Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

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

Thanks AgentSeve. Pours dark reddish brown, thin, roasted malts, little chocolate, little wood, little bourbon, little vanilla.

750 ml bottle. Pours black, albeit it looks a bit thin as it pours into the glass, with a thin-moderate light brown head that is chased away after the first two sips and leaves scant lace. The aroma is very pleasant with lots of chocolate along with some lightly roasted malt and vanilla. There is just a bit of alcohol present in the nose as well. The flavor is not as chocolaty as the aroma suggests, and is more influenced by the barrel aging with roasted malt, vanilla, bourbon and alcohol. There is a moderate alcohol burn towards the finish, and it lingers in the back of the throat for fifteen seconds or so beyond the swallow. The alcohol burn grows a bit as the beer warms. The body is a tad thin for an imperial stout. A middle-of-the-road imperial stout.

2007 750 in funky new Sam Adams glass. Black with lasting head and lace. Roasty woody licorice chocolate coffee aroma. Bitter roasty fruity chocolate and coffee with quite bitter sweet syrupy finish. Complex, but not all the flavors are pleasing. Full body. Not bad, but, not one of my faves.

[1951-20090116] 1pt9.4floz bottle. Raisin plum roasted malt and sweet bourbon-infused stalks aroma. Dark black wine body with a long-lasting creamy light tan head. Sweet bourbon roasted plums flavour with a sweet aftertaste. Full body is fairly thick. Nice, could stand more body and less sweetness, maybe if it "had time to mellow."
(Vintage 2006; c/o blankboy, w/ him, garthicus, GregClow, jerc)

08 vintage courtesy of SamGamgee. Gorgeous ruby black color with a huge cascading tan head. Excellent retention. Aroma is obviously bourbon-soaked with wood and coconut accents. Flavor is, again, lots of bourbon underpinned with cocoa and a little bit of roast. A little thin but very drinkable and full of flavor.

2008 poured from a 750 courtesy of SamGamgee. Dark brown with medium tan head.Mild aroma of chocolate, caramel, boubon, and oak. Taste seemed to be overwhelmed by the bourbon, which might be a little too much. Nice finish, overall a good one if you don’t mind the bourbon.

75cl bottle. Dark brown with red highlights and a lasting creamy beige head. Quite bourbony in the aroma with plenty of oak and caramel followed by some stouty chocolate notes. The flavor is mostly run by the bourbon, but in a very smooth fashion that incorporates plenty of smooth roast malt sweetness. Creamy, full body, but not thick or quite as full as you might expect. In terms of character, this is 75/25 bourbon barrel to stout, but the alcohol is so well concealed that the bourbon is pretty nice. The stout underneath seems like it would be a little weak without the barrel though. Coming together they make a pretty good package. Good recommendation from the Wine Specialist in DC as this ended up better than the Southern Tier stouts that I was set on getting.

Bottle 2007 from theisti, bottle 2008 from SL. The pours were quite similar, nice choco-colored head (esp. for an aged beer, perhaps they re-carbonated this thing?) over a deep black body. The aroma was chocolate and chocolate, some bourbon. The flavor followed with the 2008 showing more roast and cocoa-notes, the 2007 more milk-chocolatey sweet notes. The 2008 also had some more oak/wood notes in there, slight dryness to the finish. Horizontals like this are what make me think that the whole aging thing is over-hyped, rarely "worth it." A good brew, tasty stuff, erring only possibly on the sweet side of things. Mouthfeel full bodied, slightly sticky.