Barrel Aged Imperial Schwartz
Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery

Barrel Aged Imperial SchwartzBarrel Aged Imperial Schwartz
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From:
Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery
 
Illinois, United States
Style:
Schwarzbier
ABV:
9.5%
Score:
90
Avg:
4.03 | pDev: 9.93%
Reviews:
11
Ratings:
41
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 17, 2014
Added:
Apr 27, 2012
Wants:
  8
Gots:
  15
Our "Brown is the new Black" Imperial Schwartz aged in Woodford Reserve bourbon barrels, this new element to an already amped up Schwartz is a great addition to complicating it’s flavor; soft roast, malty, oak, vanilla, and bourbon are just a few descriptors for this fine lager.
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Ratings by Bpierso1:
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Rated by Bpierso1 from Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +17.9%

Dec 03, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of Phyl21ca
Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)

4/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle: Poured a cloudy deep brown color ale with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some good lacing. Aroma of nice woody notes of bourbon and vanilla with light roasted malt with some very good black chocolate notes. Taste is also a great mxi between some vanilla and bourbon notes with light bitter roasted malt notes which are mostly offset by some rich black chocolate notes. Body is full with nice creamy texture and good carbonation with no apparent alcohol. Great balance with nice barrel-aging treatment.
May 17, 2014
Photo of Jeffo
Reviewed by Jeffo from Netherlands

3.54/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
A longtime top want from cparles. Thanks dude! Been very impressed with Flossmoor so far and am looking forward to trying this one out.

From a bomber into a snifter
Aged 6 months in bourbon barrels

APPEARANCE: Clear brown pour yields a one finger, looser, bubbly, light tan head with decent retention. Recedes to a half bubbly wisp. Clear bistre brown with no carbonation evident. Head eventually fades to just a ring with dots of wisp but leaves no lacing down the glass.

SMELL: Big bourbon barrel on the nose. Bourbon, oak, coconut, vanilla, as well as some light roasted notes, dark chocolate and dark fruit from the base schwartz. Some alcohol there as well. Surprisingly balanced for what it is. Quite good.

TASTE: Not as complex as the nose, and more alcoholic than expected. Oak, some roasted notes and dark chocolate up front, but relatively mild, then lots of alcohol at the swallow. Bourbon, oak, vanilla, caramel, dark fruits, some roasted grain and bitter dark chocolate linger on the palate. Dark malts and dark fruit play with the alcohol and bourbon barrel. A bit of ethanol too, but not off-putting. Bold and lingering, boozy finish. A bit too hot perhaps, but some good flavors in there.

PALATE: Medium body and medium carbonation. A bit prickly on the palate, a touch fizzy, goes down fine and finishes slightly mouth-coating. Some heat lingers.

OVERALL: I think this one gets some unfair press. I understand when people say it's rather alcoholic, which it definitely is, especially for the 9.5% abv, but to say that there is very little schwartzbier characteristics here is going too far. Definitely some nice roasted, chocolaty and dark fruit flavors playing against the bold bourbon barrels. While this might be a touch too boozy for the ABV perhaps, there's still a lot of good things going on here. I rather enjoyed this one, so thanks again to cparles for hooking me up with a longtime want of mine. Cheers!
Mar 15, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by blindpiggie from Colorado

Mar 11, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by derkfromwi from Wisconsin

Jan 31, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by TurdFurgison from Ohio

Aug 17, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by AlexFields from Tennessee

Aug 17, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by InspectorBob from New Jersey

Jul 30, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by beernads from Florida

Jun 03, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by stereosforgeeks from Virginia

May 17, 2013
Photo of falloutsnow
Reviewed by falloutsnow from Illinois

2.92/5  rDev -27.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
From: Binny's, Peoria, IL
Date: None, bottled spring 2012
Glass: Ayinger willi glass

An easy-sipping bourbon barrel aged imperial "schwarzbier," heavy on the bourbon whiskey aspects, very low on the schwarzbier ones. If that's your idea of an exceptional beer, then this is for you! My snideness aside, I do not mind drinking bourbon whiskey from time to time, but I was not under the impression that this was what I'd call a "black bourbon beer," with very low beer-like qualities to it. Fairly disregardable in my final opinion, not one I'd return to, even if it were still in production. If you want an actual higher ethanol-content schwarzbier, with actual schwarzbier characters, check out Grand Teton's 5 O'clock Shadow.

Pours a 1.25cm tall head of tan foam, composed of small and medium-sized bubbles in a fairly close-packed arrangement. Retention is average, lasting about a minute as it descends to a thick ring around the perimeter of the glass and some small islands atop the body of the beer. Lacing is modest, some small spots/dots and a few larger washes of foam stick the sides of the glass. The beer's body is a very dark brown-amber color, transparent, with light bringing out dark, mineral-like, reddish-brown hues. Carbonation is not visible through the body.

Aroma of bourbon whiskey, ethanol, oak barrel, faint smokiness, and vanilla. Where is the, uh, schwarzbier, or even bier for that matter?

The bourbon and ethanol heavily overpower whatever roasted and caramel malt flavors are in the beer, making it rather one-dimensional. Front of palate finds bourbon whiskey, oak barrel, vanilla, very faint roasted malt. Mid-palate finds bourbon whiskey, ethanol, vanilla, oak barrel, and subtle caramel and roasted malts; again, the beer-like components of this concoction seem to be an afterthought in the final product. Back of palate finds strong ethanol, bourbon whiskey, and oak barrel; little vanilla or malt characters pierce the ethanol harshness. Lingering aftertaste of bourbon whiskey with light oak, vanilla, and roasted malt character.

Beer is surprisingly medium to medium-light in body, with carbonation of medium to medium-low intensity. The resultant mouthfeel is slightly foamy and generally smooth, aside from the somewhat harsh ethanol burn across the palate, throat, and in the nostrils. Closes expectedly dry and substantially sticky on the palate.
May 07, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by Sparky44 from Illinois

Mar 23, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by Gonzoillini from Illinois

Jan 27, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by Drucifer from Illinois

Jan 06, 2013
Photo of Thorpe429
Reviewed by Thorpe429 from Illinois

3.46/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Bottle courtesy of noodleuser. Served in a mini snifter. Pours near black with a short tan head. The nose brings some light roast along with bourbon, roast, and vanilla. Mild sweetness. Flavor has really nice bourbon notes along with a touch of vanilla and roast. Medium body with good carbonation. One of the best Flossmoor beers that I’ve had.
Dec 15, 2012
 
Rated: 4.75 by coz from Illinois

Nov 18, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Anonymous1 from Illinois

Nov 16, 2012
 
Rated: 5 by IMSPEAKNOENGLISH from Illinois

Nov 01, 2012
 
Rated: 4.75 by josephwa from Minnesota

Oct 27, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by ryanpj from Illinois

Oct 13, 2012
Barrel Aged Imperial Schwartz from Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 41 ratings