Berkshire Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout

Brewed by Berkshire Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
South Deerfield, Massachusetts USA

I should wear a shirt that says “If you brew it; I will drink it...though I may not like it.” Beer equality without bias.

She sucked the life and light out of my glass, replacing it with clean brown-black brackish depths the likes of which are rather unique. Very little head to speak of, though a bit of lace crackles after a few teasing swirls. Maybe I should have let the sleeping beast lie because after I swirled my glass a few times, a watershed bursts in some bourbon distillery somewhere and a river of bourbon descends upon me. I can’t think of too many better ways to bid farewell to this cruel world, so I put up nary a protest as I drown all my senses in the orgasmic indulgence of luscious bourbon notes. Bourbon, bourbon, and more bourbon. Bourbon soaked oak, rich vanilla esters, and dry oaky tannins which lead into dry, dark spices. A crisp crunch of caramelized sugars is all that bespeaks of a gentler, sweeter side. I haven’t even supped of my Berkshire Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout and I am already riding a bourbon lover’s high. For an imperial stout though, there are only very faint esters of dry, cacao beans of the blackest variety and burnt coffee beans. As I go under once more, I draw deep of my surrounding depths and savor the onslaught of flavors. A bit weaker in body and force then I initially expected, but that is all a ploy to lull me into comfort as her bourbon builds warmth and spice that lingers long after each quaff. Spice and wood esters pepper my breath while more bourbon flows freely amidst pockets of licorice and vanilla root, dark and sweet pitted fruits, warm gooey raisin bread, and yet more oak and bourbon. Before I break free for air, I savor one last time the warmth, the spice, the dry oak and bourbon vanillin’s, tannins, and crunchy sugars which I love so much.

Was the Berkshire Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout to style? Maybe not; some could validly argue that there was too much bourbon and not enough balance between its namesake style as an imperial stout and its bourbon barrel maturation. That being said, phooey. I love bourbon, and as long as the beer tastes good, the more bourbon the better. A wee bit more chocolate with coffee esters would have bumped her up but one more notch on the high ladder she already sits on. But then again, I’m not sure if I would be able to survive that divine of an existential experience.

2008 bottle and served in my Stone IRS snifter: Basically opaque with a nice frothy tan head and good lace. The aroma has notes of bourbon, oak , creepy funky creatures. Yep, there is a sour cherry and lacto component here. Some sweet caramel and chocolate malts, coffee and burnt sugars. The taste follows suit, twangy, soured, and oaky with a chocolate and coffee background. Actually the Mocho Coffee finish fights face to face with the sourness adding a excellent complex finish. The mouth feel is lively and sharp with a dry finish. If this brew was labeled "Jolly Pumpkin nor Russian River", people would have no issues with the funky sourness found after some aging, I happen to think this is a mistake gone wonderfully right, Yep, a Sour Imperial Stout Ale, dig it baby.

Time to catch up before BCTC. Bottle at PilsnerPeter’s Spring Throwdown. Thank to everyone who brought great beer and ribs and pickles and everything! I brought this one. Black with soft dense ring. Rich dark fruit mild roast aroma. Vanilla wood bourbon chocolate flavors. Soft mouthfeel. Pretty good.

PPRBSG09 Dark brown almost black pour with bubbly tan head and lace. Aroma of chocolate and abv. Abv and light chocolate maltiness on the flavor. Just a tad thin but a solid beer.

Bottle poured into my Dogfish head snifter produced a finger worth of than head that transformed to a thin lace. The body of the ale was an obligatory black that let no light come thru at all. Well I think we have an infected bottle here. It sucks because I refrigerated this as long as I had it so it must be the barrels. There is some big funky aroma with a little sweetness thrown in. The flavors line up as well but it is interesting. A funky IMP Stout who of thought of that combination? The mouthfeel is a little thin for a stout as well. It was interesting enough to finish the bomber but I will look for another to try again. I’ll change my score if I find a better bottle

22oz bottle. Pours very dark brown/ black. no head. Aroma of charcoal, vanilla, cocoa. Flavor of cherry, chocolate, malt, coffee roast. Perfect bourbon presence. Medium bodied. 03 may 08

Bottle at PPRBSG09. Pours black with a small head. Aroma of light bourbon, roasted malt, and chocolate. Flavor of coffee, bourbon of lots of sweet malt. Pretty bad actually. 6/4/5/2/10 (2.7/5)

22 oz. bottle. Imperial stout is my favorite style, and I have to say I was pretty disappointed with this one. Pours very dark brown, not quite black. Pleasant aroma of bourbon and caramel. The flavor is harsh bourbon along with some weak caramel and a strong dose of alcohol heat towards the finish. Thin bodied, particularly for an imperial stout. I’d have to check my ratings, but I don’t know that I have given a lower score to a beer in this style.