Great Lakes Barrel-Aged Blackout Stout

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

From Notes. Sampled this on tap the Saturday after its release at the brewery. Served in a snifter. This black beast has a perfect 1 cm cream head holding on top. Aroma is rich and complex, fresh sweet cream, espresso, chocolate, oak, vanilla, roasted malt, its all there. This just smells plain wonderful, even through a stuffy nose. The mouthfeel is very smooth, very smooth. Still some crispness from the alcohol, but generally robust, mellowed and wonderful. Flavor is refined and chocolatey, it pops with chewy truffles, light espresso notes, and fluffy marshmallow taste. Once the glass is low a rough swirl brings out some cognac spiciness from the wood.

Thank you footbalm. This is a fantastic rendition of the famous version and delivers quite well. Deep dark color with a modest head. Aroma is strong and plentiful. Medium to full nectar with excellent carbonation. Off the top I get vanilla, coconut, and chocolate. The finish is long and inviting.

22oz from the mighty zathrus13. Thanks, Jeff. 2516 series from 07. Initial pour seems almost still, but some faint carbontion emerges from the void. Oily body, perhaps not quite as thick as regular Blackout. Soft barrel notes in the nose, nicely subtle compared to the one dimensional vanilla bombs one sometimes encounter. Prickly carbonation and a bit of spice are infused in the lovely chocolate, Vienna roast, and a well done, modest bourbon core. The various flavors come together nicely to complement the stout rather than overwhelm it. Rich and satisfying, complex and drinkable. Very good, and I hope to get more.

Bottle. Pours dark brown with thin tan head. Aroma is bourbon, vanilla, espresso, cocoa. Flavor is dominated by bourbon and vanilla with slight coffee and chocolate notes underneath. Finish is big bourbon flavor with a tiny alcohol sting. Very enjoyable, wish I could get more.

Bottle. Pours dark brown with tan head. Aroma and taste of coffee, dark chocolate, oak and vanilla. Bourbon in the finish. Would like more of this one.

“2516 series” 2008 bomber into snifter. A bit disappointed with the pour – not much of a head and not as pitch black and viscous as expected. At first I didn’t dig this too much. The nose and flavor were really boozy upfront but settled down and revealed a really complex and appealing vanilla character from the oak that coupled really well with the roasty dark chocolate character. Not the thickest impy stout on the palate by any means, but worthy and well done.

Beautiful dark, dark brown color with nice light beige head. The lacing is abundant and clings like a roadmap. The aromas are rich and full of oak. The flavors are deliciously compllex and smooth, incorporating a rich roasted nutty flavor with oak, bourbon, and whisky undertones. The vanilla comes out in the end along with the alcohol and hop oils. Well made.

Bottle: Dark brown pour (slightly darker than original Blackout) with a thin brown head. Tiny bits of sticky lacing. Aroma is forward with BA notes and some of the rich roastiness. Taste is so rampant with bourbon that the smooth roast and bitters of the Blackout are hidden in the rear. Definitely better at room temperature, but still a bourbon bomb. Too bad, the original is so delicious. Thanks monger, I’d been wanting to try this for awhile now.