Oakes (6556), Miami Beach, Canada May 7, 2008 Slightly hazy dark brown. Rich, thick aroma - lots of toffee, bourbon, wood, coffee, nuts, all in balance. Rich, chewy toffee palate. Decadent and sublimely balanced. Full Sail has a certain restraint in their beers that I feel really lends itself to things like barrel-aging. CaptainCougar (4478), Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and Atlanta, Georgia, USA Mar 22, 2008 Pours an opaque oily black with a spotty-lacing off-white head. Aroma of lightly sweet earthy dark caramel chocolate and complex bourbon oak with a toasty maltiness. Body starts with a mild dark caramel malty sweetness and an earthy, oaky fresh bourbon balance before a drier molten dark chocolate finish. A nice imperial porter, but not as full bodied as the older version. BückDich (4395), Boise, Idaho, USA Feb 17, 2008 Bottle: Black, nice head, tan lacing. Nose of vanilla, light roast, alcohol, almond, vanilla, rye, bourbon, oak; very complex. The flavor is strong, alcohol, tons of mallow and coffee, bitter with light soy/deet notes. Chocolate and barley wash over it all. Smooth and rich with bourbon. Plays well, no astringency. Very meaty, wow. Delicious stuff, subtle yet as deep as you dare to look. hopscotch (4228), Vero Beach, Florida, USA Apr 1, 2008 Bottle... GIABMISGFAB... This beer rocks!... Pours pitch black with a small, fat bubbled, lightly tanned head. Much like barrel aged Speedway Stout, I’m picking up big notes of chocolate, vanilla and coconut. Full-bodied and milky with fizzy carbonation. Chocolaty, bourbony and bitter. Finishes fairly hot and chocolaty. Thanks go out to mcbackus or DragonStout... whoever brought this bad boy along to share! Ernest (4145), Boulder, Colorado, USA Mar 12, 2008 Bottle.
Head is initially small, frothy, brown, mostly diminishing.
Body is black (non-opaque, flashlight tested).
Aroma is moderately malty (roasted grain, dark chocolate, caramel), with notes of bourbon, alcohol, raw wood, vanilla, peanut butter.
Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter.
Finish is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter.
Medium to full body, syrupy/creamy texture, lively carbonation, moderately to heavily alcoholic, lightly to moderately astringent.
Very boozy/burning...seems stronger than it is, which is odd considering the viscosity and sweetness is pretty high. Usually that hides the alcohol, but not so much here. Astringency is rough too, another mark against the mouthfeel. A bit too much bourbon/alcohol and raw wood in the nose for my tastes, but it’s pleasant otherwise. Kind of simple and rough, but if you’ve got a bourbon fetish I could see you liking it well enough.
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