Black Mask
Jackie O's Brewpub

Gunpowder black with a thin finger of mocha-colored head. Moderate retention before settling into a lasting wisp and crown that leaves decent lacing.

Roasted coffee, tootsie roll and vanilla in the nose with hints of meaty and soy-like umami behind.

Chocolate and vanilla in the taste with a little plum and roast coffee behind. Nice mix of sweetness and bitterness.

Super creamy feel with restrained carbonation.

Nice, smooth flavors and great mouthfeel on this one.

From an undated 12.7oz bottle into a pint glass.

Pours black as night with about a half finger of light brown head that dissipates quickly leaving a perfect ring around the edge of the glass. Not much lacing to speak of.

Initial aroma is bourbon but quickly gives way to vanilla, baker's chocolate, dark chocolate and coffee.

Taste follows. A great balance of all of the above with maybe a bit of dark bitter fruit. Some bourbon and alcohol heat. Just a hint of smoke/roast.

Very smooth drinker for 12.6% abv. Nice bitter coffee and chocolate aftertaste.

Overall. Man this is a winner, right here. Savoring every sip.

 

Look - Great black thickness with a good tan head and lacing
Smell - Chocolate vanilla and coffee along with a great caramel woody barrel
Taste - chocolate vanilla caramel coffee and lots of barrel, not overly sweet or boozy but its still rich
Feel - medium full body with a lighter carb and a slight creaminess
Overall - really nice chocolate coffee vanilla BA Stout.

 

Good head production and decent retention given the ABV, additives, and barrel aging.

Wonderful aroma, with bourbon, red grape, coffee, molasses, vanilla, and chocolate. There's also something awkward that I can't quite place, an earthy, almost meaty (but not smoky) note that could simply be the coffee, or even the chocolate.

Nothing awkward about the presentation on the palate. Coffee, bourbon, and chocolate all vie for dominance, and play very well with the massive stout base. Molasses, brown sugar, light toast, pumpernickel, red grape, raisin. Vanilla primarily on the back third. Finish is a touch hot and effervescent, but relatively wet and long.

Wonderfully sharp bitterness from the interplay of whiskey, oak, hops, and roasted malts, similar to BA Old Raspy (but dialed way back). Many (most?) BA AIS tend to avoid that bitterness, aiming more for rich sweetness, but this beer embraces it. This isn't a dessert stout, although it certainly has some creamy richness.

Full bodied; thick but not chewy. A slow sipper that shows its weight class without flaunting it.

 

Pours a inky black with only sliver of tan head that falls to pond scum bubbles right away. Only the sparsest wisps of lace are left behind on this big brew.

Aroma is lots of chocolate almost fudge like nose, aided by more caramelized brown sugars big sweet goodness over powers everything. Underneath the chocolate only light roasted notes coffee hints, vanilla from the light bourbon barrel notes. As it warms coffee notes do seem to emerge more, causing me to bump it up a tad.

Taste like the nose big chocolate rich and sugary sweetness abound over all. underneath the sweet wave is roasted notes coffee, vanilla and light woody bourbon barrel notes mingle over your taste buds to rein the would be cloyingness. For me seems more like its skirting desert beer status with all the coco nibs almost like a Fudgesicle, as it warms other notes become more noticeable and kid of rounds it out.

Mouthfeel is approaching chewy level but bordering on the full side instead, no doubt aided by the smooth carbonation level.

Overall becomes more complex as she warms like most beers I guess but more so with this one turns from borderline cloying chocolate to big ass stout with chocolate nibs still dominating but not over powering it all.

 

Seems like a good beer to do right before Halloween, 2021 vintage
Pours a very small fizzy head covering, brown foam and lacing notes, very long inky legs, pitch black color

Nose is intense, as expected from Jackie O's, lots of dark chocolate and cocoa up front, big cocoa, then some vanilla spice and nutty almost pecan like aromas blending into a mild dark roasted coffee, general roast and fudge coming in waves, a bit of toasted oak barrel and light bourbon in the background, caramelized dark sugar and baking spices round off the nose

Taste starts quite sweet, almost like turbinado sugar or some caramelized brown sugar sweet character, not overly sweet, followed by the intense dark chocolate and cocoa, fudge brownie, a bit nutty again, then vanilla icing and vanilla spice, a bit of coffee soaked cake almost Tiramisu like, with chocolate pudding, a fair roast character in the background but far from being acrid or overly roasted, fairly smooth, with a touch of alcohol late, light bitterness, some vanilla toasted oak in the background, bourbon comes through more on the back end since the other flavors dominate, and adds a nice rounding character to everything, a bit of buttery vanilla oak on the finish with more bourbon, sticky turbinado sugar and caramel covered nuts late as well, and loads more cocoa

Mouth is fuller bod, rich almost chewy, very light warming alcohol, smooth, with lighter carb but OK for the style

Overall very nice, intense with loads of sharp flavors and aromas yet seems to harmonize well probably thanks to the barrel aging, which doesn't come through as much as I would have liked but still has a nice affect on it

 

slightly strong stout with strong flavors of bourbon , chocolate and vanilla - share with a friend

 

 

Appearance: Pours espresso colored with a thing beige cap that quickly fades to a ringlet; leggy and spotty

Smell: The Bourbon envelops the chocolate and coffee tones; hints of caramel and vanilla

Taste: Chocolate and caramel forward with the coffee and vanilla tones emerging; the Bourbon hits the taste buds, in the mid-palate, but stops just shy of overwhelming; slightly boozy finish

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with low to moderate carbonation

Overall: Still slightly thinner in the body than I would like, the flavors here are bold and the Bourbon works well

 

