Bourbon Barrel Black Maple
Jackie O's Brewpub

At last I got a bottle of this one, love Jackie O's, very excited to try this one! Pitch black with slightly lighter edges, mushroom cap dies down pretty quickly into a ring. Nose is the most impressive in my humble opinion: earthy walnut, roasted pecan and malt melds into a bath of maple, bourbon, molasses, fudge, a sea of dark fruit, vanilla, brown sugar, and rustic oak, incredible. Taste is not a complex, focusing on the maple, barrel, nuts, and less rich chocolate, with earth and vanilla supporting. Feel is medium bodied, hides the abv incredibly well, not even super warm, very drinkable. Great porter, hype is real

Maybe I had a bad bottle. Totally flat. No suds or carbonation. Very bitter. Not sweet so the Maple flavor just didn’t present for me. My impression? Cough syrup. Flat, black, just dank bourbon. Super disappointed. Made a special trip to get this.

12.7oz bottle, served in a snifter. 2023 bottling, 12.6% ABV.

Appearance: Black letting no light through, with a thin tan head and an occasional island of lacing. Imperial Porters and Stouts do often look the same....

Smell: Maple, bourbon, vanilla, hint of something berry-like. Quite inviting.

Taste: Very well blended combination of the above aromas, with a nice sweet malt note that has caramel and very mild chocolate notes. The finish has a bourbon-bite to it, but not really bitter - more like a lingering alcohol note to counter the sweetness. There is a tiny coffee-like bitterness on the palate a bit after the swallow, but it's faint.

Mouthfeel: Very smooth and creamy, very light carbonation (almost non-existent), a bit sticky, and warming from the alcohol, again with that bourbon bite at the finish.

Overall / Drinkability: I can see why this beer got so highly rated, it's very smooth and a great combination of bourbon, sweet porter, and maple. While a slow sipping and savoring beer, it's quite drinkable and I would be in a lot of trouble if this was on tap and I was asked for another as I doubt I would be able to say no to this one. Well done.

My vendor got four of these styles in and by the time I got to the store two were gone. Wow. I missed the opportunity to buy two more $12 bottles of beer.

This pours like what it is, a hugely malted porter - kind of runny and fairly flat. The aroma is a well behaved blend of all kinds of things. Nothing overpowers. This is the taste that probably cost much of that $12 to make. The aging allowed things to meld together nicely.

Recommended. This is a great porter you need to try (or have again).

2023-06-25
375ml bottle served in a smallish snulip. 2022 vintage. Got it from @ozzylizard in NBS BIF #17.

Pours thick, dark, with almost no head, just a minuscule ring. Smell is dark beer -- roasty, coffee, anise, dates, molasses.

Taste is very sweet. Maple syrup and molasses, vanilla, date flavor is really concentrated, again roasted coffee.

Mouthfeel is not quite as thick and chewy as I want it to be, but almost. Overall, very nice beer.

375 ml bottle into a snifter. A 2021 release, had 4/14/22.

Pours a dark brown, mostly opaque, with a quarter inch foamy head and light cling. Aromas of bourbon, oak, char, vanilla, some maple- more as it warms, malt, some chocolate. Smells a bit smoky. Flavors of bourbon, maple, malt, vanilla, some oak, some chocolate. Smooth, a very good lighter full body, appropriately carbonated.

A strong base, great barrels, a lighter but effective touch of maple. Best fully warmed and very enjoyable.

Bourbon Barrel Black Maple from Jackie O’s, 12.7 oz bottle. Received from brewery 05/04/23. Reviewed 11/04/23 (Review 3071). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Printed on the label “2022”. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 51.4 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 57.5 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Deep Amber (SRM 15), almost opaque.
Body – Deep Brown (SRM 30), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, shows a translucent olive at the top edge and ruby at the bottom.
Head – Average (Maximum one cm, aggressive center pour), khaki, low density and fizzy, quickly gone leaving neither crown nor cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.25 – Bourbon and barrel are the predominant aromas followed by maple syrup; no malt, no yeast, no hops, no chocolate. No ethanol (13.1 % ABV as marked on the label) aroma.
Flavor – 4.5 –Mostly maple and bourbon barrel, light chocolate. Initially no hops, malt, or yeast. Moderate gastric warming. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Medium; a bit thin but approaching creamy; soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 For my taste, you can’t go too far wrong with maple syrup and oak bourbon barrels. Pretty damn good.

Picked up a 12.7 oz bottle from the Blue Door Bottleshop in Hendersonville 9-1-22 for $16.00. 2022 bottle consumed 1-5-23.

Beer poured black with a nice off-white head.

Nose is nice with a touch of maple, bourbon, and coffee making appearances.

Taste is really nice with maple and the base porter being the stars. Coffee is noticeable in the background and along with the barrel they are the balancing elements in a finish that could be too sweet with the maple.

Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied and very smooth.

Overall another well-crafted bourbon barrel aged brew from my favorite Ohio brewer!

 

12.7 ounce bottle vintage 2022 poured into a Duvel glass at just above fridge temp 11.5% ABV. The beer pours midnight black with no light penetration and meager light brown head. The head recedes to a pencil thin ring and little else. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring chocolate, caramel, bourbon and maple in no particular order. The taste is semisweet bourbon soaked chocolate, maple and caramel. Earthy, mildly bitter. Really, really delicious. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with less than medium carbonation and a semi dry / sweetish finish. Not cloying, with the bourbon and earthy notes pulling it back from that ledge. Alcohol is well hidden. Overall, excellent, outstanding etc.

Solid black motor oil appearance.
Really light carbonation and the body feels about average but overall its a nice feel for this type of beer.
Aroma is a nice hit of maple, bourbon,boozy, sweet mocha, very mild dark fruit,malt and roasted malt.
Taste is a little sweet,boozy yet the alcohol is still fairly well hidden. Otherwise it is similar to aroma.
Overall this was a great beer,definitely worth a try

 

Robust and well rounded bourbon barrel and maple flavor.

 

Black Maple, a bourbon Black Maple, a bourbon barrel aged porter by Jackie O’s. Very light carbonation and virtually no head or lacing, as one might expect from a barrel aged beer. Bourbon and maple dominate the aroma and taste. The ABV is well masked. The char backbone of their stouts is missing and gives this one a porter lightness if that can be said of such a big beer. Really delightful beer.&&. barrel aged porter by Jackie O’s. Very light carbonation and virtually no head or lacing, as one might expect from a barrel aged beer. Bourbon and maple dominate the aroma and taste. The 13% ABV is well masked. The char backbone of their stouts is missing and gives this one a porter lightness if that can be said of such a big beer. Really delightful beer.