with wooden notes, subdued. In mouth, a light chocolate with dark fruits, a bit of wood and vanilla, not bad but not enough ooomph. On tap at Ballast Point 13 Anniv. Beer Festival , Oct. 24 2009.

Draft at hamiltons: pours dark with glimmers of red light. The head atop is stable, thin, and light brown/tan. Nose was boozy with vanilla and chocolate but nothing too vibrant. Flavors are on the tart side of lactic and a little roasty. The mouthfeel is a little wet and certainly boozy...it may be a bit cold, but I don’t think the bourbon barrel added anything too good here...other than booziness and maybe a slight vanilla character. Bitterness is firm to strong and always in the background...just seems a bit wet to me and boozy in a unrefined way.

Growler from smokepot23...thanks my man! Nice brew!! Black pour, brown head. Roasted malt hits upfront on the nose and is followed by a nice bourbon and chocolate mixture. Flavor has a nice edge of bourbon, but its somewhat toned down. Good dose of chocolate and roasted malt. Fine brew.

On tap @ Beachwood BBQ. Black with a one finger creamy tan head, fading to a thick ring and film before long. Huge amounts of bourbon in the nose. Brown sugar, vanilla, oak, and a tinge of coconut dominate with some roast and light alcohol behind. The flavor is much the same, though the roast and brown sugar have some trouble keeping this from getting too boozy and hot. Dry roasty finish with a boozy burn going all the way down. Medium body with moderate fizzy carbonation. Great aroma (very bourbonated, but balanced and not alcoholic), though the flavor was too boozed up and the body was too thin fora 10% beer.

On tap at Ballast Point. Pours pitch black with a slight brown edge. Excellent oatmeal cookie and bourbon aroma. Flavor is very smooth and creamy and clearly barrel aged. Nice does of chocolate and dark roasted malt. Very nice brew.

2 ounce taster at the brewery. Pours an opaque black color with a small tan head. The aroma is whiskey, vanilla and chocolate. The taste is pretty much the same as the aroma; lots of chocolate, mellow whiskey, some green apple, roasted malts and vanilla. The alcohol is well hidden. The palate is smooth and creamy with soft carbonation. The finish is long with lingering bourbon. Overall: A very fine BA stout.