Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

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

Pours a dark, dark brown, not quite pitch black, with mahogany hues around the edges. The head is a bubbly one-finger tan that lingers for quite a while leaving some very good lacing. Smell is of sweet chocolate malts and a touch of dark fruits and caramel. The bourbon is present but not overpowering in the aroma. The taste follows the aroma but the whiskey is much more dominant in the taste, almost too much so. The sweet chocolate malts are still up front but give way quickly to the boozy bourbon taste which lingers throughout the finish as well. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, smooth, and creamy. The overpowering bourbon in the taste takes away from the drinkability a bit. That said, this is a very good barrel-aged stout and I would recommend it.

2006 vintage, 750mL bottle. Poured deep brown with a short cap of fine-bubbled beige head. The aroma was most excellent.. sweeter chocolates, caramel, vanilla, and bourbon on toasted oak.. spicy alcohol notes, soy, mild smoke, and darker chocolate on the back.. nice roast overall. The flavor had bittersweet chocolate, lighter soy, and caramel at the core with toasted oak and smoky rum surrounding.. sticky-sweet, warm, and entirely satisfying.. finished with more vanilla, bourbon, and caramel. Almost syrupy feel on the palate with lower carbonation.. the roast and smoke left a sweet, almost burnt feel on the finish with a bit of bourbon kickback after the swallow.. just an excellent brew!

2006 vintage. Deep cola color topped with a scant tan head. Laces with legs. Vanilla bourbon aromas, with some astringently roasted malts. Charred. Fruity and booze-laden flavors. Caramel squares dipped in rum. Smooth and sleek on the palate. Another sipper and a sharer.

Tasted at Noogfest 4.0 (2008). This Imperial Stout pours a deep black color from a 750ml bottle. Small to medium sized tan foamy head The aroma is chocolate and coffee, touch of vanilla. A medium bodied Imperial Stout. The malts are chocolate, roasted and coffee, touch of anise and vanilla. The hops are earthy. Nice balance. A fairly easy drinking, but flavorful Imperial Stout. The mouthfeel is full and round. The finish is clean and smooth. The aftertaste is slightly bitter and chocolate, perhaps a touch of alcohol.

2007 750ml bottle. Pours black, amber red when held up to light, tan head - looks nice but a little too transparent. Aroma is a striking bourbon with chocolate, maple syrup, vanilla also there. Flavor is strong alcohol/bourbon, oak, caramel, with dark chocolate and coffee. Mouth feel is very thin for an oak aged imperial stout. A little disappointed with this one - alcohol dominates leaving a medicine aftertaste on the tongue instead of a nice roasty bitterness that the great stouts have. Also way too thin. The only thing that saves this one’s score is the fact that I love bourbon, and this is almost all bourbon.

Mostly black, with a reddish tint. Nice aroma of coffee, bourbon and prune - just like granpa! More coffee in the flavor, with only touches of fruit and chocolate. More bourbon as it warms. Sampled at Noogfest 4.

Bottled. A deep red beer with a tan head. The aroma is sweet with notes of prunes and malt. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of soy sauce, hops, grass, and some wood. Thanks Papsoe for sharing.

750 ml. into a mug for lack of anything else. Oil black pour with a light-tan fluffy head that holds pretty well and provides some lacing. Aromas of booze (brandy), chocolate, roasted malts, dark fruit, and, most notably, vanilla from the barrel aging. I would have given the flavor an 8, or maybe even a 9, if the alcohol was better hidden. At 10.5 this is a hard task and, though the alcohol is apparent, it provides a pretty complex brandy/whiskey like aroma. Besides the alcohol, vanilla, molasses, and oakey malts dominate the flavor. It is coating, rich, smooth, and thick on the palate. Overall: this is a good impy and is, I feel, a bit underrated; I think this thing could be amazing with a couple of years under its belt.