Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

Brewed by Saint Louis Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Maplewood, Missouri USA

Courtesy GodOfThunder. The body is fairly translucent for the style, dark chestnut brown in color, and capped with a frothy, bubbly, khaki colored head. Spotty lacing marks the glass. The aroma is a beauty, rich, dark chocolate, scorched caramel, oaky vanilla, and soft bourbon notes working wonderfully together. Flavors are similar, but not as well integrated. The bourbon asserts itself a bit more, showing a little boozy. Likewise, the vanilla and oak presence really starts to overpower the cocoa and caramel elements. Substantial, smooth, and lightly carbonated, the mouthfeel is lacking a bit, and finishes with some alcoholic heat. Solid beer, overall, but it falls short of expectations in a few respects.

Alcohol is hidden well in this, very smooth drinker. Shared by imadeadguy once again. Pour dark with white half inch head. Taste is slight bourbon, malt and expresso. Solid beer.

750 ml bottle from 2007. Pours a dark brown, almost black with flashes of red highlights. Dark chocolate brown head dissipates quickly, but remains slightly lacy and leaves swirls on the surface. Aroma of rich and sweet chocolate malts, lightly roasted, sweet caramel malts, and that oak/bourbon backing that I absolutely love. Nice aroma, more sweet with hints of dried fruits than bitter. Slightly woody. Taste is very similar to the aroma. More sweet than bitter, again. Finishes quick and dry, warm, chocolately. A lighter body with a carbonated ending. Doesn’t linger as long as most because its not as bitter as other imperial stouts out there. Overall, love the milk chocolate-ness, but leaves me wanting more. Could use more bourbon/oak as well as more bittering hops. Its slightly off balance, in my opinion, because of the lacking bitterness. Not an overpowering imperial stout, more subtle than most. 8,4,7,3,14 = 3.6 Re-rate: On tap at the Flying Saucer in KC. Pours a thinner black with some brownish-red tints around the edge. Thin, beige to tan colored head that leaves a moderate amount of soft, whispy lacing. Aroma of rich chocolate and soft wood, bourbon, and roasted barley. Some traces of vanilla and dried fruits. Flavor is quite nice and better than I remember it being. Very soft all around. Initial roast that acts as the line leader, guiding this beer on its journey through the palate. Dark chocolate, woody bourbon, prunes, and woody hops fill out the flavor while ending rich and roasty sweet with a big malty chocolate and subtle roast, woody bourbon. Palate is medium bodied, slick but somewhat sticky, and dry. Overall, a nice tasting Imp Stout. The woody bourbon acts as a great compliment to the rich chocolate and soft roasts. Very well balanced and more enjoyeable than I remember. 7,3,8,4,15 = 3.7

Tasting at the McBackus Backyard Bash. Big bourbon roasted grain, chocolate malt aroma. Bourbon, chocolate malt, vanilla, hints of coffee and hops in the taste. Nice complex taste, very interesting. Finishes smooth with a hint of chocolate and bourbon. Very tasty.

tasting at mcbackus house. very good beer Black pour, fair tan head. Aroma is chcolate, booze, and coffee. Mouthfeel is a tad thin, but flavor is very nice. Vaniila, chocolate and coffee abound. Good stuff.

Time and time again I am graced with a barrel aged beer and I have yet to be disappointed. Nay, I may even dare say that each one impresses me as much if not more than the next which can at times leave me with a bitter tinge of foreboding. When will there be a barrel aged beer which disappoints, lets me down, and shames the wood it was aged in. Thankfully that horrific moment has yet to come, so I shall remain ever the optimist much to my pessimists chagrin.
Fresh from Schlafly Brewing out of Maplewood, Missouri is the Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. It is uncertain what or whose bourbon barrels she is aged in, but whoever’s womb my Schlafly Imperial Stout rests in, she shall emerge for the better. Pouring a rich black with hints of brown as light peeks through along the sides of my glass and in the pour itself. Her head fades into a thin ring around my glass while the sides are dotted with mischievous bubbles. So far not too much in the way of brussels lace. Her nose is dark chocolate and espresso in bloom. A hint of alcohol, invariably from the bourbon barrels my Schlafly Imperial Stout was aged in. a tinge of wood and vanilla also peeks through. A few quaffs and I am dialed into her bitter-sweet cooking chocolate and dark chocolate notes that pervades her palate; dry and crumbly. A faint tinge of bourbon begins to peak through, hinting of vanilla and smoked wood. Her body and mouthfeel is thick and viscous with very little effervescence. A touch of chocolate covered raisins. As the brew warms in my glass, some brussels lace leaves their mark on the sides.
Overall, very yummy. An amazing amount of chocolate and espresso overall, especially considering it was aged in bourbon barrels. No chips. No fresh oak barrels. that being said, not as much bourbon as I was anticipating, but the alcohol warmth and vanilla notes definitely reminded me of the birth my Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout had lay in. a grand example, my desire for more bourbon notes could be more a matter of personal taste, but she was definitely not disappointing.

Dark brown/black color, similar to the Barleywine with it’s vanilla sweetness, but finished with a more stout, dark flavor.

2007 bottle. Pour is dark brown with a small brown head. Aroma is coffee, chocolate, oak, vanilla and caramel. Flavor pretty much is the same...very good. Very full and creamy body. Smooth and drinkable. Better than many higher rated imperial stout.