Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

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

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.

2007 vintage bottle. Pours almost black with a one finger tan head. Aromas are sweet, musty and slightly smokey. Flavor is a nice mix of smoke, charcoal and peat with fruit presence from prunes, sweet malty darkness and an alcoholic warmth. What I though were limintations, however, were the sweetness was almost overwhelming at times and the thin body. If it wasn’t for those limitations I would have scored this much higher. Still... it is nice enough.

Sampled at the Savor DC event. Pours a transparent copper brown. Flavor and aroma are all alcohol and rum. Where’s the complexity of an imperial stout? All I got was the bourbon barrel.

Ruby dark color and an ample tan head. Aromas are chocolaty, malty, and bourbon-y with a nice aromatic yeast. This is an aggressive beer with a great amount of alcohol that really pushes the flavors tot heir upper limit. As a result, vanilla, chocolate, bourbon, oak, roast and a nearly savory chicory all have their turn on the tongue. Velvet and rich mouthfeel shows a tremendous amount of depth.

2006 750mL bottle from heemer77, thanks for sharing Eric! Notes from a January ’07 tasting. Black with ruby edges and a one finger beige head. Aroma has a fair amount of boubon, coffee and roasted malts, alcohol, some grain, and sweet figs. Flavor had a lot of bourbon and roasted malts again, and the alcohol is pretty hot. Moderate carbonation with a full body. Not too bad.

Very dark brown with ruby highlights and a frothy light brown head. Aroma is malty with faint roasted odor and faint bourbon. Taste is roasted malt, bourbon, oak, and some vanilla.

Shared with General66 and Illini08 at 10:45am waiting in line for Darklord Day ’08. Poured deep black with a brownish head and excellent lacing. Aroma was bourbon, burned woodchips, dark chocolate, vanilla, and some fruit. The taste was similar, blending the bourbon, vanilla, and chocolate along with roasted coffee. I was definitely impressed with the variety in this beer.

750ml 2007 release bottle shared by Illini08, nimrod, and myself at 10:45am while in line at Dark Lord Day! Thanks, Jeremy! Poured a jet black color with a small brown head. The aroma consisted of a lot of vanilla, bourbon, burnt wood, chocolate, and dark fruit. Very complex aroma! The taste was excellent and consisted of vanilla and bourbon up front with bitter chocolate in the background. Finished exceptionally well... left you wanting more. This was definitely true considering Illini08 finished the bottle without realizing it!