Big Bad Baptist - Double Barrel
Epic Brewing Company

2021 release. Drank 11/3/22
Pour is jet black with a nice lasting cinnamon colored head. Some lacing.
Nose is bourbon, coffee, chocolate
Taste is a huge wave of fudgy chocolate, bourbon soaked brownie, coffee, roasted malt, bourbon, vanilla. Finishes with a very subtle raisin, plum
Thick creamy body. Excellent beer. So good

Release 5, bottle # 7715, bottled in Salt Lake City in 2021. 13.9% ABV.
Bomber poured into a snifter at room temp. Everything about this Big Bad boy is on point!
Just excellent. ‘Nuff said!

Nearly black with a thin light head. Strong aroma of strong coffee, chocolate & whiskey. Nicely blended mix: mildly sweet & bitter & slightly more saltyness. Delicious flavor: strong black coffee, whiskey & coffee, just as promised. Vanilla & other oak flavors are the there too but coffee is the dominant note. feel is a bit thinner than expected, a little low on carbonation but making up for this deficit with plenty of alcohol. Lots of stomach heat. Overall, an excellent coffee, whiskey, chocolate stout.

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into pint glass in August 2022. There was date on the bottle label of 2021 Rel#5. I drank this within 1 month of purchase.

Appearance: Very dark black with a one finger high tan/brown head. Head thins out to a very thin covering, and leaves a little lacing on the glass, more lacing than most other stouts but not nearly as much as with IPAs.

Smell: Strong aroma of bourbon, chocolate, roasted coffee, and caramel. There is some additional sweetness like malts. Not much hop aroma. A little earthy, maybe oak aroma.

Taste: There is an interesting combination of flavors. There are strong coffee flavors along with bourbon and chocolate. Also some smoky roasted malt flavors, and a little caramel flavor. There is some bitterness from hops. There is a strong alcohol presence that matches 12.2% on the label. There is a strong oak and whisky aftertaste, that is really enjoyable.

Mouth-feel: Thick, but with an extremely smooth and creamy body.

This is an excellent Imperial Stout, and it has a variety of flavors that adds a nice complexity to the beer. It is very smooth and enjoyable to drink. I would definitely buy this again.

This one was from @Jzeilinger and Thank You for it.
Pours black with a dark cream-tan head. Smells of ground coffee, bourbon, chocolate, and malt.
Tastes is slightly sweet coffee with definite overtones of the bourbon. Overall, this is a great coffee and bourbon drink and I'm thankful that I was introduced to it by a fellow BA.

Epic Double Barrel Big Bad Baptist BA Imperial Stout, ABV is either 122% or 12.2%, probably the latter, but looks like the former. Pours thick and black, with a one-finger light-brown head that left no lacing. Nose is whiskey, coffee, and chocolate. Taste follows, mainly coffee, slightly sweet, slightly bitter. Excellent mouthfeel, slightly dry. Overall excellent to outstanding. If you like BA coffee stouts, this is the one for you.

 

2021 Release #5 poured into a 19oz shifter.

Huge coffee bourbon smell, creamy bourbon milk chocolate covered coffee beans, this is quite good.

 

2021 vintage on tap at Habitap in Greenville SC.
Appearance. Near black body with a decent beige head.
There are clear notes of dark roasted grains, coffee, whisky, and whisky barrel here, as the should be. The coffee and whisky are a bit less pronounced than expected, while there is more woody impact from the whiskey barrels than might be expected. Compared to KBS (from memory), this is less bold despite being more woody, particularly Lally in the aftertaste.

 

L:. Pours a thick black with a small tan head and no lacing on the glass.

S: Bourbon if forefront followed by some roasted malt, and a touch of chocolate and coffee.

T:. Roasted malt, a touch of molasses, stronger bourbon, some milk chocolate a touch of ash, and very light coffee. Lots of bourbon and I think I let this one sit a little bit too long (bottle is from 2016).

F:. Slick oily mouthfeel.

O:. This is a nice beer bit o think I let it age a little long.

 

 

 

 

 

2016 release, batch 3.

22oz bottle at share. Normal looking pour for the style.. Coffee first on the aroma, roasty malts behind. Coffee again in the taste, burnt toast, chocolate and lots of boozy accents. Nice!

 

Ah that's amazing but conflicted. Sure it's smooth but I think the whiskey muddles it a bit giving soft notes of sour mash flavors. Still works but different.

 

22oz bottle. Release #1. 2016 vintage. 12.3%ABV.
Black colored body, with a thin dark brown back lit edge. One finger of tan head, which sticks around. Some webs and strings of lacing.
Deep aromas of chocolate and coffee, with the whiff of whiskey barrels.
Taste of dark roasted malts drenched in whiskey barrels, with a spectrum of chocolate flavors, and some coffee. No bitterness, and has a touch of sweetness but it is not sweet like a dessert stout.
Toward a thick mouth feel, very smooth and mouth coating. Good carbonation.
The higher alcohol is quite well hidden but certainly adds to the smells and flavors, and can be felt on the tongue. Very easy drinking and rewarding, due to the balance of flavors.

 

 

 

 

 

Tasted from bottle. Pours black with with beige head. Aroma of chocolate and whiskey. Not very bitter with moderate sweetness. A little chewy. Flavors of caramel, whiskey, chocolate, coffee, molasses. Well done beer but was actually expecting it to be a little better.

Appearance - Pours jet black with nice tight mocha colored head that settles to a rocky cap. Very little lacing.

Aroma - Big cocoa aroma coming through, coffee, light vanilla, roasted malts. The whiskey is pretty prominent as well, very solid barrel character nice woody aroma.

Taste - Wow lots of coffee and roasted malts up front, the cocoa and vanilla come through nicely about mid way through. The barrel is still very solid as well as the whiskey flavor. The flavor are very balanced but the coffee and chocolate come through up front with the barrel and whiskey on the end.

Feel - Smooth creamy feel, soft carbonation very nice. Heat from the alcohol is the only sign of the 12.8%. Nice dry finish.

Overall - Very well done, love the flavors so easy drinking.

Jet black pour with a rich dark tan head, there is some leakage to a mahogany color on the edges. The barrel and cacao aromas dominate the nose and the taste, but this is perfectly balanced - I am SO glad I let this sit for a couple of years, because it is just about perfect.

 

 

Jet black body with a one-finger thick head, dense and creamy, lasting. Mocha nose; traces of charred grain. Initial flavors are of coffee, charred malts, suggestions of whiskey; mild chocolate; a twinge of bitterness. Heavy and silky on the palate; densely sweet with a counterbalancing boozy edge of heat; warm.

Although about two years old, this beer has aged well. I suspect the aroma may have dulled a bit, but the flavor and barrel-aging have done well. Dense and intricate with feeling and flavors.