Sprecher Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout

Brewed by Sprecher Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Glendale, Wisconsin USA

The perfect pour. I love bourbon and I love imperial stouts, so it seems logical I would enjoy this beer. Logic has not been defied. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Deep onyx with a thin film of a head. Aroma of chocolate, vanilla and oak. Flavor is dark chocolate and sweet, oaky bourbon. Velvety smooth palate with a warm, smoky finish.

RBSG 07. A huge chocolate aroma from this beer. A jet black pour with little to no head. A flavor of chocolate, bourbon, and a hint of abv. Very good carbonation and mouthfeel. Nice warmth without being to warm.

Bottle… RBSG 07… Pours near black with a small, creamy, beige head. Notes of milk chocolate, cookie dough, tobacco, vanilla, sour mash and charcoal in the nose. The flavor is all sweet chocolate and vanilla with mild bourbon warmth and bitterness. Medium-bodied and lightly creamy with soft carbonation. Chocolaty, whiskey finish.

Poured black with a small dark tan head. Aroma was bourbon and oak with some chocolate and coffee coming through as well. Alcohol was also present in the aroma, but was well masked in the taste. Flavor was predominately bourbon and oak, with a nice long finish of roasted malt that was accented when exhaling.

[Bottle, thanks Guerde and Philsner] Pours jet black with a very small dark head. In the aroma the oak and bourbon is very strong, but there is also chocolate, roasted malt and alcohol present. The oak and bourbon also come through strongly in the taste at first, but then the roasted malt and chocolate come through nicely. Overall it is ok, but the bourbon is far too strong.

Thanks Jason for offering this one up! Sprecher’s best attempt yet at barrel-aging. No doubt used the current incarnation of their imperial stout for the backbone of this one. Good idea as the previous attempt was a thin fructose mess. Although they upped the grain bill on this one, they’re still using fructose. Stop with the damn fructose already! Geez, spend the extra couple bucks to do all-grain and you won’t have to worry about hitting your target gravity. Anyway, some good vanilla and bourbon notes that are decently balanced with the malty/fructose body. Creamy texture with a bit of a warming character and a slight astringent piece from the fructose. Almost there Sprecher.

Shared by Jason, this beer pours to a black body with a really dark brown cocoa powder head. The aroma is vanilla, chocolate chip cookies, and high fructose corn syrup. The flavor is black patent malt, chocolate chip cookies, vanilla, and rich chocolate. The palate is creamy and warming.