Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Star
Fremont Brewing Company

10/28/23 bottle @ home (2021 vintage)

Black color with a one‑finger, beige head. Chocolate, roasted malt, raisins, and a touch of bourbon in the aroma. The flavor is rich and moderately sweet, carrying those dark, dessert‑leaning notes across the palate. A smooth, warming finish ties everything together and makes each sip feel effortlessly satisfying.

 

Initial Impression:
I’ve had Dark Star before, and I was genuinely surprised to realize I had never actually reviewed it. This bottle is from the 2023 release, and considering how much I’ve enjoyed previous versions, expectations were already pretty high going in.
Appearance:
Served at 56°F in a pint glass. The pour created an airy, creamy tan head about a finger thick with average retention, slowly dissipating without leaving much lacing behind. The beer itself pours jet black and fully opaque (SRM ~36), with an inky appearance that fits the style perfectly. Head retention could be a bit stronger, but overall, it presents well for a high-ABV barrel-aged stout.
Aroma:
Barrel-forward with a deep roasted malt foundation. The malt profile is layered with molasses, toffee, caramel, toasted bread crust, dark baker’s chocolate, French roast coffee, anise, raisin, date, leather, tobacco, earthiness, and aged cherry notes. The oatmeal contributes a subtle cooked cereal character that rounds out the roast profile nicely.
The hops remain restrained but contribute touches of pine, grass, and faint floral character. The barrel integration is outstanding—oak, bourbon, char, orange zest, and resinous wood notes weave naturally into the malt complexity. Honestly, the aroma alone is worth sitting with for a while.
Flavor:
Rich and impressively balanced despite the intensity. Barrel character leads with oak, char, resin, bourbon warmth, caramel, and a subtle orange-citrus brightness. The malt backbone follows with toasted bread crust, molasses, toffee, roasted grain, biscuit, and dark malt sweetness.
Additional layers continue to unfold with oats, dark chocolate, medium-roast coffee, vanilla, cola, tobacco, leather, sherry-like oxidation, raisin, date, cherry, grass, and light floral notes. The beer manages to stay cohesive despite how much is happening in the glass.
Mouthfeel:
Heavy-bodied with moderate-low carbonation. Creamy, chewy, and coating on the palate with a gentle warming finish that never becomes harsh.
Overall Impression:
Barrel-Aged Dark Star is expensive, but honestly, it earns the price tag. The beer absolutely oozes a layered roasted-malt character while showcasing beautifully integrated barrel aging. This is very close to what I want from a barrel-aged oatmeal stout—deep, decadent, complex, and incredibly satisfying to sip slowly.
My only real criticism is that it leans just a touch sweeter than my ideal preference. Even so, that’s a minor complaint in an otherwise fantastic beer. This is the kind of stout you pour when you want to sit back, slow down, and enjoy every sip.

 

Appearance: Pours a very (very) dark brown body with a slim, yellowed beige head from a high pour.

Smell: Chocolaty, caramelly dark malts enveloped in smooth, slippery oats. Sufficient dark fruitiness. Some nostril-stinging, char-flecked bourbon barrel accents.

Taste: Sweetish dark baking chocolate, brown sugar, baking spices. Big blend of dark fruitiness - raisin, date, prune. Oozing molasses, a cola accent and the merest hint of coffee and earthy oats. Moderate bourbon barrel, oak and booze presence with a little vanilla. A full flush of sweet, malty, oaty, barrel-y boozy flavors on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Near full body. Subdued carbonation. Exceedingly velvety mouthfeel.

Overall: A fun, pleasant slow-sipper.

I had the 2025 limited release. If you are looking for a barrel aged experience this is high quality and as good as can be reasonably expected. I’m assuming all the editions are similarly high quality and interesting. If you have the means and like Kentucky bourbon barrel character, by all means give it a try.

 

Picked up a 22 oz bottle from the Hot Spot gas station on Brevard Road on 7-2-25 for $25.69. 2023 edition at 14.8% abv consumed 12-15-25.

Beer poured black with a pretty good tan head that dissipated quickly.

Nose has notes of medium roasted malts that give me some dark chocolate. The barrels bring me leather and vanilla.

Taste is spot on for the style. The medium to heavy roasted malts has mellowed but are still strong and i taste dark cocoa in my post sip aspirations. Barrel is warming and strong as i get notes of leather and a light touch of vanilla. Between the roast, barrel, and hopping and sweetness has been perfectly balanced out.

Mouthfeel is medium to heavy bodied and smooth.

Overall, the BBA version of Dark Star is an enhancement to an outstanding base beer!

Look - Pours a dark black color with a very nice brown head.

Smell - Malt, chocolate, and bourbon.

Taste - Malt, bourbon,

Feel - Nice carbonation, medium body, pretty easy drinking.

Overall - A nice stout from Fremont brewing.

 

 

This is one of the best beers that Fremont has brewed. smell, taste and feel are excellent. Fremont knows how to do barrel-aged beers. Rated a few years ago.

 

Stout it out #4

Pours a very dark brown.

Smell is quite subtle, roasty bourbon.

Taste is the same, getting some coffee and chocolate, hint of Bourbon.

Bit thin

 

 

You know Brad Pitt, “What’s in the box!?” Like, still all cool and shit even in a not so good moment. But we are on a different level here. this isn’t just Dark Star, it’s Dark Star barrel aged. So I guess what I am trying to say is, is that this beer is Brad Pitt barrel aged - you know, taking care of hippies in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Yeah, I like that.