Bourbon Barrel Champion Ground
Jackie O's Pub & Brewery

trevormajor from Ohio

4.74/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

12.7 oz bottle, vintage 2019, poured into a snifter at 55 degrees F:
L - black as night with a hazelnut head that quickly disappeared
S - vanilla, coffee, bourbon, malt
T - mild flavors of vanilla and molasses on the nose, with a powerful finish of coffee and bourbon
F - nice, thick mouthfeel with medium carbonation
O - great beer that is well balanced and full bodied

Nov 16, 2020

cbutova from Massachusetts

4.36/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

A- Thick 375ml bottle pours into an 8oz tasting glass with a deep black body and a one finger cocoa tan head. The head has a puffy texture and dies down somewhat quickly to a small ring at the edges. Lacing spotty and somewhat rare.

S- Bourbon barrel comes on strong right away but once you dig a bit deeper the beer opens up wonderfully with the malts and the coffee. Chocolate comes to mind right off the bat and that is joined by some caramel from the malts that creates a nice brownie feel. Some nice peppery Bourbon whiskey that gives a bit of dark fruit feel. Suggests booze but that balances with everything else nicely. A lot of vanilla throughout this. Each element comes together in harmony.

T- The barrel is a bit stronger here than in the aroma as far as the overall balance goes but good thing it is a really great barrel flavor. The whiskey, vanilla and softened oak burst onto the palate followed by rich chocolate, toasted nuts, charred barley, cocoa powder and dark roast coffee notes. A subtle smoky tobacco thing happening but secondary to the malts and barrel. Great balance of booze, sweetness and bitterness.

MF- Medium bodied overall with a moderately low level of carbonation. The mouthfeel isn't bad but it does come off a bit more oily and slick from the high ABV and it loses some of the hefty creaminess. Ends slightly warm.

I guess I have learned to trust Jackie O's with barrel aged brews over the years. A large dose of Bourbon barrel leads things off with coffee, roast grains, chocolate and vanilla notes also very strong.

Nov 08, 2020

CaptainHate from Ohio

4.35/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Happy Halloween.

I bought this a while ago in a bottle shop when it was too hot to enjoy a big barrel aged stout so now's the time. Poured a 12.7 ounce bottle into a DFH tulip and the head just didn't measure up over a blackish brown body so it gets nicked for that. Smell is of a generic brand Jackie O's stout, which is a pretty high standard but they have a certain sameness to them albeit on a high plane (I hope this is making sense to someone who's experienced this). They loaded this up with Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (which coffee wise is out of my not cheap range) so it's present in the smell and taste but not to an obnoxious degree; instead things are nicely balanced. Mouthfeel is just fine for a barrel aged stout.

This has been a good experience despite my lower than average scoring.

Nov 01, 2020

WunderLlama from Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle poured into a snifter

One finger creamy brown foam cap , good retention, settles to a ring over dark brown liquid with numerous streams of micro carbonation

Fragrant bourbon aroma, borkum riff tobacco, roast malts , coffee,

Taste is bourbon, coffee, roast malts

Creamy , rich mouthfeel, low sudsing , almost syrupy, coffee taste lingers but not bitter

Good beer

Aug 04, 2020

Damian from Massachusetts

4.56/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Drank from a 12.7 fl. oz. bottle purchased at Fort Point Market, Boston, MA
Served in a snifter

The beer poured pitch black and medium-full bodied for the style. Oily and slick looking in the glass. A small, frothy, mocha colored crown topped the liquid and quickly dropped to a clingy color. Minimal lacing.

The aroma was really interesting and complex. Caramel notes were most apparent initially. Some molasses came through as well. Sweet but definitely not excessively so. The coffee presence was very pleasant but a touch more subtle than I anticipated. Roasty espresso came to mind. Fragrant bourbon and vanilla notes married perfectly with the espresso. Later, the coffee intensified.

The flavor profile was also very impressive. Big roasted malt notes on the front end. Espresso was came through as well. Bit of dark chocolate in the center. Bourbon notes appeared as the beer moved along the palate. Like in the nose, the bourbon lent the beer a fragrant, vanilla-like quality. More roast and booze on the back end and in the finish. Hint of lingering bitterness after the swallow.

Terrific rich, creamy, fuller bodied mouthfeel. Slick, oily and smooth on the palate. The liquid contained a fine, fairly subtle effervescence that was spot-on for the style.

Jackie O’s Bourbon Barrel Champion Ground is a fantastic beer that perfectly combines the roasty and boozy notes found in many old-school bourbon barrel-aged coffee stouts with the richness and sweetness typical of newer takes on the style. Even though this beer was first brewed in 2015, it still has relevancy today.

Jul 25, 2020

REVZEB from Illinois

4.04/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Standard black with a khaki head. Rich coffee, dark fruit, dark chocolate, and bourbon nose. Taste starts with the deep coffee, but then gets fruity with the raisin, date and plum with chocolate and slight wood before coffee takes back over. Given the rating expected it to be more dynamic and less aggressive with the flavor shifts but booze is integrated and hidden very well. Feel is dry, airy for style, not too warm or hot, and lightly roasted compared to the taste. It was good but overrated, many good coffee ba stouts out there that are more worth your time

Apr 28, 2020

von_kaiser from Connecticut

4.56/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2019....strong coffee scent. Not overly bitter for a coffee stout. Coffee flavor is exceptional. Medium feel with a thin coat on the glass. This was well done.