Sampling a cellar temp 12.7 fl oz bottle poured into my snifter. This is a vintage 2018 and part of a swap with @artizen. Thank you!
the beer pours a dark cola brown color with 0.5 cm of dense creamy tan head foaming up. This fades quickly to a strong edge layer which results in dense lacing when I swirl my glass.
The aroma on this beer is rich with bourbon notes. I also get some brown sugar and molasses and a bit of dark chocolate. Not too much vanilla presence on the nose to speak of, if at all to be honest. Hops also do not show forth either.
First sip reveals a medium to thick body with a soft and slightly sticky texture. Definitely coats my lips at each sip. Carbonation is very fine and gentle.
Flavor is more complex than the nose predicts. I get some bourbon, dark chocolate, molassess, all similar to the nose. But I also get some charred wood, burnt tobacco notes in the middle. This rolls back to a rich dark chocolate and roasted malt note that lingers long after each swallow. Booze is well hidden with no warmth or peppery bites. Hops absent.
This is a big beer that is relatively smooth and works well. I dont know if the vanilla was more present fresh, but it never really shows up on this tasting. Another solid Imp Stout from Jackie Os!

 

 

 

 

12.7 oz bottle, 2019 vintage, poured into an Untappd 10th anniversary snifter at 53 degrees F:
L - dark with a hazelnut head that dissipated quickly
S - bourbon, vanilla, cocoa
T - another beautiful stout from Jackie O's. This one has the great bourbon flavor, and also vanilla and cocoa, with a nutty finish. Very well balanced
F - thick with minimal carbonation, just right
O - an outstanding beer, smooth and balanced, yet the bourbon and infused ingredients all stand out on their own

Bottle poured in a snifter

Black liquid

Thin brown foam cap quickly recedes, no lacings

Aroma is roast malts

Taste is roast Malt , cocoa , licorice

Low sudsing mouthfeel, smooth, abv well hidden

Good beer

 

Saw this at the local grocery store back in December or so and just automatically picked up a single, like I do all Jackie O's releases of this type, and stuck it in my cellar fridge for the right time, like tonight. Poured into a DFH tulip, it had a small head over an inky dark brown body. Smell was full of chocolate malty aromas with a bit of vanilla; didn't really detect that much coffee. Not much barrel in the aroma or taste. Taste was nicely complex in a way I've become conditioned to expect. Mouthfeel was perfect. This is why I just automatically buy Jackie O's big imperial stout releases; they've achieved a level of trust that an occasional miscue won't diminish.

Tar black with a mushroom brown ring. Smell stars the coffee but also brings the cocoa and vanilla right in behind them as VIPs, barrel solely supporting. Taste sees the barrel influence gain, especially the wood, but still focused on the vibrant trinity of coffee, cocoa, and vanilla. Feel is lighter, staying adept and not cloying, good barrel and coffee percolation to break up the malts. Label arts deserves consideration as well

Pours a deep dark brown, essentially black color. For a barrel aged stout it has quite a robust head. A finger and a half of thickness initially it gently dissipated until just a thin ring of tan foam remains along the outside the beer.

The aroma from a distance is quite dominated by the vanilla, but as you get closer in to the beer, the coffee comes out more. Notes of roasted barley, cocoa, vanilla, dark chocolate and some light bittering hops on the back end. Everything here in the flavor is really well balanced - nothing is too pronounced - and nothing is too sweet. There is a slight alcohol burn on the back end, but its not too strong. More of a strong reminder on the back end that this isa barrel aged beer.

Feel is on the thinner side - makes this dangerously easy to drink. Moderate carbonation.

Overall a lovely stout all around and a real treat to drink.

 

Cacao nibs and vanilla intermingle like vanilla bean ice cream smothered in melted-down dark chocolate. The sweetness is restrained enough to both give the adjuncts/roasty base adequate room to shine and to entirely avoid tasting like a saccharine, syrupy mess. I don't like pastry stouts, but this is really about as bright, complex, balanced, and subdued as they come (bright in flavor, subdued in sweetness and in the intensity of individual adjuncts). Barrel could have been more intense, but the vanillins and light oak provide a small balancing agent. On the finish, cacao nibs and roast profile take over and bring this beer into some moderated semblance of dryness. Overall, this is pastry heaven, whatever that means to you.

 

 

Pours black with minimal lacing. Barrel presence on the nose along with chocolate and roasty coffee. Taste has notes of vanilla, with ample coffee and barrel. Good mouthfeel, not too thick or thin. Overall another well done BA stout from JO's.

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

Black appearance.

An even pour yielded a nice dark tan head; decent lace.

Vanilla, milk chocolate syrup, oak, bourbon & dark roast coffee bean notes in the nose.

Creamy, thick mouthfeel.

Vanilla, chocolate syrup, dark roast coffee bean, oak & bourbon flavors.

This is a blunt object of a pastry stout, but it's not too shabby.

 

 

 

Appearance - Pours black with a nice thin tight tan head that settles to a thick ring. Few dots of lacing.

Aroma - Roasted malts, coffee, oak, vanilla, light cacao and hot bourbon.

Taste - Very nice char right up front smoky and rich. Roasted malts, makers chocolate, vanilla is mild but adds sweetness, nice light barrel, great fresh ground coffee. Really complex and well balanced flavors.

Feel - Medium bodied slightly slick, mild warming from the alcohol finish is somewhat dry.

Overall - Really well done balanced stout, flavors are great and it is smooth and easy drinking.

Pours dark brown with a finger plus of khaki head.
Smells of dark roasted malts, coffee, mild barrel notes.
Taste is dark roast, slight char but not overly bitter. Coffee, vanilla, and cocoa linger on the finish. Barrel presence is light.
Medium bodied with good carb level.
Overall a well balanced stout.