Odell Buffalo Bourbon Stout

Brewed by Odell Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

A Mes rate. Bottle at Borefts 10am day after hotel tasting.
Black brown with a good beige head. Lots of bourbon and vanilla and barrel. Some sickly sweet malt gives up lots of American chocolate. Decent enough just very obvious and not particularly interesting.

Draft @ Choice City. Dense black colored body, small ring of a brown head. Nose is a little hot and boozy - straight bourbon and charred malts, a little cream and a little chocolate mousse. Texture is chewy, medium fullness, some resinous/oily character - mostly straight charred chocolate malt and bourbon, a little touch of fluffy/pillowy dark chocolate and whipped cream at times. Decent but not great.

Draught. Head is mostly diminishing. Body is dark brown. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (caramel, chocolate, cereal), with notes of vanilla, wood, whisky, hint of earth. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, soft carbonation. This was a sample that had spent about 2 months in the barrel...they had also made some available after 1 month of aging, so are clearly experimenting for an upcoming bourbon barrel project. Pleasant, but kinda simple.

On tap at Boulder Strong Ale Fest poured a translucent dark brown with a small lasting tan head. Aromas of soured bourbon, dark chocolate, roasted malt and vanilla. Palate was medium bodied and smooth. Flavors of bourbon, dark chocolate, vanilla and roasted malt with a smooth chocolatey finish.

Draught at Boulder Strong Ale Festival. Pours black with a small, fizzy, medium brown head, lasting with fair lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (coffee, toasted grain, caramel), light hops (herbs), heavy yeast (leather) with notes of vanilla, wood, dates, and prune. Medium bodied, oily texture, lively carbonation, and an astringent finish. Average duration, light sweetness, moderate acidity and bitterness.

2009 Boulder Strong Ale Festival: Overall, I thought this one was good ... but it was a case where I thought flavors were just OK yet aromas were very nice, namely: coconut, honey, chocolate, vanilla, whiskey, oak and dark fruit. Only a mild bitterness finished it off.

Sampled @ 9th AZ Strong Beer Festival. Bourbon wood aroma stands out in this one. Black body with tan head. Mix of creamy chcolate and sweet bourbon for flavor. Dry on the palate maybe little too dry for me.

Draft: Eclipsed mahogany. Dense, big-bubbled light-beige head. Aroma is chockfull of roasted barley and coffee. Slightly phenolic with burnt cookies, caramel, and raisins. Flimsy, obviously-forced carbonation collapses on the palate upon contact. Initial graininess is trailed by a salty undertow of licorice and oaky bourbon which enlivens the crunchy char. Molasses and smoky roast tease the palate, but lack intensity and fail to contribute and significant depth. Oak is fairly pronounced, but the bourbon fails to make an impression. Tight cinnamon highlights the char and offsets some of the flabbiness. Feathery roasted barley tempers the delicate zing of metallic char. Just enough residual sweetness exudes to curtail the pervasive graininess. Earthy hop bitterness creeps in at the finish alongside a vaporous bourbon sweep which displaces the lurking tackiness. There’s nothing particularly striking or Imperialish about this. Rather unpolished, grainy, poorly attenuated, dreadfully artificial carbonic texture, not enough bourbon emphasis, etc. More time in the barrel coupled with some natural carbonation might just make this something worth seeking out.