The beer pours as black as deep outer space. There is a very short and thin head of dark brown foam. The aroma is a nice meld of very dark roasted malt, dark cocoa, coffee, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, mocha and bourbon, with a light woodiness. The taste follows the aromas directly, hitting all of the notes. The finish has bitterness, but not as much as the 70 IBU's would indicate, probably because there is so much sweetness that is butting up against it. The beer drinks full bodied, but not heavy. For all the flavors and high alcohol it drinks amazingly easy, probably because it is so absolutely delicious.
Look, there are plenty of stouts that add chocolate, or coffee, or age in bourbon barrels, and a good amount that also do all of the above. But the exact blend and melding here is absolute perfection, all the right notes are hit to create a deliciously harmonious whole. This one, my friends, is worth the hype!
That was the 2013, now for the 2016:
The beer pours black in color. There is
a half-inch of thick, creamy dark khaki head. The aroma is coffee,
char, chocolate, sweetness, dark roasted malt, and light boozy
bourbon. The taste follows the aromas, hitting all of the same notes,
coffee, chocolate, char, adding in hazelnut, sweet, yet dark roasted,
with the sweet, warm, whiskey, vanilla notes of bourbon. The beer
drinks smooth, soft, and round. The finish has a moderate dark
roasted and coffee bitterness. This is a gem.
2018: The beer pours deep black with at least a half-inch of dark brown head. The aroma is sweet, dark roasted, maple, chocolate, light coffee, light vanilla, with soft bourbon notes. The taste follows the aromas, amping up the coffee, everything merging into a delicious whole, all the flavors well balanced. This drinks wonderfully smooth and soft, velvety. This is delicious.
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