BXLbeerfest 2022

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

Bottle, 750 ml, courtesy of Eric. Shared with him and others. Black with beige head. Chocolate and strong bourbon, some vanilla and coffee. Sweet. Full bodied. Quite thick.

Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9

Bourbon barrel aged imperial stout and Perennial’s most renowned brand after the Abraxas series; samples from a two year old bottle at BXL BeerFest. Very thin and open, mocha-beige ring for a head on a black beer with hazy deep chocolate brown edges. Intense, complex and noble bouquet of strong vanilla-scenting oak wood, old tawny port, bitter chocolate, teriyaki, cracked leather, oxidized red wine, toasted rye bread, bourbon, molasses, cooked prunes, burnt fig, ink. Sweet onset but nowhere sticky, some candied date and raisin but also a thinly sliced umami effect (teriyaki), softly carbonated with full, oily, thick and somewhat viscous mouthfeel. Layers of caramelly, bitter-chocolatey, molasses-like and roasted-walnutty mats ensue, heavy and well-balanced between sweet (initially) and bitter (further on), the latter evolving into coffee-ish roastedness without taking it into ‘ashy’ or charcoal-like territory. Complex, long finish, a touch of orange peel from the hops, drowning in thick dark bittersweet malts, hints of soy sauce and bayleaf as well as very old red wine, a drying tannic oakiness and warming, port- and evidently bourbon-like alcohol. Lovely nutty and roasty flavours linger about as well. Too bad this beer is apparently no longer produced: this is a masterpiece in its genre, a somewhat underexposed but brilliant example of classic American RIS aged in classic American bourbon barrels – a formula with roots in the nineties (first BCBS batches) but a formula which never gets old. Have a world class score.

Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9

At BXL. Boozy, licorice, vanilla, coffee, bourbon, massive syrupy, chocolate. Massive thick molasses body. Very sweet and boozy, also very good.

Šokolaad, röst, karamell, šokolaad, veits siirupit ka. Hea, pole nii lääge kui anniversary.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

Taster at BXLBeerfest. Black color, small coffee colored head. smells bourbon, vanilla, boozy, fudgy, bitter chocolate, nutty. Nice to very nice smell. Full body, light carbonation. tastes vanilla, nutty, bitter chocolate, wood, bourbon, bit sugary. Finishes sweet with notes of vanilla, bourbon and molasses. Good stuff, bit too sweet

8, 7.5, 7.5, 7, 7.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

750ml bottle. Smooth, creamy and roasty with some barrel notes, bourbon, vanilla, cocoa and chocolate. A bit one dimensional, but good.

The Maman. Smokey chocolate thickness.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

Bottle. Enjoyed at my 40th / 20K Birthday celebration. Pours black with a small creamy beige head. Deep and complex nose and flavors. Bourbon, vanilla and coffee. Thanks Alex.