Dark Apparition - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Jackie O's Brewpub

 

 

Thick, black, oily looking black beer minimal light brown head leaves a small ring and an oily film behind. Nose says booze'n chocolate. Taste buds get that with some caramel, vanilla and molasses. Nice chewy mouthfeel, minimal carbonation. Excellent brew!

Pitch black with a half finger of rusty head. Smells like bourbon, barrels, chocolate coffee, tar, black, licorice, and vanilla. The taste of caramel, bourbon, barrel, vanilla, dark chocolate, black, licorice, and a light sweetness. Medium to light oily body with little carbonation. I got this in Waynesville North Carolina and I’m drinking Wilson North Carolina August 17, 2023. I was looking for this in Ohio and was glad to finally find in North Carolina.

Bottled 2023. Purchased at brewery 6/24/23. This year the abv is 13.2%. Poured at 57°. Two tone tan head of mixed bubbles quickly subsided leaving a small island of micro dots; brief thin ring likewise vanished leaving no lace; jet black with grey then ruby edges; medium legs on swirl. Bourbon and chocolate nose. Bourbon and cocoa nibs entry; bittersweet dark chocolate; some oak, vanilla and stone fruit as beer warmed. Mild alcohol bite on tip of tongue; a little warmth from 13.2% abv; smooth medium light body; light carbonation; dry barrel finish. Overall, drinks thin with a dry wooden linger; very good, but I was hoping for more.

2023-07-03
375ml bottle served in a snulip. 2023 vintage. Got it from @ozzylizard in NBS BIF #17.

Pours black with a small, oil-brown ring of head around the edge, looks thick and still. Smell is roast coffee, char, vanilla, caramelized molasses.

Taste is hard in the caramelized molasses direction. I definitely get some vanilla and something that reminds me of dates and root beer barrel candies. Sweetness is there, not as strong as I would have guessed, with a bit of char and smoke (just a wisp) balancing it out.

Mouthfeel is thick, chewy, satisfying. Overall, very nice beer.

 

2021 in 2023
Look - Black and thick with a nice tan head and rimming
Smell - dark chocolate and vanilla and a caramel woodiness
Taste - dark chocolate, very slight caramel and barrel. Maybe a dark red fruit
Feel - full body with a medium light carb
Overall - lacks much barrel in the taste.

 

 

 

 

 

Picked up a 12.7 oz bottle from the Appalachian Vintner in Asheville 8-4-22 for $14.99. 2022 edition consumed 9-3-22. This edition is 11.3% abv.

Beer poured black with an okay tan head.

Nose is very nice, dark chocolate, bourbon, and vanilla are very prevalent.

Taste follows the nose where the base beer large malt base incorporates the barrel subtly allowing notes of vanilla and chocolate to show thru. Finishes with a nicely hopped finish and the kiss of bourbon rounds it out nicely.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and smooth.

Overall a very nice enhancement to a good base beer!

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a small, fluffy head. Smells of slightly roasted, caramel malt, chocolate and distinct dark fruits, with notes of raisin and fig, as well as lighter molasses and Bourbon-soaked oak. Taste is a good balance of slightly roasted, caramel malt, milk chocolate, molasses, brown sugar, dark fruit, with notes of raisin, fig and date, as well as well as lighter vanilla, licorice and tobacco, with a distinct presence of Bourbon and oak coming through as well. Finishes bittersweet, with a medium sweetness and some chocolate, dark fruit, brown sugar and Bourbon-soaked oak lingering in the afteratste. Full mouthfeel with a rich body and light/ medium carbonation.

This makes for a rather a rich and complex Imperial Stout with distinct Bourbon accents, which is quite a bit too sweet and boozy for my personal taste though. The distinct milk chocolate, molasses, brown sugar and dark fruit notes all lean towards the sweeter end of the spectrum, while the much lighter roasted malt, licorice and tobacco accents are not present enough to balance this out in my personal opinion, while there's quite a bit of sharp, boozy bourbon in the aftertaste as well. Overall, after BA Oro Negro, this came as bit of a disappointment to me, not being well-balanced to my personal taste despite making for a rather rich and complex brew with a full body and mouthfeel.

2021 vintage - 13.8% ABV. Poured from a 375mL bottle into my Portsmouth tulip.

Seal to Van Dyke brown liquid with a rapidly dissolving tan cap. No lacing, thin legs, poor retention.

Toffee, vanilla, roast malt, and treacle aromatics. Maybe some faint cocoa as it warms. No fusels.

Dense, compact, chewy palate entry suffused with fudge, pipe tobacco, dates, and demerara sugar. Sweet, thin, with a bittersweet, earthy finish. Low hop presence. Neutral yeast.

Vaguely oily, not light yet thin, low carbonation, well concealed alcohol.

Delicious beer, a little sweet, with restrained barrel character. Has some qualities of a much older vintage than it is.

Dark Apparition – Bourbon Barrel Aged from Jackie O’s. 12.7 oz bottle purchased online (no record of from whom or when). Stored at 40 degrees after purchase. Reviewed 6/2/21. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottle stamped on rear of label “2020”. Served at 49.1 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 56.1 degrees.
Appearance – 3.5.
First pour – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque.
Body – Deep Brown (SRM 30), muddy and opaque. When rear-lite, same with precipitate, but top edge is olive and bottom is ruby.
Head – Tiny (Maximum 0.5 cm, aggressive center pour), mahogany, fizzy and no retention, disappearing in seconds leaving a 0.5 mm ring of bubbles and no cap.
Lacing – None, but at 12.8% ABV lacing wasn’t expected.
Aroma – 4.25 – Dark chocolate and ethanol predominate, no hops, no malt, no yeast.
Flavor – 4 – Dark chocolate is much weaker than the nose suggests, but still predominates. No hops, no yeast. Weak ethanol (12.8 % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. Mild gastric warming occurs. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4.25 – Seems thin for a RIS, smooth but short of creamy, barely noticeable carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 Looks like a typical RIS or Impy stout. Aroma is mostly dark chocolate with some mediocre bourbon present. Tastes of dark chocolate and bourbon, not bad but not particularly desirable. Both aroma and taste seem simplistic for a BBA RIS. Cap seemed weak and flimsy, like it had been used previously.

 

 

2020 version poured from a 12.7 oz bottle into a KBBS tulip glass. This beer is on the thin side but not to an extent where I'd downgrade much on that element. Lightly sweet with nice bourbon flavor. To me this beer tastes similar to some regular BCBS years but with flavor slightly more muted.