Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Star: Coffee Edition
Fremont Brewing Company

22oz wax-encrusted bottle purchased at the Rocket Market on Spokane’s South Hill for $17.49, I believe. This may be the most expensive individual bottle of beer I’ve purchased, though not by the ounce. And can we please move on from the damn waxed bottles (blaming you, especially, Deschutes!)? I'll be fishing wax chunks out of the corners of my kitchen, after having to chip away with a knife, for the next week!

Poured the color of inky black shadows, with a big, creamy dark mocha colored head that dropped after a few minutes in my Iron Goat snifter. Although the high alcohol content of this beer made me think there wouldn’t be a lasting head, nearly half an inch of dark foam stayed atop the beer.

Coffee and oaky bourbon notes in the nose – more bourbon than coffee. Smells like it’s a hot one, alcohol-wise.

More balanced tasting than I expected, though with less coffee than I expected as well. Like the Spice Wars version, the coffee enhances rather than dominates the taste, which is hedonistically rich. Lots of brown sugar, toffee, pipe tobacco, coffee, wood, figs and bourbon. Although the bourbon flavor is present, it doesn’t drink like it has a high alcohol content (which it certainly has) at first. Rather, the booziness sneaks up on any sipper that isn’t wary (or can’t read the freaking label). Eventually (with a 10oz snifter, it took three pours), the booze was fairly strong, but that was after nearly an hour of being at room temperature.

Rich, velvety, coating mouthfeel to this. It’s like a fine beer carpet on the tongue.

I was going to drink this after the Super Bowl, win or lose, but the infuriating way my ‘hawks lost it left too bad a taste in my mouth to link that game to this beer, so instead it’s following a late breakfast a week later, which is proving more enjoyable. I could get used to this – it’s good for my wallet it’s already such a “walez bro’” beer, as I’d look silly drinking a snifter of this while soliciting spare change on the sidewalk!

Review: 2528
Name: Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Star with Coffee
Brewery: Fremont Brewing
Location: Seattle, WA
Style: Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 12.4%
Canned: 2019
Date: 17 December 2025
I am going to start working on my Fremont stash. I have several beers that need reviews. I am beginning with Dark Star Coffee Edition from 2019. I am using Tulip Glass and serving the beer at 54 degrees. The pour created a frothy, creamy two-fingered light tan head with excellent retention. The slow dissipation left chunks of lacing on the glass. The dark brown beer is nearly black, with an SRM of 36, and opaque. The overall appearance of the beer is above-average
Nosing the glass, I smell chocolate, tart cherries, oatmeal, medium-roasted coffee, bourbon, oak, char, earthiness, caramel, toffee, molasses, leather, bready dark-roasted malts, anise, grassy notes, and raisins.
Sipping the beer: starts with bourbon, oatmeal, medium roasted coffee, char, oak, molasses, and earthiness. Another sip, and I notice anise, grassy notes, caramel, leather, raisins, and vanilla.
The mouthfeel is chewy, finishing thick and a bit warm. The body is heavy and has low carbonation.
Final Impression: Dark Star with Coffee is stellar. The coffee is flavorful without being bitter. The base oatmeal stout holds up to the coffee onslaught. Barrel-aging adds some roundness to the overall beer. Dark Star with Coffee is a fantastic beer. I had this beer on tap in Nampa way back in 2019, and it's still amazing.

2017 and 2025
Look - dark with nice rimming and lacing
Smell and Taste - Definitely still ba oatmeal stout, coffee has phased but still a great beer.
Feel - Medium full body light carb at this point

 

2019 coffee edition poured into a snifter - dark brown almost black poured with slight foam risen to the surface.
Smells of strong coffee blended with chocolate, oats, maple syrup, brown sugar, dark fruits.
Taste follows the nose with a stronger emphasis on the coffee. Jeez this is so good!! Getting coffee followed by chocolate, dark fruits, roasted malts. This is one to look out for 100%.
Feel is medium to full bodied slightly carbonated. Easy sipper, abv shows around 10% due to the alcohol heat after the sip.
Overall this one is one to look out for! I love this kind of barrel aged stouts in general but definitely worth buying.

 

2018 bottle; drank Dec 2022. Pours deep black. Aroma is amazing combo of chocolate, coffee, bourbon and hints of vanilla. Flavor is even more intense & bold. Coffee dominates and add dark chocolate, vanilla, bourbon & roastiness. Mouthfeel is full & silky. Incredible stout.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to kemoarps for this gem of a surprise gift. 2018 edition.
Deep, captivating darkness capped by a most elegant cocoa colored milky froth. Almost no lacing.
Aroma is decadent. Velvety smooth cocoa notes, deep roast coffee brings hints of bitter roast and fruity, young coffee beans. The whiskey is dancing around, grabbing the spotlight just a bit, and then outrunning it and blending, almost, into the background.
Flavor takes off. Lush in the mouth, feel and flavor are so interwoven. Creamy, roast, sweet yet bitter, earthy yet bright. So much nuance here. The complexity is pure bliss. The coffee lover finds a dominant coffee note. The sweet lover finds the coffee subtle. I'm sharing this with 2 other people. All are profoundly captivated. And all, are pulling so many different pleasures from this one.
Overall, iconic.

2017 edition. Excellent. Plenty of coffee and barrel presence. Rich, but not thick. Extremely well balanced. Big flavor, bold, beautiful bodied. Not overpowering in any way. I’m thinking letting this age really helped.

 

 

 

Thick, velvety, smooth - plenty of oatmeal in the body with a dark caramel bourbon/oak presence that carries from start to finish. Tons of cocoa. Coffee is there, roasty and bitter but subdued still present), however everything else is excellent. The bourbon barrel/char/oak/vanilla character is outstanding at 3 years old.

 

22oz bomber
2019 Limited Release, 12.4% ABV
thanks to Instagram @beeraficionado!
L: a thick tan head caps a black stout
S: I was worried about the coffee fading, but it’s dominant on the nose; dark chocolate, oaky bourbon, vanilla
T: bold & rich flavors: dark chocolate, coffee, boozy bourbon, oak, vanilla, oats, earthy hops
F: full body, good balance, ample carbonation
O: this was great, but I’d love to try this one fresh sometime. The coffee was present in flavor but maybe not as much as it could have been given this is two years old