Brooklyn Black Ops

Brewed by Brooklyn Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Brooklyn, New York USA

Finally a substitute for my beloved East End Homewood Reserve. The champagne yeast gives this one a different quality than any other beer I have had before. I have heard the complaint that this is too bourbony but its just right for me. It figures that this is ultra expensive and difficult to obtain, but at least I have come close to that goodness from the Homewood again.

Black Ops from Brooklyn came is an imposing looking, corked and caged bomber, with an elegant black and brushed silver label . I chose pour this elusive find into a Duvel Tulip, and the fermentation in the bottle had evidently done its magic, and the beer came out with a thick foamy head over a pitch black body. The aroma of the beer was beyond belief, as the chocolate, coffee, and vanilla smells melded together seamlessly to create a cohesive whole. The First sip showed the effects of the barrel aging clearly, as the body was silky smooth and taste full of oak tannins and sweet vanilla beans. The chocolate and coffee that were so perceptible in the nose were far more restrained in the mouth, and toffee and black strap molasses were more prominent here. Clearly of a high strength and very warming, but not overly hot. A beautiful take on an ageless style.

Thanks to Jon Ambrosini for bringing a bottle of this back all the way from NY. Also sampled at cquiroga’s Woodshop Quad Tasting in January ’09. Beautiful black color with a deep maroon/brown head. Complex, mouth-watering aroma of bourbon-saturated oak wood, coffee and blackened malt. Flavor is exquisite. An awesome blend of dark chocolate cake batter, smoked malts, vanilla and licorice. Mildly bitter coffee and bourbon tones hang on the finish. Very full bodied, with a slight bit of carbonation. Pretty stellar.

Courtesy of Juart from some secret trade. Pours black like oil with a huge thick dark brown head the color of mocha. Aroma is roasty dark chocolate with bourbon soaked espresso beans. Lots of alcohol. Flavor has some bourbon characteristics and the rest is like coffee flavored chocolate syrup. A little bit of a carbonic burnt bite. Body is a little bit lacking from what I expected, but is still very good and very rich. Leaves a caramely bitter on the tongue.

Bottle from 5 Points Bottle in Athens. Fluffy head w/ great retention. Coats the tongue, but isn’t thick. Full bodied, full flavored. Bourbon isn’t huge. Coffee and chocolate are primary flavors. Long aftertaste. Very reminiscent of Abyss.

(Sample Date: 1/1/2009 Source:Mekong) Whiskey and wood are upfront in the aroma. Opaque with a dark tan head. The wood and whiskey dominate the flavor. Body is light to medium with a full creamy mouthfeel. Complex and well balanced. Excellent.

750mL cork and caged bottle poured into a tulip. Pours a viscous oily black out of the bottle with no light shoeing through at all. The head is massive and mocha-colored, hanging around as a big cap for ages and leaving tons of lacing. A gorgeous looking stout. The aroma is dominated by baker’s chocolate, dark roasted malts and sweet dark fruits. There is a hint of the bourbon in the nostrils but not overpowering at all. The taste has lots of sweetness up front with dark fruits, raisins and plums, alongside a sweeter chocolate than the aroma. There are abundant dark malts forming a big malty backbone underneath the sweetness. Only the faintest hints of bourbon in the finish. The mouthfeel is fantastic on this one, super creamy and full-bodied with generous soft carbonation. Decadent and velvety smooth. This is very good example of an RIS that’s not too overpoweringly roasty. The bourbon aging is very subtle as I get little presence from the barrels. Still, it’s an excellent stout.

750ml bottle from Beerlando (Thanks!) Pour was viscous black with a thick 1 inch head as I poured it into a snifter. Aroma was of vanilla, bourbon and a little nutty. Flavor was chocolate, a little coffee and finished with a nice vanilla and bourbon aftertaste. For being 10% ABV, it hid the alcohol very well. Overall a very good beer.