Full Sail Black Gold Imperial Stout Bourbon Barrel Aged

Brewed by Full Sail Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Hood River, Oregon USA

Pours a dark black allowing light with a one finger light tan head. The nose shows some tobacco, wood, bourbon, some alcohol, mild notes of chocolate and coffee. Flavor is bourbon and oak, some vanillins, tanic, great wood character but not much stout. Palate is a tad thin with some vanillins.

2009 bottle. This opaque black ale poured with a rich tan head and a pervasive whiskey aroma. There is a nice roasted malt flavor that is somewhat masked by alcohol and a slight sourness. The taste improves as the beer warms, but it needs some aging to cut the sharpness from the bourbon barrell.

This beer is close to greatness. Received this one in a trade, cheers Ryan! Pours a nice all black liquid with an inch of frothy mocha head. Lacing is poor, but I blame the not exactly beer clean glass. Scent is a nice bourbon but if there is anything else, it is masked by the all too powerful bourbon. One dimensional. Taste at first got a 8. A little more complex but make no mistake this is a bourbon forward stout. Roasted malt comes up bit in the aftertaste. Letting it warm up a little added a few more complexities and brought this to a 9 Medium high in body and low-med carbonation. Close. I have a feeling some age would do wonders here, otherwise a few small tweaks and we would have legendary status.

22 oz. bottle into a glass-FIRST DRINK- WOW, bourbon, strong alcoholic flavor. HALF GLASS-This is a sipping beer for sure.LAST DRINK-Mellows as it warms, good imperial stout, although i think i would have preferred the regular imperial stout over the bourbon barrel aged one, just my personal preference.

Bottle shared at a BeerAdvocate tasting. Jet black in color with a light brown head. Aroma is roast, bourbon, and chocolate. Flavor is roast, bourbon, chocolate, oak, and alcohol. Creamy on the palate with soft carbonation. ABV a little more present than I’d like maybe, but it’s a very good RIS overall regardless.

I’m not in Texas, but I could swear I have struck the mother of all veins as solid black viscosity burbles into my glass topped by a chocolate mousse head. A thick collar stakes her claim and lace smartly avoids suffocation by not even showing up. Don’t light a match anywhere near me or this beer, lest the bourbon soaked fumes roiling off the surface catch fire. Bourbon soaked wood and bourbon filled chocolate truffles and caramel nougat melts under a flurry of soft powdered dark chocolate. Earthy licorice root meets charred wood in a melding of interests even as warm bourbon spices and vanilla bean liven up the party. Liquid gold = liquid sex? You decide. I take one last breath before drinking deep of her bourbon depths. Smooth, rich, and creamy emphasizes melted caramel nougat. Her melted caramel lingers long in the finish while chocolate truffles oozing bourbon and spice gets a powder-puff of dark chocolate before stepping onto the stage. Her creamy mouthfeel is balanced by a pervasive dryness of charred wood barrels. Vanilla bean and spice speckle the dryness even as bourbon continues to soak each and every fiber of my being. Not to be outdone, her imperial stout delights are not lacking, and gooey chocolate truffles and caramel nougats continue to seduce atop a continuous supply of freshly drawn espresso. A final wisp of coconut milk plays for my attentions. Enveloped in bourbon, I can think of no better way to retire for the night.

The Black Gold Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels from Full Sail Brewing was the last beer in a small night of tasting, and I couldn’t have asked for a nicer night-cap. I think the Black Gold was my first Full Sail beer, which stirs do-concern that I have been woefully neglecting a craft brewery of class and potential. A travesty I must obviously correct.

Thanks AgentSteve. Poured dark brown/black, smooth, chocolate, bourbon, coconut, wood, vanilla, little licorice.

Pours deep brown with a dark tan head. Wonderful bourbon, oak, vanilla and coconut nose, and a same in the flavor although a bit lighter. Creamy on the palate and a great sipper.