DuClaw Black Jack Stout

Brewed by DuClaw Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Abingdon, Maryland USA

RBSG07. From bottle. Pours dark brown with a chocolate brown head. Aroma is roasted malt, hints of coffee. Flavour is caramel malty, almost toffee. Finish is caramel sweet.

Date: March 24, 2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Appearance: black, fine tan head, lots of lace
Flavor: roasted flavor with a tart edge, starts with rich roasted flavor but follows with lots of sourness

Date: April 28, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Score: 2.0 to 3.7
Appearance: black, wispy beige head, drops of lace
Aroma: rich roasted and chocolate aroma
Body: creamy body
Flavor: rich dry dark chocolate flavor, good balancing hop bitterness blends well with the roasted malts

Date: February 13, 2009
Mode: growler
Source: tasting
Appearance: sweet roasted aroma backed by the dark chocolate
Overall: rich roasted and dark chocolate flavor, lots of balancing bitterness dries out the flavor in contrast to the sweet aroma

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Re-rate: Black colour with rich brown head. Big aroma positively stings with roast. The body is smooth with chocolatey, coffee notes and a warming bourbon finish. Balanced, nuanced example.

Black colour, brown head. Nutty, chocolatey aroma with a hint of raisin. Rich toffee palate with caramel, earthiness…quite sweet. Alcohol hit comes in late; dark chocolate even later. Ar7 Ap5 F7 P4 O14 = 3.7

(Cask-conditioned, aged on Bourbon-soaked oak chips): Black with minimal tan head. Aroma is moderately sweet, woodsy, and hint of bourbon. Taste is malty, some bourbon, some sweetness. The finish has a yummy bitterness, but there's something else there that just tastes funny.

Black body. Huge sticky and rocky tan head, a very impressive sight which makes it even scarier. Sweet chocolate aroma, light smoked notes, vanilla beans, creamy. Much drier than expected in mouth. Charcoal like roasted finish. Mild dark fruits, slightly acidic hops. Smooth and velvety full body which got quite a decent effervescence for a hand-bottled 1liter swingtop. No worries Larry, this was a treat, thanks!

on tap-pours a retaining light brown head that laces and black color with red tint. Aroma is roasty, orange peel/tangerine, dark malt-chocolate. Taste is roasty, dark malt-coffee/chocolate, acidic orange peel/tangerine.

Again, many thanks to TAR for the sample! Pours an oily, completely opaque black with a thin coating of dark tan head. Subtle chocolate chip cookie dough nose with underlying oak and whiskey. Viscous palate holds a nice malty sweetness, plenty of fresh hoppy balance, and a smooth, roasty, dry whiskey oak finish. Hides its alcohol well and has very nice complexity, making it enjoyable and easy to drink. A great imperial!

RBSG2003 This beer rocks! It pours black hole black! Small, fizzy, deeply-tanned head. Awesome nose! Very dark chocolate, espresso and cherries! The flavor matches the aroma. Nicely balanced with a moderately bitter, burnt, nutty backside. Full-bodied with an oily mouthfeel and lively carbonation. Lengthy, bittersweet, chocolatey finish. Excellent stout. This was last years batch and the aging did wonders!