Love Shadow
Brewery Vivant

Poured at fridge temp. Pours a nice black with a bit of tan head. Nose is fudge, bourbon, black licorice, roasted malts, figs, raisins, and oak.

The taste nicely follows the nose. Sweet chocolate, black licorice, chocolate, a bit of coffee, brown sugar, raisins, burnt wood, and a bit of burnt toffee. Really nice. The bourbon is there but fairly light.

Mouthfeel is nice and thick. This is easy drinking, and the ABV is surprisingly absent. Great stout!

I first tried this fresh with our SAN group and wasn’t impressed, don’t recall why. Maybe we tried it the same time as their BA Quad. Mox nix.
Poured pitch black with a medium brown head, the aroma was surprisingly sweet. I wasn’t expecting that. Some coffee and cocoa were detected, with some dark fruits maybe. The taste followed the aroma and while tasty, it lost any complexity it had. Malts definitely dominated with no bitterness found.
The feel was spot on, near ideal for the genre, at 12.4% abv you want to sip this.
So I think cellaring this for 2 years is too long. I’ll get some more next release and try it again.

16 ounce can into a snifter. Canned 2/1/18, had 5/14/18. One of three reviews I missed adding earlier.

Pours a dark brown, opaque, with a half inch quickly dissipating head of darker foam and some slick, soapy lacing. Aromas of bourbon, chocolate, cocoa, malt, vanilla, molasses, raisins, caramel, toffee, some char, a little smoke as it warms. Similar flavors- bourbon, chocolate, malt, vanilla, caramel, oak, some cocoa, light molasses. Has a definite smoky taste. Smooth, a good but lighter full body, well carbonated.

Strong barrels, great aroma, very good flavor. Lighter body does not take away from the overall enjoyment. Solid effort.

R 110913 0425 @BV

Single can returned from. Grand Rapids. Picked up in a little gift shop next to the very cool Brewery Vivant, after a flight and duck nachos. 2019 version 12.4%ABV.
Very dark brown - black pour with short lived mocha head.
Aroma initially struck me as boozy, bourbon, vanilla, dark fruit and dark chocolate.
Taste follows - dark fruit almost cherry note, but as warmed more vanilla, char, boozy bourbon and dark chocolate with coffee. Improved as warmed. Hint of licorice.
Medium full mouthfeel, thinner than expected at 12+% ABV - lingering notes of wood, char and a distinct boozy heat.
Really a good beer - certainly better as warmed.

Profoundly dark. Mocha colored head asserts 2 fingers, tapers off to a thin, filmy cap.
Smell is bourbon dominated. Searching, I find hints of cocoa and roast. But definitely bourbon is the star of the show.
Really finding this one dimensional, all bourbon barrel.
Mouthfeel is full, and thick. A tad hot.
Overall, Im just writing my experience with one can. Seeing that this is rated pretty highly, take this with a grain of salt.

 

 

 

 

A: Jet black with 1" tan head and decent lacing.
N: Boozy notes with some malt, chocolate, and smokey tones.
T: A nice barrel hit with some chocolate, minor malt. smoke, burnt sugar, and minor coffee.
M: Boozy with minor bite, very nice barrel.
O: Solid BA beer, very good Barrel and flavors.

Poured from a 16 oz can into a tulip.

Pours a dark, murky black opaque and no light permeates. Sorry lived one finger head dies immediately.

Aroma is of coffee and smoke, slight molasses and cocoa. Mostly bitter coffee and smokey goodness.

Straight up dark fruit and booze. Coffee and booze. This is straight fusel alcohol and chewy grain.

Mouthfeel is thick, viscous and oily.

Overall, a nicer warmer, too boozy for the style to me.

 

 

Pours a very dark brown with a thin ring of tan head that lasted forever and left no lacing. Smells and tastes of bourbon, dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, oak, roasted malts, caramel, char and toffee. Medium bodied for the style, minimal carbonation, mildly dry finish.

Look - Deep dark brown/nearly black - low on carbonation and very little foam after pour (typical of barrel aged brews). The foam that did make an appearance was a dark tan in color.

