Sweetwater Happy Jack Imperial Stout

Firkin at Fri brewery tasting. Aroma is nearly completely roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, and a slight sweetness of caramel/toffee and a prominent odour of oak and whiskey. Pours a deep opaque black with very little brownish crown but wispy lacing. Flavour is initially lots of chocolate malt with burnt tones and some coffee, but gives way to only a slight whiskey background and a crisp hoppy finish. Mouthfeel is smooth, creamy, and viscous - a lot thicker and full-bodied than most beers, but low carbonation which makes it easy to drink. Not much EtOH burn detected. Overall a great beer that’s easy to drink but in my opinion did not have enough whiskey flavour. It was a rather flat Happy Ending Imperial Stout that was only a little more chocolaty than usual with only the slightest tinge of oaked whiskey. Maybe I was psyching myself up for this but I was definitely let down by high expectations.

Date: 01/27/2007
Mode: Firkin
Source: Brewfest, Atlanta Cask

Appearance: black with ruby edges,
Aroma: candy sweet coffee aroma with fresh hops and a bit of Bourbon,
Flavor: flavor has lots of sweetness besides the sweet bourbon, plenty of coffee character,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

On cask at the 1/27/07 Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting: Pours a viscous opaque with dark brown edges and thin wisps of tan head. Sweet vanilla milk chocolate and black licorice aroma has a touch of bourbon oak and dark caramel malt. Body starts sweet and caramely dripping with dark chocolate and creamy vanilla with some drier, oaky notes toward the finish. Has decent complexity throughout.

Chocolate comes from the addition of chocolate liquor, not aging, which would impart more coffee tones. Residual sweetness was a little overpowering, but not the beer’s fault. Was most likely due to liquor and not a low yeast attenuation.

Dark black with brown head. Aroma is sweet malts coffe and some hops. Flavor was malty with chocolate and hops. Good stout

Ditto on the best of fest for me at Atlanta Cask Ale. There were other beers trying to pull off what this beer executed. Smooth, subtle, well balanced and potent. The chocolate will get me every time.

My favorite beer of the Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting. Looked like midnight in my glass. Great smells like toasted marshmallows and coffee. After having a few other wiskey barrel aged beers I was expecting to taste the burbon, but instead I got a ton of vanilla and maybe some Whoppers malted chocolate candy.

Great balance of coffee, anise, and chocolate. The whiskey is for from obvious. This beer avoids the common problem of overpowering bourbon flavors and aromas and the barrel ageing has lent a subtle vanilla in the finish instead of the whop across the palate of whiskey.