Brownings Bourbon Imperial Stout

Brewed by Brownings Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Louisville, Kentucky USA

Jim Mack’s Pre-Beer Wars Gathering. 2006 vintage. Pours a brown body with a tan coffee head. Hints of chocolate, toffee some light roasted malt character and a hint of light whiskey. Chewy some soy and paper y notes. Missed the mark.

22 oz bottle
It does not surprise me that Brownings could not last if this is the best bourbon barrel imperial stout they could do. Much like another barrel aged disaster from Lexington it is heavy on the bourbon and light on anything else. Only the fact that it is an imperial stout makes it drinkable.

Aroma / Appearance - There is virtually no head at all; only a black body which is sticky with dark lines of lacing. Vanilla and bourbon are clear evidence of secondary aging. The only base aspects to survive are cherry, anise, and some maltiness.

Flavor / Palate - Sweeter than any other imperial stout I have ever tried this one is almost candylike. Oak and vanilla overpower the malt, coffee, and anise in a way that makes it less than the sum of its parts. Thin bodied and frail this one needs more body to stand up to the affects of aging. Unfortunately we will never get a chance to see what they could have done with some tweaking.

Delilahs Vintage Tasting. Poured a dark clear blackish brown, watery. Some head lasting a bit too long. Chocolate aroma. Taste is a bit too much of alcohol and watery bourbon/ vanilla. A miss on the style for me

Poured a dark brown with a small beige head. The aroma had notes of vanilla and was mildly tart. Roasty malt. That’s about it for the aroma and flavor. Medium bodied and warming.

Bottle shared by goldtwins. Dark black brown beer. Thin tan head. Aroma is loaded with oak and bourbon over a soft chocolate and cocoa maltiness. A sweet bourbony vanilla character. Light caramelly malt base but it seems a little bit thin. Gets quite boozy as it starts to warm up as well.

Pours brown in color with some light getting through around the edges. Seems a bit thin on the pour. Decent half inch of head forming. Smell is subtle but nice amount of oak and bourbon. Initially the taste is incredibly balanced bourbon with a decent stout to carry it. But the flavor on the finish is ruining the entire experience. There’s a strong wet wood/paper flavor at the end that completely detracts from the beer. Up until that point, it was decent, but you can’t get past that finish and almost makes it undrinkable.

2008 bottle. Pours a clearish brown to black with a big ass white head, light, crazy. The nose is creamy with some coffee and some roast. A bit of some acidity. There’s a general malty sweetness and nothing too aggressive. Not the fullest mouthfeel for the style or even a sweet stout. Average CO2. Very acidic and astringent, strikingly! Not too sweet. Some strong tannic aspects, maybe the oak? Roast. No real sign of chocolate or coffee from the nose. No sign of bourbon really either. A lingering acrid bitterness. This seems not quite right for the style. Kind of unpleasant.

2008 bomber. Nice dark roast nose, a little milk chocolate in the back, but for the most part more burnt ash than smooth (a good thing). Woody but not particularly bourbonous. Dark brown pour edging to pitch with a huge Duvelish head differing only in color (tan). Watery body with some chintzy forced carbonation that really detracts. Roasty notes are covered over by the minerally yeast and there’s not much more left than oxidized homebrew. A disappointment – and I have a feeling I won’t get a chance to try this on tap.