Smell - Strong booze and charred wood. Some caramel undertones. Some earthiness along with some coffee and tobacco

Taste - Sharp bite of alcohol upfront just before rushing into sweet chocolate and caramel. Next comes in the chocolate and toffee flavors. Quickly dries out after this and then trails off with some coffee and charred oak and bourbon from the barrel aging.

Feel - Decent mouthfeel - not quite the full bodied you would expect from a stout, but understandable with a barrel aged beer

Overall - This is a very good beer. A lot of complexity and pretty well balanced. This one may improve a bit after another year (the heat and powerful booziness would probably tone down a bit). Would grab this one again (picked up from Tavour)

 

Very nice imperial stout from a well-known local brewery. Looks nice, darker thick rich dark brown-black color with some creamy tan head and a little spotty lingering lacing. Smells of medium roast coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, oak, raisin, brown sugar, toffee and some roasted nuttiness. Taste follows the nose, very well balanced and the high ABV was fairly well hidden. A little warming alcohol was more forward once the beer warmed. Smooth, mild, slightly creamy mouthfeel and decent carbonation. Very pleasurable and tasty, not too rich and filling.

 

 

 

I purchased this beer about a year ago. The beer is 50 degrees and served in a tulip glass. The pour of the beer produced a two finger medium tan frothy and creamy head. The head dissipated rather quickly and left no lacing on the glass. The color of the beer is SRM 37 a dark brown nearly black. The beer is opaque.

The aromas in the beer are bourbon, molasses, anise, wood, oranges, cinnamon, char, toasted sugar, dark chocolate, dark roasted coffee, raisins, figs, bourbon, bready, and earthy.

The flavors in the beer are medium roasted coffee, dark milk chocolate, raisin, wood, bourbon, bready, earthy, dusty, toasted sugar, char, smokiness, fire, Maillard, floral, pine, and oranges.

The mouthfeel of the beer is dry and dusty.

The body of the beer is full, medium carbonation, and a full finish.

The beer came across as very dusty and dry. The flavors in the beer did not meld well together. I was expecting a strong dark and thick beer. I got a robust and flavorful beer with issues. I have drunk many beers where the characteristics of the beer blend seamlessly. I wanted a thicker beer, I thought it was a touch thin. I could pull individual flavors, it became boring before the last sip.

 

 

 

 

Man, from the ratings and the bombastic nature on the can, I was kind of feelin’ it more than Anesthesia Ashley in a onesie. And after first sip, was Raul rewarded? Nah. Like his little league career, this one falls a lil short. Don’t get Raul wrong, he channeled his inner Jackie Robinson here and there, stealing home and all that, but was it a HoF career? Nah. Good beer, a bit light and overcarbonated, but not HoF status.

 

 

Poured from a pint can, released in early 2018. Black and modestly thin for 12.5% ABV, Little head, due to the dark brown foam constantly and quickly fizzing away. Cocoa powder, vanilla, toasted marshmallow, and toast. The bourbon booze casts a long shadow, especially when approaching room temperature deeper in the glass. The heat and finish contrasts with the silky smooth mouthfeel going down. The only downside is that for whatever reason, sips occasionally will present a watered-down taste up front, as if the flavors are on a delayed reaction timer.

 

 

 

 

Poured from 16 oz can dated 2/1/2018

A: Very dark with 1-2 finger mocha head. Lasting retention and moderate lacing.

S: Roasted barley, chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, and oak.

T: Rich dark chocolate, vanilla, roasted barley, and bourbon. Everything you would expect from a quality BA imperial stout.

M: Full bodied with average carbonation. Nice creamy texture and some heat but not unexpected for the ABV.

O: Outstanding BA stout.

 

 

 

 

3-28

Poured from a 16oz can into a speiglau BA glass.

Look is complete black with a thin tan head.

Aroma is roasty imperial stout with a little vanilla and whiskey at the end.

Taste is an incredible imperial stout with a little astrigent alcohol at the end and a lot of bourbon throughout.