Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Mayan Mocha
Odd Side Ales

Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Mayan MochaBourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Mayan Mocha
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From:
Odd Side Ales
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
Ranked #903
ABV:
13%
Score:
94
Ranked #2,192
Avg:
4.24 | pDev: 8.25%
Reviews:
91
Ratings:
541
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 23, 2023
Added:
Oct 30, 2014
Wants:
  91
Gots:
  112
Stout with coffee, cinnamon, nutmeg, and habaneros added then aged in bourbon barrels.

Inspired by Mexican hot chocolate, it is carefully blended with Dutch chocolate coffee, cinnamon, nutmeg, and habaneros, which will leave you with the perfect balance of chocolate and heat.

Includes "Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Mayan."
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Siggy125:
Photo of Siggy125
Rated by Siggy125 from California

4.6/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Mar 13, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of Roguer
Reviewed by Roguer from Connecticut

4.22/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Solid head production and retention.

Super rich aroma, very complex, and coming in waves. At first, I picked up fairly traditional stout notes of prune, raisin, red grape, cola, and chocolate, followed by an almost creamy vanilla-bourbon note accented with cinnamon. Subsequent sniffs revealed quite a bit of heat, burning my upper lip just from the smell of habanero, cinnamon, and nutmeg. On aroma alone, this beer's got the goods, dude.

Dry spice and heat right up front; beer lacks any balancing sweetness on the initial taste. By mid-sip, the cinnamon and nutmeg, in particular, are really highlighted, but as dry spices often do, they tend to take over. Plenty of heat on the back end, with the habanero, bourbon barrel influence, and sky high ABV all combining for a wonderful warmth. A touch thin bodied for the ABV; I'd put it at medium bodied.

The bourbon influence isn't particularly strong, other than the heat and some oak. If you're going to barrel age a drink like this, I really want the sweetness from the bourbon playing with the laundry list of added ingredients, and that's simply not the case here. I wonder if it wasn't aged particularly long. Less heat from the habaneros than in some other beers, but it's noticeable. Definitely a beer that will be more appreciated by spice/chili aficionados, but one that can likely be enjoyed by someone who doesn't particularly care for heat. On a scale from Bud Light to Habanero Sculpin, this one ranks out probably just below Mexican Cake in terms of heat (so, a .... 6? 5? 4? This scale is pretty subjective).

Tasting notes include pretty much everything you'd expect, if not quite in the balance you'd prefer - or at least, the balance I prefer. Dark roast coffee, bitter chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, habanero, caramel, toast, light to light-moderate char, oak, vanilla, semi-sweet chocolate, red grape, prune.

On its own merits, this is a complex, interesting, spicy, and ultimately enjoyable brew - but not world class. Rated against the inspiration of Mexican hot chocolate, this beer delivers - and then some. Mexican hot chocolate should be bitter, spicy, and not particularly sweet, and while in a beer I'd prefer more balancing sweetness and richness to go with the heat (and, again, more bourbon influence, if you're going to bother to age the beer in bourbon barrels at all), this beer absolutely delivers on that inspired premise.
Jul 23, 2023
 
Rated: 4.16 by Sparty1965 from Michigan

Jan 08, 2023
Photo of ilikebeer03
Reviewed by ilikebeer03 from Texas

4.18/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pour is black with 2 fingers is dense, lasting head. Great retention and lacing. Beautiful beers
Nose is a mixture of cinnamon, habanero peppers, chocolate, roasted malt
Taste follows. Chocolate, cinnamon, coffee, hints of bourbon, oaky vanilla all overlayed on a low/moderately spicy pepper heat.
Nice thick body.
Nov 13, 2022
Photo of snaotheus
Reviewed by snaotheus from Washington

3.77/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
2022-07-31
12oz bottle poured into a WABL sample glass. Dated 09/27/18. Received from @superspak in NBS BIF #15.

Pours black with a roughly three millimeter head that collapses into a light dusting with a fairly thick ring. Smell is boozy, burnt caramel, vanilla, cinnamon.

Taste is cinnamon and spicy. Moderate to high sweetness, leaning toward vanilla / butterscotch. Some sweetened coffee character.

Mouthfeel is medium-ish. Smooth, maybe a little sticky. Overall...I'm always leery about a beer that says cinnamon on the label. I think with nearly four years on it and a habanero kick, the cinnamon is balanced out reasonably well.
Aug 01, 2022
 
Rated: 4.55 by SteveTheDog from Texas

Apr 06, 2022
Photo of Coronaeus
Reviewed by Coronaeus from Canada (ON)

4.09/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
A vigorous pour reveals a deep mahogany brown with a thick, creamy latte head that dissipates slowly. Moderate lacing as the beer is consumed.

