Free State Owd Macs Imperial Stout

Brewed by Free State Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Lawrence, Kansas USA

Courtesy boboski. Huge thanks once again. I think half my rates are courtesy boboski. You are my hero. Growler. 2004. Pours black as night with really no head. Looks like motor oil. Wow, what a smell! Lovely roast and chocolate aromas attack me. Some nice molasses, and caramel round out the smells. Get a slight bit of alcohol in there as well. Really rich and thick mouthfeel. I got the whiskey right away. Lovely chocolate and caramel fill the palate and coats the insides of my mouth fully. Get a little sweetness in there as well, almost like raisins. It added a nice touch to it. Definitely get some alcohol, the finish was a little hot. The aftertaste was creamy chocolate and some whiskey. Phenomenal.

2004 vintage, tap at the brewpub. All black pour with a smallish tan head that clings to the glass. Aroma is roast, sweetness and just a hint of alcohol. The bourbon and wood come through as well. Taste begins with the deep roastiness, dark chocolate and even a light hoppiness. Towards the middle and end, you get more sweetness and the bourbon, and a very muted heat at the very end. Nothing but pleasant in the finish. This is amazing. Great body, significant complexity. Please brew it again, Free State.

On tap @ the brewpub. 2004 Batch. Let me begin by saying that I don’t generally believe that ANYTHING should be considered "perfect". Everything, or so I thought, could stand to be improved in some way. This beer, however, has changed my definition of the word. Nothing that I have ever consumed has come so close to a religious experience that I could honestly say that changing a single thing would be sacrilege. This beer is pure bliss; liquid sex. It pours jet black with a tiny head that clings to the sides of the snifter. Despite the fact that the bartender gave me such a generous pour that I couldn’t swirl the glass until after several sips (no complaints though), the aroma is amazing. Dark fruits abound, with plums and raisins up front, vanilla and a brandy-like alcohol rounding things out. There are no words to describe the euphoria that simply smelling this beer can induce. My buddy and I spent uncounted minutes with our noses in our snifters just breathing and smiling. Once I took a sip, my tongue was blanketed in chewy silky smoothness. The flavor that hit me literally made me laugh to myself and say, "Oh my God." It was a blend of dark fruits, dark roasted malty sweetness, faint chocolate and both a hint of the bourbon and a faint wine-like woodiness that obviously comes from the conditioned barrels that house this incredible nectar. As a fan of cognac and Armagnac, I love "warm" complex flavors. I am utterly blown away that something that costs just $3.50 a snifter can embarrass spirits that cost ten times as much. When I die, I want to be embalmed in this stuff. If you haven’t gotten the hint yet. I love this beer, and if you ever get the chance to try it on tap rather than from a growler or hand bottle, don’t hesitate.

Hand Bottle shared by bgburdman at C-Bus 6, thanks! Black pour with no head to speak of. Aromaheld lots of bourbon elements , some chocolate, and dark fruits. More bourbon came through in the flavor, perhaps a bit too much as it was a wee bit hot...choclate and roasted malt elements were present as well. Bourboney/boozey qualities thoughout with a warming finish. Pretty nice.

Many thanks go to tjthresh for the opportunity to try this! Handbottled from the 2005 batch. Poured deep brown (looked black w/o a light behind it) with only a few light bubbles of head.

The aroma was quite potent with a very nice bourbon blend above all else... charred cocoa, licorice, anise, and sweet vanilla follow behind.

The flavor began with a rather sharp bourbon and sour espresso hit on the tip of the tongue... heavy bourbon throughout the drink with deeply roasted dark chocolate, soy, and anise behind.. sweet vanilla and charred oak accents.. warm, charred finish with some alcohol evident. Carbonation was on the flat-end, but it maintained a nice flow... heavier-bodied. Solid brew but a bit too hot.

**Rerate on 5/29/2007 - after many chances to sample the 2004 vintage again, I firmly believe this is as close to beer perfection as there is! Words just do not do it justice...**

Rating #100, celebrated in a big way @ Free State’s Old Backus and Owd Mac’s vertical tasting! Was able to sample both 2004 and 2005 Owd Mac’s, which were both amazing yet hugely different. Preferred the 2004, so rating reflects that year. Pours thick black with slight brownish ruby highlights and no head or lacing. Somewhat subdued aroma of oak and dark chocolate, with subtle hints of vanilla, molasses and espresso. A near perfectly balanced flavor with an amazing palate - thick and chewy, with no carbonation and a covering oily mouthfeel. Truly decadent on the palate, almost like a drinking chocolate. This is one amazing beer that was a real pleasure to have the opportunity to try. By contrast the 2005 was hotter, very bourbon forward, with an interesting chocolate finish once you pushed through the bourbon. Very grand in it’s own right, but not as mellow and complex as the 2004.

I have to give a huge thanks to tjthresh for this. I bugged him for two months about this and he came through. Poured black with a small head. Aroma was strong bourbon and alcohol and had a lot of chocolateness. This was pretty hot overall but I was able to look past that. Flavor was sweet, chocolate, and a lot more bourbon. This has a real solid bottle on this. Very good beer.

2004 vintage, growler, thanks to mreusch! pours black with very small off-white head. nose has lots of oak, bourbon, vanilla, nice coffee roast, coconut, sweet alcohol, hints of baker’s chocolate, plums, tobacco, and slight soy. the nose was very complex that at different smells and temps certain notes would stick out. flavor has some nice coffee roast, bourbon, charred wood, vanilla, coconut, plums, sweet chocolate, and tobacco. carbination is low and mouthfeel is silky and sticky. really great stuff, and i probably liked it more than more total score but what can i do, i score ’em like i see ’em.