Necessary Evil
Thornbridge Brewery

Bottle. Vintage 2021. Black with an edge of dark tan froth.
A deep aroma of the advertised bourbon, vanilla and quercus along with 80% cocoa chocolate.
The above mix survives upon tasting. Sweet with a light malt bitterness. The alcohol is merely a background enhancement.
A remarkable smooth feel. Low carbonation and full in body.
A sipper for sure. Although I do admit I sped up as the alcohol hit an empty stomach! Shame on me.

Copenhagen 19/10 2023. 37,5 cl bottle from Kihoskh, Sønder Boulevard, Kbh. V. Simple black label with golden letters and Thornbridge's classic logo.

Pours opaque, dark brown with a mid-sized beige head. A bit bubbly. Settles as thin rim of foam running along the side of the glass. No lacing.

Aroma is intense with a sugary, sweet, cake-like odor mingling with heavy, dark alcohol. Brown sugar, chocolate cake, cinnamon and vanilla. Sweet bourbon.

Light carbonation. Thick, oily, soft, a little sticky, lightly tingling texture.

Flavor is intense with a strong sweetness followed by a more moderate bitterness. Aftertaste is sweet with a potent, searing undertone alcohol. Linerning. Finish is boozy and dry.

Sweet and boozy - and not particularly evil.

Bottled and purchased at Beermoth on Tibb street at a Moersleutel meet the brewer event
Pours a jet black body with tight neck ce tan head
Aroma is superb sulky smooth dark chocolate
Flavour is dark chocolate, whiskey, nordic ammonia liquorice candy

Half cask at the Colmore. Silky black pour, creamy beige head. All signs point to greatness. Sweet, boozy aroma, roasty malts. Taste is sweet, roasty, chocolate, boozy notes catch up. Velvety smooth, luscious, decadent. Excellent.

Bottle at Echarle Huevos, served at home in a snifter glass.
Pours black colour, small brown head with short retention. No lacing.
Aroma of whiskey, leather, oak, molasses, raisins, dates, vanilla, chocolate.
Full body, thick sticky texture, flat carbonation. Sweet boozy finish.
Taste of whiskey, molasses, raisins, vanilla, dates, chocolate.
Imressive.

Blind-tasted except for the beer's name and brewery/country, zero reviews below read (yet!)...
L- Black, even held to a halogen not a photon gets through. Pours with a 3mm mid-tan fine-bubble cap that soon clears to just a patch.
S- Deep roasty + whisky.
T- Big, deep, whisky, sweet/rich, mega-roast, whisky, touches of lactose, sweet liquor note, a flaming whisky brush over the roof of my mouth. Give it a chance to warm and the latter ABV% zinging brush will be slapping around on your palate.
F- Massive liquor, I get that before anything else. - Curiously my wife who has an acute palate barely gets whisky at all; good job as she isn't into whisky notes. Well, shows you how variable the sense of taste can be. Either way it's a big, rich, pungent slow sipping beer. 'Tasty!' she adds, 'Belly-warming!'.
O- BOOOOM! That covers it overall. Massive whisky, perhaps even too much for my palate, it's rather overiding much else.
ps. Mebbe don't let it warm too much, the whisky/liquor keeps on growing, and now down at the last 2-3Cm this thing is almost on fire .... It's a hell of a show of a recipe, you want statements[!!!!], well this is one for sure!
Review/scoring all done, now the reveal, I get to read the bottle lables to see what I missed! ==> Wow, aged 8months in bourbon barrels,
375ml bottle BB: 03/09/2023 £11.25 Bought from TremblingMadness, York/UK as part of a large pick-your own consignment to London.

 

375ml bottle. Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout - Vintage 2019.
L: Black with a thin, quickly disappearing, tan-coloured head.
S: Leather, raisins, dates, toffee, molasses, alcohol.
T: Sweet coffee, treacle, dark rum, alcohol.
F: Full body, rich & luxurious. Finish is dry with significant alcohol burn.
O: A massive, sweet, rich & dense imperial stout. Bourbon barrel ageing is front & centre and the 13% alcohol is dominant. Delicious for a few sips but very quickly becomes a bit too much.

The head brewer of Thornbridge named the beer 'Necessary Evil' as it was a style he didn't want to brew but was required to by the powers that be - the in style! I can see why he was reluctant as it is a style that's hard to love...

L4 Pitch black, no head, but pours with an incredible viscosity.
S4.25 Deep & rich, chocolate & whisky notes
T3 Incredible strong, with whisky notes predominating. Really well balanced which is pretty remarkable considering the strength. But for me, this is beyond a style that can be described as a beer & not one I particularly enjoyed.
F4.5 Rich, thick, good carbonation.
O3.5 Definitely not my favourite style, but TB have taken a beer that could easily overpower and have created something which is special, unusual & just about drinkable. Worth a try as a one off.

Necessary Evil is not necessarly good, but in fact it is and it's not a lesser evil.
The bourbon is powerful and then you've got some nutty notes, a bit of cocoa and globally a certain complexity. It's not thick and black, it's a very dark brown imperial stout, English-style which is not a bad thing. It's quite different from what you've find here and there today.