Birdwatcher Coconut Vanilla Bourbon Barrel Aged Blueberry Stout
Dark Horse Brewing Co. in Marshall, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Imperial Rotating Out of Production|
Score
7.19
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Shhhhhhhhh, smell that? Swooping in like a bird of prey on your senses this stout starts with the viewing of course, being as black as the eye of The Great Curassow is not a mistake. Believe what you see, this beer is a STOUT! Moving carefully into the deep jungle of aroma there is a fork in the road of sensory searching, do you follow the McCaw to the sweet toasted coconut or are you more of a Short-Legged Ground Roller type and like to keep your nose around the vanilla beans of Madagascar? Either way your nose takes you, the blueberry in this beer treats you like every other migratory bird it deals with and comes through highly favored throughout the complexities of this beer with a healthy mouthfeel, and nuances of all facets including a smooth finish with slight oak and a bourbon that is a most excellent complement to the vanilla and coconut. This could be a Lifer to add another tick to your list but will definitely be a treat to any and all craft beer Twitchers that get their hands on it and we all will look forward to keeping our eyes to the sky as each bottle of this rare batch is appreciated preferably without binoculars.
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Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
12 oz bottle. Pours black with a brown fizzy head. Aroma is strong in blueberry with some molasses, cocoa, coffee. Flavor is of course strong in blueberry and milk chocolate, showing a bit of oxidation (no visible bottling date) with some oak. At the moment, though, it's still pretty solid.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 12/2018. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a small dense tan head with great retention, that reduces to a thin lace cap that lingers. Nice spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big juicy/lightly tart/tangy blueberries, fruit skin, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, coconut, bourbon, toasted oak, biscuit, and dark/brown bread; with light notes of molasses, licorice, dark fruit, smoke, herbal, and yeast/roast/oak/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, blueberries, vanilla, coconut, and bourbon barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of big juicy/lightly tart/tangy blueberries, fruit skin, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, coconut, bourbon, toasted oak, biscuit, and dark/brown bread; with light notes of molasses, licorice, dark fruit, smoke, herbal, and yeast/roast/oak/toasted earthiness. Mild herbal/roast bitterness, bourbon/oak spiciness, and fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of juicy blueberries, fruit skin, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, coconut, bourbon, toasted oak, biscuit, dark/brown bread, molasses, licorice, dark fruit, smoke, herbal, and yeast/roast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, blueberries, vanilla, coconut, and bourbon barrel flavors; with a nice roasted bitter/sweet, bourbon/oak spiciness, and tart/tangy fruit balance; with no cloying flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness, bourbon/oak spiciness, and fruit tang/tartness. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety, and lightly slick/sticky/chalky/acidic/tangy/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Minimal warming alcohol for 12%, with no barrel booze lingering after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic fruited/flavored barrel aged imperial stout! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, blueberries, vanilla, coconut, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/tart/tannic/drying finish. Perfectly balanced rich malts, blueberries, vanilla, coconut, and bourbon barrel presence/integration. Not overwhelming on any aspect. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding style example all around.