Bottle, bomber, thanks to rhialistic! Sampled on October 8, 2012Black color, tan head. Sweet, chocolate scent. Roasted, alcohol taste. Medium mouthfeel, medium high bitterness.

10 oz draft at Martin City Brewing Company, Kansas City, Missouri. The pour is a black brown, murky, with a small tan head. The aroma is a bunch of bourbon, sweet malt, clove, and a vanilla sweetness. There is a hint of wood. The taste shows a bunch of bourbon right off, followed by alcohol sweetness, floral clove, then woodiness. Finally a touch of roast and vanilla shows. All throughout, there is a hot alcohol, particularly in the finish. The palate is medium to heavy bodied, with the super hot finish.

Initial rating: 9/7/12. Wax-dipped bomber, stamped "Best After 7/23/13." Rating this right after re-rating a 14-month old Black Butte XXIII. Pours inky black with a fairly small tan head that falls after a couple minutes; leaves a ring of big-bubbly foam and a little lace. I smell some kind of cinnamon-like spice in the nose, although there’s no mention of that on the label. I also get chocolate milk and some licorice. Taste is bittersweet; it’s more fruity than the XXIII. The chocolate seems more pronounced (I let it sit in the glass for 15-20 minutes before the chocolate even presented itself). Mouthfeel is creamy, carbonation average. Has a long-lingering bitter finish that leaves the mouth dry. Although I prefer last year’s version, both fresh and aged 14 months, here’s to hoping this one improves with some age. There’s no denying this is still really good, though. Let’s see what it does after a year or so. 8,3,8,5,17=4.1



7/28/13 re-rate. Wax-dipped bomber pours opaque black with a one-finger mocha head that dissipates after a minute or two. Aroma consists of licorice, coffee, cinnamon, raisins (dates and/or figs, I presume). Flavor starts out sweet with chocolate and licorice notes before becoming a little sour with a lingering bitterness. Quite alcoholic, but it’s not boozy. Roasty, a little vegetal, lightly spicy; some mild smoke character comes out after it sits in the glass awhile. Oily texture, average carbonation, full body. Overall, I don’t seem to be as impressed as I was the first go-round. I was hoping this would age better. It’s not bad, but it should be better. 7,3,7,5,16=3.8

Draft. Black beer with a tan head. Rich malt and light bourbon aroma. Chocolate and light roast flavor with bourbon. Medium-plus bodied. Chooclate and bourbon linger with light roast and light vanilla.

On tap. Pours with a black hued body with a medium sized off-white to tan head. Aromas are of chocolate, spices, tangerine, cacao, toasted malt, dates, figs, vanilla, roasted. Some Black Patent like ashy character. Flavors are vanilla, ashy, campfire. Rich leather notes, alcohol, vanilla, vinous, dark fruits, dates and tobacco. Lots of chocolate. Medium to low carbonation, rich, low tannin.

Bottle @ home, picked up at Mayfair in Denver. Hazy, black appearance with a dark brown head and moderate lacing. Rich cacao bean, light espresso, thick dark chocolate, mild vanilla, plum/date fruity, chewy/syrupy aroma. Somewhat spicy (peppers?), thick dark chocolate, somewhat syrupy, plum, fig, light leather, mild coffee, woody flavor. Thick mouth feel and a sweet, syrupy aftertaste. Fairly smooth for 11% but it’s a bit overly thick, syrupy, and sweet. Seems a little overdone with the added elements. Originally gave this a 3.6 but based on drinking the whole bottle and generally how smooth it is, I think it’s probably closer to a 3.7-3.8.