Barley Island Beastie Barrel Stout

Brewed by Barley Island Brewing
Style: Stout
Noblesville, Indiana USA

22 oz. Bomber: Pours a coffee black with a dark medium tan head that diminishes to the side of my glass rather quickly. This brew lives up to its name since the bourbon comes out in the aroma and flavor. Sweet aroma also has hints of oatmeal, dark chocolate, and dried fruit. Bourbon flavor finishes with a mild dry bitterness. Just like drinking bourbon straight, this is a good sipping pastime. This is one of the better bourbon stouts that I have had. Well Done!

Shared by Taverner, pours cola brown with thin aff white head. The nose is the best thing about this guy. Rich with bourbon, but the flavot is thin and a bit bland. Clean finish.

The aroma is tannins, bourbon and chocolate. The flavor is oats, tannins, wood and a little smoke. Very light on the tongue. Sweet, yet ends on a slightly dry note.

Bomber courtesy of stfun. Pours dark brown with a thin light brown head. Smells of up front bourbon, some sweet malt. Tastes of bourbon, spice, earthy, chocolate, some dark fruit. Decent.

22oz bottle, courtesy of a trade from a while ago. Thanks! Pours a very dark chocolate brown color; huge, textured, medium tan head with great retention and fine-bubbled, glistening lacing; a beautiful pour. Smells like lightly toasted oak, vanilla extract, and lots of slightly warming bourbon in the aroma; the sweet vanilla can seem a bit much, and the bourbon comes on strong at first. Medium mouthfeel: loads of warming bourbon, milk chocolate, and toasty oak and vanilla; the bourbon and oakiness is a bit beyond the chocolatey, light stout underneath; but there’s really nothing overly harsh or astringent here, surprisingly; a warming, reasonably tasty milk chocolate stout. Medium finish, toasty oak, vanilla, soft bourbon and wood, with plenty of chocolate.

I couldn’t tell a big difference between the regular and the oaked aged brew. The oak age perhaps is a little more robust with and smooth with the flavor. It is a solid oatmeal stout, but has a certain spice on the after taste. Barely Island Java Stout is a lot better.

Bottle from the Keg - Pours black with a mostly receding tan head. Aroma of bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, and foamy roast. Tastes of bourbon, alcohol, vanilla, oak, spice, and chocolate. Mouhtfeel is full bodied with foamy carbonation. Similar to eating bourbon chocolates. Enjoyable, but maybe a bit too long in the barrels.

Bottle. Thanks to Sprinkle for sending me this. Poured a deep black body with thin head that faded quick. Aroma is chocolate, vanilla, light oats. Flavor is very strong bourbon, vanilla, light chocolate. The bourbon really came on too strong many times while drinking this beer and hurt the other flavors.