Oh My God, He's A Bozo!
Evil Twin Brewing

A - Pours an oily pitch black with a thin tan head.

S - Aroma is dark chocolate, maple and huge barrel.

T - The taste is dark chocolate, maple, vanilla, coffee, roasted malts and strong barrel heat in the finish.

M - Medium body with medium carbonation. Slick mouthfeel with a crisp drying finish.

O - This is a big beer. Flavors are on point, but body is a little thin.

Dark brown with slightly red tinge around the edges. No head to speak of. Aroma is boozy with maple syrup lurking beneath the booze. Taste has plenty of bourbon notes and overall the high ABV is clear. Maple is less noticeable than in the aroma. Very thin for the ABV.

Overall, meh

 

Well, i found this at my local dive store on their wall of stouts. At first I saw the $24 price tag and i was like, "nah", but then i saw the words "maple syrup" and i was like "i'll get it!". What a deep dark brown this pours out into my snifter. I poured it straight down and there was barely any head, just a few nonchalant bubbles of khaki meandering around the glass and then disappearing quickly toward the edges. Now that i've grabbed a whiff, i have to say it's overpoweringly scented like bourbon. If i didn't know any different, i would think i was smelling straight bourbon and not beer. It stings the nose so wonderfully. Now let's have a taste. It's very heavy with bourbon, just dripping and steaming with it. There are a few complementary tastes, like bitter chocolate, tanned leather, cinnamon, and molasses. I'm not getting much maple syrup, other than the stickiness i feel on my lips after sipping. Mouthfeel is thick and heavy, pretty much the way i like my beers. Overall, it's quite a delicious beer, but a little lacking on the maple syrup. I'm not going to knock this beer for that, it's just that I've had other beers that bring on the maple much better, like Hoppin Frog's Morning After Den Haag, which pretty much tastes like waffles. And the main reason i bought this beer was because it advertised maple flavor. I give this beer big credit though because it's got a bold flavor that competes with one of my favorite beers, Bourbon County Stout. I would venture to say the two are very similar in taste. $24 is pretty steep though, so i don't know if i'd buy this again, but was certainly worth a try. And worth making my woozy way through 17% over the wandering course of a couple hours.

 

22 ounce bottle into a snifter. Had 1/1/21.

Pours near black and opaque, no head, some spotty cling. Aromas of bourbon, roasted malt, char, oak, light maple, chocolate, molasses, some vanilla, light tobacco. The flavors pretty much follow the nose- bourbon, roasted malt, chocolate, oak, some molasses, light maple and vanilla, light char. A little bit of alcohol warming. Smooth- especially for the ABV, a solid full body, well carbonated.

A typically full and rich ET barrel aged stout. Really well done and enjoyable. The maple is fairly subtle, but it’s close to a year old, so it may have faded. As good as it is, it’s not the best BA maple stout I’ve had from them.

22 oz bottle, vintage 2019, poured into a tulip glass at 57 degrees F:
L - dark, tar like, with a hazelnut head that dissipated quickly
S - bourbon and cocoa
T - wonderful flavors of bourbon, maple syrup and cocoa
F - dry mouthfeel with minimal carbonation
O - excellent beer, doesn't taste like 17%!

Pours ink black color with a small brown head that faded in average time and left minimal spotty lacing. Smells of maple syrup, peat moss, bourbon, caramel, molasses, light soy sauce, brown sugar, dark chocolate, smoked grains and burnt coffee grinds. Some hints of booze come through, but this is mostly a bourbon and chocolate smelling nose.

Tastes like bourbon, maple syrup, peat moss, brownie batter, caramel, vanilla, molasses, soy sauce, brown sugar, dark chocolate, smoked grains, chocolate syrup, charred wood, booze like dark rum and burnt coffee grinds. There is some serious heat with each sip but the chocolate and bourbon sweetness helps to make it not terribly painful as it goes down. There’s a slight bitterness, some piney notes and a sugary maple syrup sweetness in the mix as it fades on the sweet and malty side. This brew in in your face every step of the way, but still an enjoyable offering considering it clocks in over 17% ABV.

Got this from a webshop a while ago.

