Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter (Release #5 - BBH)
Karbach Brewing Co.

 

Got the bottle from a friend. No date. Low expectations. Boy was I wrong. This is great. Pours like oil with little head. Roasted barrel aged scent leads right into what is to be expected from an imperial porter. Big feel but still smooth for 11%. One of the best things I’ve ever had from Texas.

 

A - Dark brown pour with creamy/frothy dark toffee ring.

S - Dark fruit and sweet malt.

T - Toasted malt, licorice, bourbon, oak, dark fruit buried way inside. Lingering dark fruit and licorice.

M - Big medium body with some warming on the way down.

O - There's a strange off flavor on the backside of the sip that really tears this beer down, it's almost stale.

 

Fantastic! If this is a year round bourbon barrel that would be amazing - to have access to a year round bourbon barrel of this quality. Nice one Texas!!

 

Purchased before the sell out.
Undated bottle stored at 42 degrees. Served at 45 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Aroma – caramel, molasses, bourbon. The caramel and molasses remain after the bourbon fades.
Head large (maximum 4.5 cm, aggressive pour), light brown, dense, above average retention, slowly diminishing to a dense three mm ring and a thin partial layer.
Lacing poor. Only a few small irregular pillars of lacing remain and most of these slide back into the ring. Typical of Bourbon barrel aged brews.
Body – dark brown/black, opaque.
Flavor – begins with sweet, heavy caramel and morphs into alcohol. No hop bitterness noted. No malt bitterness noted. As it warms, the alcohol predominates to the point there should be no open flames in the area.
Palate full, creamy, lively carbonation.

A very alcohol-forward brew. The initial caramel and molasses rapidly succumb to the alcohol making this into bourbon with a hint of beer. I was really hoping this would follow the nose but …

Appearance 4, Aroma 4.5, Flavor 3, Palate 4.25, Overall 3.5.

 

Look: very dark amber/ clear brown, very little head. Pours a little viscous/ almost like a very hot syrup.

Smell: smoky and of whiskey with hints of sweet vanilla and coffee. Although the first sniff almost smelled like a glass of soy sauce.

Taste: tastes of spicy whiskey and pine with a hint of vanilla and ending flavor of coffee.

Feel: almost flat with a light carbonation. A bit oily and smooth.

Overall: it was pretty good. A nice relaxing beer and great flavors that come out more and more as it gets warmer while you drink it. I'd definitely drink it again and the buzz I got as a 150lb guy was nice too!