CooperSmiths Bourbon Barrel Stout

Brewed by CooperSmiths Pub & Brewing
Style: Sweet Stout
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Date: 10/14/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub

black, fine beige head, streaks of drippy lace, rich chocolate aroma with sweet dark caramel and vanilla ending with a touch of bourbon, creamy body, dark chocolate flavor, vanilla character adds sweetness, bourbon kicks in to add extra sweetness, light oak adds the only bitterness

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

From the Jug at the GABF, Colorado Convention Center 11/10/2007 Whisky aroma. Small white head. Black strong in alcohol and smooth on the palate with a warming dry bitter whisky finish.

On tap at the brewpub on 10/14/07: Pours an opaque black with a full-lacing froth of rich dark tan head. Sweet dark caramel, chocolate and bourbon nose is quite enticing. Body starts with good, rich viscosity for a sweet stout and low amounts of carbonation with a smooth, creamy dark chocolate and bourbon finish. Great balance and flavor with good drinkability.

GABF 2007: Poured black with a beige head. Doughy aroma. The flavor had a light roasty, fruity and doughy. the barrel was fairly light.

@ brewpub and hand pulled. Black with a creamy tan head. First bourbon, mild but there, aroma followed by vanilla, hazelnuts and roasted malt. Roasty with a bourbon middle. Vanilla at the end. Light tartness. Medium body with a smooth mouthfeel.

Hand drawn black color with a small head of white foam. Rich blend of oak and malt in the aroma, creating hints of vanilla, coconut, whiskey, chocolate and coffee. It’s hard for me to confess but i’m beginning to like bourbon barrel aging. Lightly vinous flavor, with hints of bourbon and powdered chocolate. This particular bourbon stout could have definately used a few more months in the barrel (I’m guessing it was 2-3 months aged), because the body was pretty lacking and the flavors hadn’t quite melded together. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it.

On tap at the brewpub. Singular bold hazlenut and hershey’s syrup aroma, strong and crisp with some bourbon sweetness. Pours deep black, with sparse rocky tan head. Flavor fades away into a watered down, thin washed out almond and cashew concentrate with toasted bread, light coffees and where’s the barrel? Weak. Alcohol brightens, even at 7.4. Finishes oakenly dry and nutty, again. Unique in it’s singular vanilla-like nut flavors, but one-dimensional.

Take a Guiness and a shot of JD and put them together. There you have this beer. Not much class to this.

The menu noted that this stuff inherited the pepperiness of its bourbon infulence - they weren’t kidding. Starts with caramel-sweet roasted coffee and quickly swithces over to a remarkably strong peppery liquor taste. It’s not like i’m drinking some sort of wierd peper drink, but the flavor is much more evident than in other bourbon-aged beers I’ve had. There’s actually not a whole lot to this beer. It’s a creamy stout with a peppery liquor influence. I don’t like it all htat much because the sweet and roasty flavors aren’t that strong and the pepper reminds me of drinking some brandy when I was a little kid.