7th Anniversary - Maple Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Westbrook Brewing Co.

 

On tap

Pours jet black with a one finger foamy khaki head that reduces to a ring. Smells of chocolate, figs, raisins, brownie batter, oak. Tastes of creamy sweet chocolate, icing, Oak and dark fruits. Medium body with moderate carbonation, creamy mouthfeel and finish

 

L: Pours a dark oily black with a small tan head with no lacing on the glass.

S: Lots of bourbon mixes with notes of sweet milk chocolate and then a sweet maple, smells decadent and inviting.

T: Sweet milk chocolate that is very nice hits the palate first followed by a lighter bourbon and then nice notes of maple and a hint of coffee, sweet and decadent.

F: Big oily slick body

O: This is a world class stout.

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells like light sweet maple, milk chocolate, dark fruit, and oak.

This is fairly simple, as Westbrook's BA stouts go, but that's definitely a strength here. The maple is subtle here, adding a nice sweetness that plays very well with the deep milk chocolate that is the dominant flavor here. I don't really get much sea salt here, but that tends to be something that doesn't actually translate to the flavor - it rather just seems to deepen other flavors. There is a little bit of oak, too.

This is medium bodied, creamy, silky, but not super thick, with no real booziness.

There have definitely bolder and more complex barrel aged stouts from Westbrook, but this is still overall an enjoyable pour.

 

Glossy black with a moderate, uniform burnt tan foam head that quickly settles to a thin, creamy ring.

God damn this is like straight up Hershey syrup, but it's got a decent woody under current the helps in its own little way make this a little more adulty. This is quite clean and tasty despite the overtly pastry-forward intro. That said, the maple and the salt aren't pronounced, except that maybe the salt might actually be amplifying the chocolateyness to the nth degree.

 

 

22 oz bomber poured into a sniffer.

Motor oil with a tan head. Maple and chocolate on the nose.

First sip screams chocolate which is accentuated with the sea salt, followed by an immediate wall of maple sweetness. Minimal bourbon/heat. Great mouthfeel. Wow. Prime CBS-ish, minus the coffee.

Blown away by the flavors. Chocolate, maple, vanilla, bourbon. Doesn't drink its ABV. Very impressed. Glad this was available at the brewery earlier this year.

 

 

 

Dark brown pour with lots of lacing on the sides of the glass, thin caramel lacing.

Chocolate, bourbon, and make aroma with light booziness character.

Sweet chocolate, maple, bourbon, vanilla, and a lingering vanilla/chocolate char. Flavors hit the palate with layer after layer, beautiful complexity.

Thick, full bodied, and a little syrupy on the texture.

A 10% that drinks much bigger than it is. Nicely done.

 

 

 

 

L: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a dark brown / black color and a thick, opaque consistency. There was a quarter inch of foamy, tan-colored, fairly long-lasting head. Average lacing.

S: A strong aroma of malt, bourbon, maple, chocolate, wood, and a burnt quality.

T: Tasted of a whole bunch of chocolate (a big component), a tinge of char (not overdone), a decent bit of malt (present throughout), some maple, and a good shot of bourbon (and its accompanying barrel). This is an outstanding flavor. It's rich, complex, big, and powerful. It also happens to be quite well-balanced. Tasty stuff.

F: A decent amount of carbonation with a silky smooth finish. Full-bodied.

O: An incredibly enjoyable, well made stout. Drinkable.