From a bomber into a snifter
Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon and Maple Syrup barrels

APPEARANCE: Pours out pitch black and yields a 2+ finger, slightly looser, foamy dark tan head with decent retention. Head crackles down to a splotchy wisp and ring. Jet black body and higher levels of carbonation evident for the style. Splotchy wisp remains leaving no real lacing down the glass. Solid color in this one, but the head is a little fizzy for top marks.

SMELL: Strong, boozy nose of bourbon, milk chocolate and vanilla cream, maple syrup, toffee aromas and some fudge brownies. Bold and boozy.

TASTE: Big and boozy with bourbon, whisky, maple syrup, vanilla cream and pure dark chocolate up front, then a big burst of alcohol at the swallow. Big and persistent finish of boozy bourbon, vanilla cream, milk chocolate, maple syrup, toffee sweetness, some bitter pure chocolate and fudge brownies lingers on the palate. Lots of boozy alcohol and bourbon barrels here. Definitely a bruiser.

PALATE: Medium body and medium carbonation. A touch creamy, but prickly and hot on the palate, goes down with a decent burn and finishes sticky sweet. Lost of heat lingers.

OVERALL: This is super bold with plenty of nice aroma and flavor all over it. It’s also plenty boozy and somewhat harsh, which makes it a bit of a challenge as well, especially at first. I’m often not convinced that a barrel aged stout needs to be over 13% and this one hasn’t quite convinced me either, but for a big, 17% bastard, it’s certainly well-made and plenty enjoyable. If you’re into this type of thing, this one will certainly satisfy your craving. It’ll make you its bitch too. That’s 90s talk for something you kiddies say in a much more sophisticated way nowadays. Don’t ask me what it is. If I knew, I’d use it. I teach young adults as a profession and sometimes I think I’m speaking a foreign language. Well, I live in Holland, so yes, I technically am speaking a foreign language. For what it’s worth, this beer will also make you speak foreign languages. Cheers!

Served in a snifter glass from the a 22oz bomber.

Appearance: Ridiculously thick dark black tinted brown body with a soft bubble body with a dark tan head.

Smell: Heavy molasses aroma with deep brown sugar, strong at first but doesn't linger the way you want it to.

Taste: Complex brew, strong brown sugar with soft whiskey feel which is offset by the maple syrup of the beer. Slightly boozy, you feel the alcohol from the beginning of the brew.

Mouth: Full body with a soft carbonation and and sweet finish which sticks with you like white on rice.

Overall: Might be one of the best bourbon barrel aged beers I have had in the United States.. Complex with heavy brown feel and smoothness that almost anyone can like. Salud

On tap. Kicked the keg. Black color. No head.

Lots of maple syrup. Sweet, syrupy, thick. Caramel and molasses, toffee. Cocoa powder. Bourbon. Warming and boozey in a nice way.

This is an excellent beer, and the first thing I have to say is this: holy crap, did it sneak up on me. Not even halfway done, and it’s making my head spin. Minimal head and lacing, dark, tanning edges. Smell is primarily wooden barrel and boozy bourbon, roasty malt, and a mild maple presence. Taste is a bitter (malt) sweet (maple) boozy (bourbon barrel) blend that’s really well balanced but it may just be too strong! But while the flavors are strong, there’s a subtlety to the feel. It’s bold but not over the top, it’s slightly big bodied, but not too much. It’s got just a hint of syrupy thickness. And most impressive about the feel is that well disguised alcohol presence that seemed to come up from behind me while I was sipping it and it hit me with a shovel. This is an excellent beer, and I would have loved to have tried it again.

Pours out a thick fudgey dark brown motor oil. No bubbles stirred whatsoever. I'm giving this a 4 simply because of the sheer density and viscosity apparent upon looking at this brew.

Nose is just rich and gooey chocolatey goodness, strong notes of maple, and lesser notes of bourbon/wood. Wow. This is just Evil Twin in a nutshell. Chocolate-centric stouts aged in maple bourbon barrels for brazen and bold off-the-wall experiences.

Taste is just pure chocolate syrup and maple syrup. This tastes like dessert or an ice cream topping. But despite all that the malt still comes through relatively strongly. Providing some roastiness that separates itself from the sweetness. Bourbon also is more present in taste. Alcohol being as strong as it is, it has an evaporative quality that reminds you more of a mixed drink rather than a beer.

