Birdwatcher Coconut Vanilla BBA Blueberry Stout
Dark Horse Brewing Company

 

Look: fairly dark brown with a modest tan head.
Aroma: wow this is distinctive. Is it licorice? Almost phenolic. Some faint berry and oak barrel.
Taste: I bet the barrel and the bourbon up front. Roasted grains, some faint coffee notes as well. Modest berry and vanilla notes.
Feel: fairly dry on the finish but the warming from the ABV is there.
Overall: interesting and fun to drink. The dryness makes me think that the barrel and the fruit have been fermenting for the last several months.

 

 

 

 

12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 12/2018. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a small dense tan head with great retention, that reduces to a thin lace cap that lingers. Nice spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big juicy/lightly tart/tangy blueberries, fruit skin, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, coconut, bourbon, toasted oak, biscuit, and dark/brown bread; with light notes of molasses, licorice, dark fruit, smoke, herbal, and yeast/roast/oak/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, blueberries, vanilla, coconut, and bourbon barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of big juicy/lightly tart/tangy blueberries, fruit skin, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, coconut, bourbon, toasted oak, biscuit, and dark/brown bread; with light notes of molasses, licorice, dark fruit, smoke, herbal, and yeast/roast/oak/toasted earthiness. Mild herbal/roast bitterness, bourbon/oak spiciness, and fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of juicy blueberries, fruit skin, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, coconut, bourbon, toasted oak, biscuit, dark/brown bread, molasses, licorice, dark fruit, smoke, herbal, and yeast/roast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, blueberries, vanilla, coconut, and bourbon barrel flavors; with a nice roasted bitter/sweet, bourbon/oak spiciness, and tart/tangy fruit balance; with no cloying flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness, bourbon/oak spiciness, and fruit tang/tartness. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety, and lightly slick/sticky/chalky/acidic/tangy/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Minimal warming alcohol for 12%, with no barrel booze lingering after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic fruited/flavored barrel aged imperial stout! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, blueberries, vanilla, coconut, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/tart/tannic/drying finish. Perfectly balanced rich malts, blueberries, vanilla, coconut, and bourbon barrel presence/integration. Not overwhelming on any aspect. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding style example all around.

12 ounce bottle, no date seen but I know that it is from early December. Poured into a tulip. Black/dark brown, smallish cap of mocha head. Head retention is not great but small fingers of lace do appear on the glass.
Nose of coconuts, dark chocolate, blueberry pancake. Chocolate covered blueberries. Really pleasant nose, nothing too strong or overpowering.
Roast, coconut, bitter dark chocolate, blueberry appears and leaves almost immediately leaving just a light tartness. Wood and bourbon, smoke.
Thin body, too thin for an imperial BA stout. Either way, good flavor for this adjuncted imperial stout, bump up the body and it’s be better.

Brief Review:

O: The golden days of 4Elf are not that far in the past, but the once-great beer release party has since fallen on hard times. Many of this year's releases saw distro and are still sitting on shelves. The ones I've had so far have ranged from horrid to merely drinkable. But this one here had me the most optimistic given its description. The original BBA Tres is a good beer, and this one tries to one-up it by adding coconut and vanilla. Sounds like it could be an overpowering mess, but it actually turns out pretty balanced. The flavors come together nicely and it's quite drinkable. I'll knock it for it's thin body and watery mouthfeel, but overall it redeems 2018 4Elf at the end of the day.

Recommendation: Definitely worth picking up if you see it, but I wouldn't go out of your way to trade for it.

 

 

Drom a bottle. Can taste the vanilla but not the blueberries. Ok, but could be better.