Rock Bottom Chicago Bourbon Barrel-Aged Porter

Sampled on tap. Dark brown color, translucent along the edges. Bourbon, cherry, and fruit aroma. Lots of bourbon in the flavor, especially for a lighter body. Roasty, a little chocolate, and a little of the heat on my throat. Not really that good, but not that bad either.

on tap, pitch black with almost no head. aroma is mainly bourbon with some roasty notes. flavor is mainly bourbon. it over takes the beer but i dont find it too much. since the beer is only 7% the bourbon doesnt taste hot at all. i found the porter to be a little weak and failed to hold it’s own against the bourbon, just not enough roastiness and chocolate notes. mouthfeel is not full and sorta fizzy. in the end a decent porter i’m sure improved by the barrel.

Draught at the brew pub. Opaque blck color with light brown head that laced the snifter. Smelled of whisky mostly with a bit of chocolate and oak coming through. Tatses of milk chocolate, whiskey, vanilla, and oak. Very creamy mouth feel with a sweet finish.

Nearly black of body, this dark brown ale is capped with a bubbly, sustained brown head. The aroma begins with the Bourbon, followed closely by dark malts, a hint of roasted barley, a drop of chocolate milk, and alcohol. Very smooth. The flavor is strong with bittersweet chocolate, a chewy dark caramel, Bourbon, molasses, and a light touch of alcohol. It finishes on a sticky, whiskey note. Mr. Crowley continues to do amazing things with a barrel, and I thank him for his efforts.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp?PlaceID=444>Rock Bottom Chicago, Chicago, IL<font size=-1>

Dark brown with a thin, crema-colored head. The aroma definitely shows it’s barrel-aging. Vanilla, bourbon, roasted malt, fresh coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toasted bread and maybe some light acidity. The body is pretty full and robust with a pretty nice carbonation. The flavor isn’t nearly as in your face barrel action as I might have expected. The roasted malt is much more pronounced and the sweetness is way down. The bourbon and vanilla are there and they mesh pretty well, until about midpoint when the acidity comes back and whites out much of the rest of the flavor. The alcohol seems pretty strong, but I could be wrong. Good, but not outstanding. I don’t know why it all seems to drop out about halfway through. Maybe it’s past it’s peak, but it just didn’t quite do it for me.

On tap at RB Chicago. Dark brown colour with a mostly lasting frothy tan head. Straight coffee and chocolate aroma, but bourbon again is predominant in the flavour, no porter character left. Unlike the doppel, though, even the bourbon is muted here, almost as though the porter flavours and bourbon barrel character cancel each other out. Medium bodied, smooth.

Huge bourbon nose following through even stronger in the upfront flavor assault. Rich, creamy texture...very mellow and inviting. Coffee, mollases, and brown sugar highlights. Finely crafted beer.

12/16/05. At RB Chicago. Pours to a strawberry seed and chocolate oatmeal aroma. The flavor is Nestle quik and strawberry seeds and bourbon. Pours to a creamy dark tan head. Very original flavor. I’m digging this. The palate is rich and creamy. Thick. Oatmeal derived?