Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

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

Bottle. A dark red brown beer with a beige head. The aroma is roasted malt, rye bread, chocolate and bourbon, so is the taste, but alcoholic. Medium to full body with a light sweet alcoholic finish.

Pours dark brown, with a tan head. Aroma is bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, dark fruit, and some caramel. Flavor is bourbon, vanilla, dark fruit, chocolate, and caramel. Alcohol is there, but it doesn’t seem like 10.5%. Thanks to footbalm for trading me this bottle.

Bottle shared by beastiefan2k. Dark brown/black beer. Chocolate and bourbon up front with a soft vanilla, caramel and milk chocolate aroma. Very well integrated rather than an over-the-top bourbon bomb. Light cherry and a nice earthy bitterness. Rich and sweet with lots of vanilla and caramel. Very sweet, but not cloying. Would make a great beer with chocolate.

2006 bottle shared by beastiefan2k (thanks, eugene!) - dark brown with a red hue and a thin ring of lace - caramel, vanilla and bourbon aroma - slick mouthfeel, low carbonation - medium-sweet, with heavy caramel flavors, strong vanilla, some cocoa bean, and hints of doughiness - medium bourbon booziness that seem slightly overdone (but what bourbon stout isn’t?) - a little too much bourbon, but otherwise okay.

06 bottle. very rich milk chocolate, with lots of roasted nut and toffee flavors. some smooth dry medium roast coffee, with slight bitterness, almond, carmel, and toasted malt. hoppy but smooth with rich flavors. impressive

poured a very very dark color with a small tan head. The aroma was of bourbon and vanilla. Smooth with a great amount of balance. The flavor was a mix of chocolate, roast and bourbon. Creamy mouthfeel.

Bottle: Dark brown, nearly black, moderate foamy biege head, fairly nice lacing.   Nose is made up of vanilla, caramel, bourbon, and oak. &nsp This smells pretty damn delicious!   Warm on the tongue, quite a bit of bourbon, vanilla, and caramel.   Doesn’t appear to be that big of an Imperial Stout, but regardless, its quite tasty.   Very slight alcohol on the nose.   Vanilla, graham cracker, and soft oak on the tongue.   No aspect of this screams Imperial Stout.   In fact, the aformentioned flavors are quite dominant over everything else.   Some roasted malt aspect, but it does take a back seat to everything else.   It is a little warming, but not as much as the 10.5% ABV suggests.   Moderate to full body and mouthfeel.   Fairly sweet overall, finishing with heaps of oak and a smidgen of bourbon.   Quite enjoyable, flavorful, but not the Imperial Stout I was thinking it was going to be.   Light in color, in body, but with a decent amount of flavor for a barrel aged beer.   Its just that the underlying stout isn’t as forthcoming as I thought it should be.   Thanks John for this tasty treat!

Name: Schlafly Reserve Imperial Stout
Date: May 05, 2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Yankee Go Home!
Vintage: 2006
Appearance: dark brown with ruby edges, scant beige head
Aroma: sweet chocolate aroma with light alcohol
Body: sticky sweet body
Flavor: rich milk chocolate and bourbon flavor, lots of vanilla sweetness, light bitterness

Name: Schlafly Reserve Imperial Stout
Date: November 21, 2009
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar tasting
Vintage: 2006
Aroma: picking up more bourbon in the aroma
Flavor: more roasted in the flavor as it dries out a bit

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *** /4