Bourbon Barrel Vanilla Black Maple
Jackie O's Brewpub

 

 

 

 

 

 

2016 vintage
375ml bottle poured into a tulip

A- pours a deep brown color with a one-finger foamy off-white head that reduces to a ring around the edge

S- initial aroma is loaded with nutty fudge, maple, chocolate and bourbon barrel. Undertones of brown sugar, molasses, fig & raisin. More bourbon at the end

T- maple sweetness up front, followed by hints of chocolate and roasted nuts. Mid-palate falls off a bit, before picking back up with bourbon barrel notes of barrel juice, wood & caramel. The finish gives a bit more maple and chocolate, having trouble finding any vanilla

M- medium body with low carbonation leads to an almost flat mouthfeel that continues to give just a hint of carbonation on on a thin finish

O- I love JO's barrel program, but something just seemed a bit off with this one

 

12.7 FL. OZ. bottle
Served in a Jackie O's snifter

This beer pours black and is topped with a skim of mocha head that leaves no lacing.

The smell is soft bourbon, caramel and vanilla.

The taste is just so damn smooth. I get bourbon, caramel, vanilla, and dark chocolate. They all blend perfectly for amazing flavor.

Full bodied. Smooth as silk

This is a fantastic beer. The vanilla didn't really pop any more than the non vanilla version, but I am not complaining. I am enjoying every sip.

From the bottle via the brewery in a snifter. This solid brew pours a deep
muddled brownish black with a nice head of tan foam that settles to a thick ring,
thin light pool, and showcases some nice light lacing. Nose of bourbon, oak, rich
vanilla, brown sugars, maple, and nutty roasted malts. Flavors impress as always
from this fine brewery with a rich toast malt background awash in boozy bourbon
and nicely balanced vanilla with hints of oak and subtle brewers licorice mingling
into a light coffee and maple note on the rear. Excellent mouth feel; medium full
body, warming, boozy, low carbonation, and a rich boozy finish.

Overall, a SOLID brew from a fantastic brewer.

Had this one on tap and was unable to get a growler for review....
no offense to one of my favorite breweries, but if people are willing to
pay for it please offer something other than what is available in a can.

When you brew it----they will come.

Cheers

 

Dark brown in color. No light seeping through. Vanilla, toffee, chocolate, booze and oak. Light bodied. Bit of roasted malt. Nicely balanced, not too sweet. Real good.

 

 

Really nice black as night pour. Had some head, but retention was minimal (seems a common theme with many of the J-Os BA stouts). Nose has hints of molasses with a little bit of that maple. Taste is pretty epic. Heavy dose of the vanilla without losing the bourbon and maple. What particularly works for me is that the bourbon is not too sweet which I think allows the other main flavors to come through and even a little vanilla extract bitterness in the end. Packed with flavor - absolutely delicious. Nice thick feel - just needs a few more bubbles.

Fantastic beer from a brewery that really puts out some excellent tasting stouts. Doesn't miss epic by much.

 

 

This one pours a fairly dark black, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells very strongly of maple, with some slight sweet creamy vanilla, chocolate, sweet bourbon, toffee, and caramel.

This takes a decadent beer and takes it one step further. The regular Black Maple is so good that it doesn't really need to be changed, but the vanilla definitely adds a touch more complexity to the dark maple goodness this beer provides. There's lots of malty chocolate, and some caramel and toffee, with a hint of oak, and bourbon that's well folded into the whole beer.

This is medium bodied, creamy and rich, but not exceptionally thick, with a moderate level of carbonation.

Jackie O's has one of the best barrel programs in the country, and this is another worthy entry. I enjoyed this very much.

 

 

 

Poured from fridge temp. Pours jet black with quickly dissipating head. No trace of bubbles on the edge of the glass. Nose is typical BBBM - lots of maple and bourbon. This has a nice amount of vanilla that compliments the other notes. Getting chocolate, a bit of black licorice, and some dark fruit. Taste is amazing. Bourbon is really strong, and the vanilla is there but subtle. Lots of chocolate and maple. This is incredible. Mouthfeel is super thick and creamy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured into an Alesmith snifter. Deep, dark brown color. Nose is full of maple, vanilla, caramel, salted walnut chocolate fudge, and oak. Mouthfeel is rich, decadent, and moderately oily. Palate is full of vanilla, maple, toffee, butterscotch, caramel, and salted walnut. Very rich and moderately sweet. Delicious; quite a treat.

12.7oz bottle purchased at local bottle shop (the esteemed Wine Spot, CLE Hts) for $11.99.

Opaque elixir, edges of clear bourbon-colored fun, thin tan head quickly to rim. Splotches of lacing and legs.

Caramel, bourbon, vanilla, oak and nutty/salty aromas with a nice swirl.

A nice bourbon, oak and vanilla hit up front with a caramel, chocolate, dry finish.

Medium to heavy feel with an alcohol twang.

Another well done porter that bends the envelope of flavors.

 

Appearance: Pours out pitch black with a thin ecru head that faded quickly while leaving a few splashes of lace

Smell: Vanilla forward with chocolate, toffee, maple, walnut and Bourbon tones

Taste: Big vanilla flavors, up front, supported by the chocolate, toffee and maple; after the swallow, the Bourbon emerges, as does the black walnut, with a nice blend of all the flavors in the finish

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with low carbonation

Overall: Really like the flavor profile here; the Bourbon barrel is handled deftly and the vanilla, maple and walnut flavors complement the base beer

 

 

 

Bottle:
Pours near black, with an oily aspect to it. In the glass, the tan head grows darker as it foams up, but lighter as is fizzles away to a medium thin collar of some large bubbles suspended in a tighter ring.

Nose has a spicy whiskey aspect to it - enticing and not overwhelming. The base seems to have a light cola aspect to it, I can imagine the maple acting like a syrup to the roasted malt to produce this. I also get a light nuttiness from this, strangely enough - almost a hazelnut sort of aspect. A not-so-typical nose that I enjoyed more and more as it warmed.

Flavor mostly followed, but with the nutty cola aspect being a bit more prevalent and the bourbon barrel taking a back seat. The maple sort of sneaks out from the opening notes, but doesn't present itself too strongly. There is a sneaking carbonation and a little bit of more spicy than hot note that I take for the alcohol.

A nice beer that I expected to be a little more sweet. I didn't get much vanilla, and got more cola than chocolate, but I enjoyed it just the same.