Milk chocolate jumps out with a little sweet milky coffee and vanilla following. I don’t notice the barrel or the hot pepper on the nose.

The hot pepper makes its presence known in the sip. The chocolate is there. A hint of cinnamon too. The heat from the chilli stays with you well after the sip is swallowed. The barrel is there, but quite mild.

The body is on the lighter side for the style, but not thin.

I really liked the chocolate quality in this beer. The peppers, generally not my favourite flavour addition, were just hot enough to be noticed, but not overpowering. Very good.
Mar 04, 2022
Photo of zeff80
Reviewed by zeff80 from Missouri

4.54/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
12oz can. Poured out an opaque, oil black color with a good-sized, light brown head of fluffy foam. It left some sudsy lace on the glass. It smelled of bourbon, oak, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, nutmeg and cinnamon. Great bourbon taste with oak, vanilla, coffee, cinnamon and chocolate.
Jan 02, 2022
 
Rated: 4.24 by Blogjackets from Ohio

Nov 04, 2021
 
Rated: 4.25 by goleeoh from Michigan

Mar 04, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by jduprey007 from Michigan

Dec 20, 2020
 
Rated: 4.12 by HopBelT from Belgium

Dec 12, 2020
Photo of FBarber
Reviewed by FBarber from Illinois

3.3/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Pours a dark, dark brown color bordering on black. Nice thick two finger mocha colored head lingers momentarily on the beer before dissipating. Ultimately no residual head remains. Nice looking beer.

Aroma is to die for - its like warm Mexican hot chocolate. Strong cinnamon aroma up front with notes of chocolate, hot roasted pepper, and a bit of coffee grounds. Now, this is a bourbon barrel aged beer but there is no bourbon or barrel character on the nose. Seems like the cinnamon dominates this one completely.

The taste is absolutely dominated by the spicy habaneros. Its insane that this was aged in bourbon barrels and bottled in September of 2018 and now two years later the habaneros are still this spicy. Beyond the absolutely dominating habaneros there are notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate, and some light ground coffee notes. Again, no barrel, no bourbon, no oak, nothing that would indicate this was barrel aged.

Feel is remarkably thin, lacking much of any body. Bright carbonation. Dry finish.

Overall, this was a tough one to finish - the habaneros are just too much for me. If you like spicy, spicy beers, you may like this one more than I did. I just found it lacking in any balance or nuance. Also, the complete lack of any bourbon barrel character was a miss for me.
Sep 03, 2020
 
Rated: 4.49 by Can_if_you_can from Minnesota

Jul 23, 2020
 
Rated: 4.24 by Magery from Kentucky

Apr 03, 2020
Photo of stortore
Reviewed by stortore from Illinois

4.15/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12 ounce bottle into a snifter. Bottled 9/23/18, had 10/7/19.

Pours a very dark brown, mostly opaque, with a quarter inch foamy head and some light, soapy lacing. Strong aromas of cinnamon and nutmeg, followed by chocolate, cocoa, some coffee, malt, some char, light oak, light peppers, a little vanilla. Strong flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg, followed by a good amount of habanero heat that lingers, chocolate, cocoa, some coffee, some vanilla- more as it warms, a hint of bourbon. Smooth, a good full body, appropriately carbonated.

The cinnamon and nutmeg are great, the heat is a little on the higher side, but reasonable. The barrels are on the honor system and the coffee doesn’t show well. Very enjoyable overall.
Mar 29, 2020
 
Rated: 4.26 by stanale from Illinois

Feb 24, 2020
 
Rated: 4.09 by SWChi from Illinois

Feb 19, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by Maillard from Ohio

Feb 04, 2020
Photo of odement
Reviewed by odement from Michigan

4.65/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Another great beer by OddSide who continues to push the boundaries of beer taste in the #1 great craft beer state of Michigan. Reviews by those timid of the habanero aspect-read the label, man...it's not overpowering but it's there. This beer delivers on all fronts...HUGE chocolate, nice clove/nutmeg/cinnamon background, and the pepper...I guess there's coffee in here but the habanero did it for me...slight bourbon taste but not overpowering. Chocolate and habenero, sweet...heaven. I'm a Founders devotee but this is a nice change of pace to CBS/KBS, just to keep them honest.
Jan 22, 2020
Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Mayan Mocha from Odd Side Ales
Beer rating: 94 out of 100 with 541 ratings