Great Lakes Barrel-Aged Blackout Stout

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Cleveland, Ohio USA

Bottle. Black pour. Very thin tan head. Incredible aroma....PEPPER! Oak, booze and some malt. That bourbon and pepper are unmistakable. Very different! Flavor is big malt, pepper, oak and earthiness. POW! Like a big Italian dinner this beer is. The sublte coffee and chocolate hints are in the back end, with the bourbon kicking in last. Incredible mouthfeel....silky smooth with very low carbonation. Body is oily and sticky with that great bitter finish lingering. Some residual sweetness in there too. Gladly welcomed. The bourbon is so well-balanced with everything else, making this 10x more drinkable than GI BCS. What a complex and incredible brew. One of the best I’ve ever had, easily deserving of the highest marks I’ve given so far. What an incredible experience. Not for the faint-of-heart.

Bottle. Drank a lot of this and now it’s time to rate the bastard. Black pour with a bubbly tan head that dissipates rather quickly. Nice nose of bready malt, vanilla, oak, some red pepper...overall a good amount of bourbon elements with some chocolate and roasted malt qualities to remind you of what it once was...a bit of coffee bitterness as well. Flavor of booze soaked dark fruits, vanilla, bready sweet malt, bakers chocolate, light coffee and roasty notes, vanilla, and oak. Mellow carbonation, smooth yet somewhat hot mouthfeel...a slight burn catches the tounge. Boozey throughout but not overtly so, vinous/boozey/somewhat roasty finish...quite thick...dry vinous aftertaste. Overall, a lot going on..tasted a hint of oxidation which means this one might not age so gracefully...but still quite tastey since I last have had it.

Bottle from Kujo9 via trade shared at Beerinator gathering on April Fools Day. Pours a very dark brown with a little tan head. Aroma is strong with oaky bourbon, roasted malts, and a little mocha. Flavor is big with the bourbon, with nicely balanced chocolate malt and roasted flavors. Very good, but a bit too much bourbon for this guy. Thanks a lot, Mike!!

22oz bomber via trade with zathrus13. Many Thanks for this Gem. Bottle 617/900 from 2006. Last brew at home before leaving for a little trip, wanted a special brew for my send off. Pours deep dark brownish black with a thin island of a head on top. The head what there is light brown in color as is expected of the style. Smell is big, full of bourbon, dried fruit, coffee, roastiness, smoke, and malt. The taste is very heavy on the alcohol for only 9% big bourbon overtones, with some chocolate, malt and roastedness. Sweet and potent with a big kick in the ass on the back end. This is a big beer, and it will not let you get away without making that clear. Damn good BA Impy, curious to see how this would age.

#3200. Bottle 220/900 from 2006, courtesy of sliffy, as part of Mystery Swap 2.0. The pour is onyx with 1-finger brown head. The aroma is huge roasty dark malt, chocoff, oaky bourbon. Medium palate heft, with flavors of roasty dark malt, chocolate, molasses, oaky bourbon, and a rich, complex palate.

I like the Original BO Stout Better. Simple as that! A bit too much boubron for me but still better than most stout out there. I am confused (or drunk).

Had this 3 months ago I figure I should rate it. Black with no head and barely any carbonation. The aroma was just like Blackout but with woody/bourboun notes. The taste was just too bourbony for me. Dry bourbon finish. I like the regular Blackout better. Thanks to Pudditane for the bottle.

Deep brown color with a brown head. Aroma is malty with woody burbon notes, and some alcohol. flavor is woody, slight vanilla, with a burbony alcohol finish.