Feb 18, 2020

GuyFawkes from Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -22%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Released 12/13/19; drank 2/16/20 @ the Yarchives.

Black appearance.

A violent pour yielded a big tan head; decent lace.

Oak, cream, dark roast coffee bean, dark chocolate syrup and mild bourbon notes in the nose.

Creamy, thick mouthfeel.

Green pepper, cream, dark chocolate & dark roast coffee bean flavors up front; oak & bourbon heat notes on the finish.

Almost a parody of the coffee stout cliche's...easy pass for me moving forward.

Feb 17, 2020

Holderness from Massachusetts

4.45/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

L — Deep black body with a minuscule light brown head produced with aerated pour. Looks basically still
S — Aromatic coffee, caramel, vanilla, bourbon, fudge
T — Largely follows the nose. It is a high quality coffee, and it is very important to drink this brew fresh. Very nice vanilla/oaky notes from the barrel and a nice chocolatey sweetness from the malts
F — Big mouthfeel, medium- carb. Could be a little more fluffy and viscous, but still quite good
O — Another winner in the BA lineup from Jackie O’s. Just goes to prove that choice of coffee matters

89/100

Feb 10, 2020

Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)

4.25/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of floral coffee notes with some black chocolate note and some subtle bourbon notes. Taste is a mix of floral coffee notes with light residual sugar notes, some chocolate notes with some bourbon notes with light vanilla notes also perceptible. Body is full with good carbonation and no real apparent alcohol notes. Superb coffee based imperial stout with some light and well-balanced bourbon notes.

May 17, 2019

Oh_Dark_Star from Washington

4.67/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Back as pitch with a thin and light tan head, wonderfully rich coffee on the nose, less bourbon than typical for the brewery but still added to the otherwise simplistic brew. This is in my top two or three for certain though as what it lacks in complexity it more than makes up for in execution and refinement!

Apr 13, 2019

GreatStoutman from Texas

4.53/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Coffee bomb... nice, smooth coffee though, not overly bitter. Chocolate notes and some bourbon on the finish. When it finally hits room temp it’s all coffee

Jan 19, 2019

Ciocanelu from Romania

4.65/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Really dark brown color with mocha head. Aroma has nice bourbon, cacao, caramel, fudge and a hint of sweetened coffee. Taste has fresh ground coffee, well integrated bourbon, toffee and fudge. Bitter, roasty finish with lingering caramel. Medium plus body, medium carbonation, soft on the palate. A really well made, tasty, coffee stout.

Mar 12, 2018

jhavs from New York

4.27/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Dark dark brown, fairly opaque. Thin mocha head settles into a ring around my glass with a central floating island.

Aroma is black coffee, sweet vanilla bean, boozy bourbon barrel.

Bitter dark coffee, sweet vanilla bourbon barrel, roasted dark malt. Bittersweet baking cocoa.

A bit lighter body than I expected, boozy heat, lighter carbonation suitable to the style.

Big brew, booze stuck around. Rich barrel and coffee.

Mar 12, 2018

GreesyFizeek from New York

4.51/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This one pours a pretty dark black, with a small mocha colored head, and not much lacing.

This smells like fruity and roasty coffee- the coffee is a strong aroma, but it doesn't completely dominate here. There's caramel, oak, bourbon, and tons of chocolate.

The coffee flavor in this is super nice, and well integrated into a superior base beer. There's lots of fudgy chocolate, with vanilla and caramel providing a nice hint of sweetness, and lots of dark fruit and a slightly smokey flavor from the coffee. The barrel character is also killer here, with lots of not-too-boozy bourbon flavor and a hint of oak.

My only real quibble with this beer is the body- I definitely wish it was a bit bigger. It's certainly not thin, though- it works well enough for me.

This is a super underrated BA stout. Most of Jackie O's stuff is super underrated. This is highly recommended.

Dec 26, 2017

glass_house from Ohio

4.74/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Pours black with one finger of khaki head that recedes to a thin collar with minimal lacing. Smell is mostly dark chocolate and bourbon with hints of vanilla and dark roasty coffee.

Taste is a well balanced blend of dark roasted malts, cocoa, hazelnut, espresso, and smooth bourbon. Very nice layering of flavors that hit all the right notes for the style.

Body is slick and silky smooth, but I find myself wishing it was just a bit more full and chewy. As great as the flavor is, I wish it hung on the palate a little longer.

All in all, another tremendous barrel aged offering from Jackie O's. While they never disappoint, this one is especially great.

Nov 27, 2017

grover37 from District of Columbia

4.23/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

375 at Hoppin Frog for $13++ during HH.

Pitch dark, thick ring. Nice dark roast nose with some nuttiness, a bit stale though. Great flavors, but wayyy too thin. Chocolate and dark fruit dominate and chocolate lingers. Still, not quite fudgey like I want. A tad over rated imo.