Mouthfeel is silky and fullbodied. This is a brew that if you chilled it to 35 degrees F it would probably pour very similarly to maple syrup itself. Almost no carbonation.

Overall this is just delicious and fun. Something that Evil Twin excel at. Sometimes they go a little too overboard and miss the mark, but this one is an absolute treat. I picked this up at Beverages Plus 2 in Warwick, NY. They had a great selection. But this bottle had a good amount of dust on it, so I'm not really sure how long this had been sitting on a shelf. Also, there was no bottling date on it. But despite that, this brew still tasted great. The 17% ABV probably kept this one preserved from the forces of time. Bozo Beer is one of my all time favorites. I hope Evil Twin brings it back to circulation and does more crazy shenanigans like this.

 

Oh My God, He's a Bozo! Is the barrel aged version of the Bozo base beer. Again, this one comes in at a staggering 17.2% ABV but doesn't hit as hard as the original. This is a totally different experience and comes in with a big burst of cooked down maple syrup. The viscosity is smooth and silky. I'm convinced you could put this on top of pancakes and it would be an amazing experience.

IG: @firesidewithphil

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with a thin brown head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, chocolate, maple syrup, molasses and a touch of coffee; nice. Flavor is dark toasted malt, bourbon, dark chocolate, figs, light maple syrup and raisins, a touch of coffee. Somewhat boozy bourbon finish with residual maple, chocolate and coffee. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A big, rich barreled stout that actually tasted a bit more like a big blended strong ale, probably due to the fruit notes from the bourbon. Although not quite as complex, resembles a Firestone Walker production. The maple takes second billing to the bourbon; noticeable, but mild. Great chocolate and coffee character I appreciate in a stout. Massive ABV well covered, hard to sip slowly. I expect a lot from Evil Twin with stouts and this fulfulled my hopes, although a bit more maple would have been nice. I get a second chance, because ET just released another maple stout, but with bananas. Life is good.

07/26/20 bottle @ home

 

Drank from a 1 pt 6 fl oz bottle purchased at Fort Point Market, Boston, MA
Served a snifter

The beer poured a viscous, glossy, deep obsidian black, not too dissimilar from used motor oil. A thin wisp of saddle brown froth topped the liquid, but it quickly broke apart. No lacing whatsoever.

Wet cardboard notes dominated in the aroma initially. The beer definitely smelled like it suffered from some oxidation. Dark malts appeared after a few minutes. Big, boozy, bourbon and aged sherry notes came through as well. Moderate amount of sweetness. As the beer sat, the oxidation seemed to take on a savory, umami-like quality that was pretty interesting. Raisins and dried figs were noticeable too. On the second pour, the nose improved dramatically. Sweet brown sugar and vanilla notes came forth and later really intensified.

The flavor profile was similar to the aroma. Again, a wet cardboard/oxidative quality was rather prominent. Big, rich, robust, dark malt presence up front. Fairly roasty. Brown sugar appeared in the center. Boozy bourbon and aged port notes came through as the beer moved along the palate. The finish contained more lingering boozy warmth and brown sugar sweetness. For 17.2% ABV, however, the alcohol was remarkably well hidden.

The mouthfeel was fuller bodied for the style but not as viscous as I anticipated. Quite syrupy perhaps. The liquid contained a finely bubbled, mild carbonation that turned slick and smooth on the palate.

I usually love Evil Twin’s pastry stouts, but this one was a bit disappointing. Both the aroma and the flavor profile contained notable oxidative qualities, the maple character was completely absent (perhaps I mistook it for brown sugar), and the mouthfeel was thinner than I would have liked. At least this beer did not totally break the bank, like so many of Evil Twin’s barrel-aged stouts do.

24 May 2020 - Beer #102

Corona Day #73

Price: $22.99 at Clinton Gourmet Corp. in Manhattan

Appearance: 5 - as black as black gets. Head fizzled away to nearly nothing, but the lacing is fabulous.

Nose: 5 - I smell the maple from far away and the barrel from up close. Surprisingly it's not boozy on the nose.

Taste: 4 - but it is boozy in the flavor. In fact it's so boozy the beer flavors are masked. Plenty tasty, but unnecessarily boozy.

Mouth: 4 - oily but not terribly chewy. I need to brush my teeth in between sips.

Overall: 4 - gimmicky, but pretty darned good.

Cheers!