6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Courtesy of STLWill. I recognize the quality of this beer but its not for me. Black with almost no carbonation. Bourbon aroma and bourbon flavor. Thick malt, but any complexity that might have been there is hidden by what I consider an unpleasant bourbon flavor. Medium palate.
Tried
on 30 Jan 2008
at 21:27
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Pour is a black with a small tan head. Aroma is a nice dark chocolate with some coffee in there. Flavor is again roasted malts with a toffee and a slight smoke. Not as meaty or smoky as the O’Fallon product but it is quite drinkable.
Tried
on 22 Jan 2008
at 17:48
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
Pure copper color, big sudsy head. Aroma of nicely caramelized malts with some floral hopping in the background.Very light fruitiness. Smooth and rounded up front with an aggressive (for an ESB) resiny hop bite. A strange combination of a water-like mouthfeel but with a med-full body makes this very easy drinking. Light carbonation but it has a slight carbonic bite. Finish is semi-sweet with a medium bitterness. Pretty nice ESB.
Tried
on 16 Dec 2007
at 16:24
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Pours an orange-ish copper with slight haze and off white head. There is some spotty lacing clinging to the glass too. The aroma is tough to pick up and discern. I get some mild and vague dark fruity esters, some wood and then a bit of booze. The aromas are fairly well melded together. The taste is a nice marriage of both barrel aged notes and some malt and dark fruity barleywine sweetness. The wood and dark fruit hit first. The dryer boozy tannin like flavor hits later and builds toward the finish creating a dry ending to the taste. The barrel age seems a bit more dominant than the classic barleywine notes. I’d prefer the opposite or a bit more of a balance. Still high on the yumminess scale.
Tried
on 12 Dec 2007
at 21:44
6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
12 oz. bottle from Lukas. Pour is a deep gold, clear, with a nice 2 inch white head. Aroma of biscuit malt sweetness, and some bitter hops. Taste is mostly the biscuit malt. Decent bitter finish. Taste reminds me quite a bit of Fullers London Pride, though not as put together. I had heard great things about this beer, but I thought it was just OK.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Dec 2007
at 09:42
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Black with a lasting off-white head. Chocolate, roast malts, some nuts, dried fruits and some oak in the aroma. Soft and sweet roast flavour with a bourbon barrel tannin punch.
Tried
on 29 Nov 2007
at 18:32
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
750 mL bottle. Design on the bottle is pretty cool... Pour is a darkish amber with a pretty massive two or three finger head of dense foam. Aromas of wild yeast, spice and light hops that cover a bread dough and earth malt body. The flavor is dominated by the bread dough malt presence and the tart yeast notes and the spices that were present in the nose are not well developed and almost undetectable at this stage. I’d love to see if these come out as it ages, but doubt I’ll get the chance.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Nov 2007
at 18:25
7.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle (Oct. 30, 2007 on label). Pour is a slightly opaque orange with a dense, but small head. Aromas are of orange peels, spices and bread dough/yeast. I found this a delightful winter brew with a nice and full spicing that sits over a body of caramel malts with a touch of a hops finish. Sometimes there is a bit of a medicinal/herbal flavor that isn’t quite right, but I’m wondering if they tinkered with the recipe a bit since the 2006 batch. I really liked this one... it will rank as one of my favorite Christmase brews.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Nov 2007
at 22:35
7.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
750ml bottle. 2006. Black body, tan head that diminishes. Aroma of oak wood, licorice, molasses, coffee and sweet malts along with a slight hint of rubber. The flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, moderately bitter and lightly acidic. Bitter, though short, finish. Medium body, watery texture. The nose seemed a little laid back in intensity for an imperial stout. Still, there was a nice balance between the oakiness and the rest of the aromas and flavors. This is not overpowering, but is very drinkable and there’s something refreshing about that.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Nov 2007
at 18:46
7/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle - 2006 vintage. Aromas are weak for a barley wine, but the oak comes through nicely. A little bit of a honey-like sweetness is detectable, as well as some bourbon notes. Color is a lovely coppery brown with a pretty minimal head. Flavor is OK, but nothing spectacular. It has a bit of a tart edge to it that I didn’t see coming and it is fairly distracting. Also, the oaky notes are not in harmony with the sweet qualities and the tart edges and the whole thing just kind of seems like a symphony without a director or score. This disjointedness seemed to decrease as it warmed and breathed a bit. Mouthfeel is thinner than most and doesn’t have that lovely sticky syrupiness that I associate with barley wines. A
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Nov 2007
at 20:10