Nov 24, 2017

pmarlowe from Virginia

4.58/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

2017 vintage.

A: Pours black with a cap of espresso-like tan head that recedes to a razor-thin ring. Pretty good retention for the sparse head that’s there.

S: Dark roast coffee, a bit of baker’s spice, a good kick of dark chocolate and vanilla, with a light bourbon accent providing additional complexity.

T: Rich, decadent coffee and medium-light bourbon and oak, along with a backbone of very dark chocolate, roastiness cut through by a bit of vanilla bean. Somewhat dry, which is accentuated by the hefty coffee presence.

M: Velvety, rounded medium-full body despite prickly, medium-light carbonation. Light alcohol heat.

O: A big, delicious, coffee-forward bourbon barrel stout with enough barrel presence to keep things interesting. I suspect that with a little more age, the coffee will mellow and the barrel will show even more—not necessarily for the better, just a different expression. Reminds me a lot of BA Speedway Stout.

Nov 15, 2017

StonedTrippin from Colorado

4.5/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

bourbon barrel aged imperial stout with coffee, which on paper sounds like the same thing a million other breweries are doing, but in reality, is unique as can be, more concentrated and intense in all aspects than almost anything else in this field i have had before, which is a large sample size for sure. the coffee here is so fresh, earthy, and rich. its roasted like crazy, with an obvious dark chocolate profile that blends in beautifully with all the dark malts, which in this case stand out more than in a lot of these due to the apparent lack of a sweet malty middle, its all dry and roasty, near black, with the only sweetness at all in here coming from the bourbon, which has honey and vanilla and toasted marshmallow aspects to its sweetness, but its not from grain. it almost tastes like an ice beer, like some of the water was frozen out to make the beer thicker and more pronounced in the flavors, the dark malt here is really deep, and the coffee is dosed heavily enough to match it all the way through. there is a lot of charred oak on this, a faint hint of coconut and raisin right up front, and lots more chocolate. the whiskey is pretty strong here too, but it brings the coffee together with the wood and the heft of the grain. rich vanilla and maple notes in it, and just a little warming alcohol. this is amazingly complex and delicious, a hell of a breakfast beer, and another reason why i am increasingly obsessed with this brewery! this is one of the best of its kind!

Nov 04, 2017

JLK7299 from North Carolina

4.63/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

Got this in a trade last winter and have been saving it for my birthday. Worth. The. Wait! Wow! Perfect BBA Stout. The bourbon is present but not overwhelming. Wish I had more than just this one!

Oct 31, 2017

ONUMello from Ohio

4.45/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

375mL 2017 edition poured into a snifter
A: Pitch black with a thin head that lingers
S: Freshly brewed espresso, cocoa, vanilla, roasted malt, some toffee/molasses... very full and complex
T: Matches the nose note for note. Just tons going on, all of it delicious. Coffee up front followed by all the complexities of a well made barrel aged stout
M: Full-bodied, big without being boozy
O: This is one to sip slowly and savor. Just everything about it is well-made, completely worthy of the outstanding rating it has

Oct 29, 2017

Brutaltruth from Ohio

4.49/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

From the shorty bottle in a snifter via the brewery. This beast of a stout pours
a deep obsidian with a nice brown head of brown foam that subsides to a thick ring,
thin pool, and showcases nice light lacing. Nose of coffee, dark cocoa fudge, vanilla,
heavy bourbon, heavy oak, and moderately heavy char. Flavors follow but surpass with
presentation of bourbon and heavy char awash in heavy oak notes with moderate vanilla
and heavy coffee with char and crème brûlée brown sugar notes on the rear. Excellent mouth feel;
full body, slick, coating, rich, and warming with low carbonation and a touch of raisin bourbon note
on the rear with warmth. Overall, a FANTASTIC stout that was even better on tap and worthy of the
name Jackie O's.

Cheers

Oct 27, 2017

MFMB from Idaho

4.5/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a jet black with a thin deep brown foam head. Nose is of wet coffee grounds, molasses and burnt malt. Taste is extreamly coffee forward. Dark roast black, no cream no sugar. Nice sweet bourbon kick that cuts through the coffee. Wood, toasted dark malts, light vanilla and caramel present. A little thin on body, watered down. Still tho a very good stout. If you like your coffee dark. You'll dig this.

Oct 09, 2017

Knapp85 from Pennsylvania

4.28/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured out jet black, thin tan head on top settling into a ring around the glass. The smell is of molasses, not much coffee but it smells very good regardless. The taste is sweet again not a ton of coffee but definite chocolate in there with some caramel in there too. The feel is a little thinner than expected. Overall a very good stout.

Sep 28, 2017

-Rick from Massachusetts

4.59/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

poured from a 375ml bottle into a Foam snifter
2017 bottle
pours a dark brown color with a nice 2 finger tan head that hung around for a while. Lots of chocolate on the nose, like smellinga warm cup of fudge. The taste is a blast of coffee with a creamy fudgie lingering after taste. An amazing coffee stout. Will have to grab more when possible!

Sep 26, 2017