Brooklyn Black Ops

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

Bottle from MaltOMeal shared at the Houston Impy Tasting II. Thanks, man! Pours a beautiful black with a nice head of beige. Aroma is straight-up chocolate with oak chips in the far background. Bourbon? I can’t smell ANY bourbon. Tastes of bourbon-infused chocolate; bourbon is very prominent throughout, especially in the lingering finish. Thouigh assertive, it never overpowers. Nice mouthfeel. Above average for sure.

Bottle at Barrios’ Impromptu Tasting to pop Smitty’s Surly courtesy of nquallys. Pours a dark near black with dark brown head. Nose almost hot, oak, bourbon, smoke. Amazing flavors of ham, bourbon, vanilla. Creamy body. Very good. Just missing a little roast.

Bottle. Pours black with a huge, thick dark chocolate head. Aroma of sweet milk chocolate. Flavor of harsh alcohol initially with a chocolatey finish. Slight nuttiness and cookie malt. Surprisingly, the bourbon is extremely mellow--I only got hints of alcohol but no specific bourbony notes. Very nice. I would like to have this again. 8/4/8/4/16 (4.0/5)

Courtesy of Yaniv, thanks man! Dark brown with a dark tan head, thin. Chocolate, dark fruit astringency. Small hint of vanilla oak, but not bourbony. MEdium body and carbonation, a bit oily, but not quite viscous or thick or sticky. Coconut sort of bourbon impy, though the bourbon isn’t so forward, more oaky. Oaky astringency. A bit creamy. Acid. A healthy dose of diacetyl. Alcohol. Lingering bitter roast is where the roast really comes out the most. Decent, but 20 bucks a bottle? Ehhhh.

Bottle #3178

1/21/2009: Brooklyn Black Ops pours super thick and seems to glop out in chunks! Actually, it is quite smooth and trikles out like motor oil! This beer has a very dark to near black color with a dense brown head that is lasting. A highly roasted, dark chocolate, aroma is paired nicely with a creamy chocolate, roasty coffee malt flavor. There is even what tastes to me like a hint of chocolate-coved banana. The alcohol peeks out here (more so in the finish) and there but it overall quite well reserved. The finish reveals the barrel-aged portion of this beer as it has a slightly dry woody flavor with a nice shot of vanilla. This beer is full-bodied, creamy, smooth, and fairly mellow on the palate. Overall this beer is quite good if not excellent, but still isn’t worth the $19.99 price tag to me despite my love for Brooklyn Brewery beers. $12.99 yes, $14.99 maybe, but not $19.99! Regardless, even though "this beer does not exist," this beer is definitely worth trying (if you can find it) and will be even better in another year, probably great in 3 years, and probably at peak in 5 years!

1 pint, 9.4 fl. oz. corked and caged, punted bottle (10.7% Alc. by Vol.) shared by Tmoney99. Thanks a lot Tom. I appreciate it! Rating #70 for this beer.

Pours a very dark brown with an almost black center. A very small, tan head leaves some rings of lacing behind as it dissipates. The aroma is very rich with bittersweet and milk chocolate providing the base to go with some roast, bourbon, and vanilla. The wood comes through a bit in the nose, but is pretty subtle. The flavors follow suit with the chocolate and caramel up front followed by some roasted coffee and bitterness. Everything is smoothed out by oak laden bourbon and vanilla. Really nice flavor to this one and the alcohol is hidden nicely. Medium to full bodied mouthfeel with subtle carbonation that goes down smooth with a touch of heat. This is a very nice imperial stout, and one I will revisit to see how it ages.

Pours deep brown with no head. Nose and flavor are coffee, chocolate, sugar cookies and slight bourbon. Smooth mouthfeel.

From the bottle pours black with a soft tan head. Bitter dark bakers chocolate up front, very mild roast and bourbon notes (more kinda dry oakiness instead of the sweeter bourbon you normally get) with a dry cocoa finish.