Bo & Luke | Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse
Brewed by:
Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse
Kentucky, United States
atgbrewery.com
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 13.00%
Availability: Rotating
Notes / Commercial Description:
Originally an Against the Grain Brewery and Brouwerij De Molen collaboration beer. For the first incarnation, De Molen head brewer Menno Oliver hopped in a muscle car and drove straight through from the Netherlands to Louisville, KY (that's USA folks) to brew this bourbon inspired ale, and we liked it so much, we decided to do it again. We took the ingredients in bourbon whiskey (Barley, Rye, Corn) and then smoked them with cherry wood and brewed a huge imperial stout with them. Then to top it off we aged it in Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon Barrels. The resulting beer is rich, smokey and complex, with a bourbon character of caramel, vanilla and spice.
Added by TMoney2591 on 10-08-2012
HISTOGRAM
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Ratings: 922 | Reviews: 93
2/5 rDev -52.9%
DavidRose, Jan 28, 2013
2.75/5 rDev -35.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
2.94/5 rDev -30.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 3
We had an infected bottle.
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look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 3
We had an infected bottle.
26 characters
3.03/5 rDev -28.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Dark brown-black pour, with a small, short-lived head. Smoke and roast in the aroma, some oaky/bourbon/vanilla sweetness in the background. Taste was acrid and chalky. I'm usually a fan of cherrywood smoking, but in this beer it came off ashy and unpleasant. There was some malty and vanilla sweetness going on, but also a medicinal element that just wouldn't go away. Bourbon was present, but only as an afterthought. Medium body, thin, and messy mouthfeel. Seems like a waste of a rare barrel on a so-so beer.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Dark brown-black pour, with a small, short-lived head. Smoke and roast in the aroma, some oaky/bourbon/vanilla sweetness in the background. Taste was acrid and chalky. I'm usually a fan of cherrywood smoking, but in this beer it came off ashy and unpleasant. There was some malty and vanilla sweetness going on, but also a medicinal element that just wouldn't go away. Bourbon was present, but only as an afterthought. Medium body, thin, and messy mouthfeel. Seems like a waste of a rare barrel on a so-so beer.
511 characters
3.11/5 rDev -26.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Not sure if it was a bad bottle...but it smelled and tasted like smokey band-aids.
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look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Not sure if it was a bad bottle...but it smelled and tasted like smokey band-aids.
82 characters
3.12/5 rDev -26.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
3.16/5 rDev -25.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Got this as a surprise bottle from claaark13 a while back. Cheers dude! Was always a huge Duke Boys fan when I was a kid.
From a 750 into a snifter
Impossible orange wax on this one.
APPEARANCE: Pours out clear brown and yields a two finger, looser looking, light tan head with very good retention. Clear bistre brown in color with higher levels of carbonation for the style. Head slowly fades to a full wisp. A foamy ring remains until the end leaving a few dots of lacing down the glass. Too light in color and an average-at-best-head.
SMELL: Roasted and smoked malts with bourbon, coconut, sweet vanilla and dark chocolate on the nose. Light soy notes and smoked meat with touches of caramel and molasses as well. Very bold and nicely complex as well. Good stuff.
TASTE: Very different and relatively disappointing compared to the nose. Lots of caramel, licorice and soy sauce up front with bourbon and alcohol into the swallow. A big and lingering finish of bourbon, alcohol, smoked malts, coconut, vanilla and a hint of bitter dark chocolate as well. Licorice, smoked and roasted grain with bourbon and oak linger. Flavorful, but the licorice and soy flavors made it less pleasant than the nose. Doesn't quite match the complexity I'd expected.
PALATE: Slightly thinner body with higher levels of carbonation. Not really creamy, a touch prickly perhaps, goes down okay and finishes slightly mouth-coating. Some heat lingers. Sub par, unfortunately.
OVERALL: This was okay, but nothing special. Certainly glad I didn't bug people for the entire set of these. The nose was certainly nice, but the flavor didn't match the complexity I'd expected and the feel was too thin and carbonated for the style. Not a bad beer per se, just not something worth writing home about. Thanks again for the box claaark13. Always good times.
1,838 characters
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Got this as a surprise bottle from claaark13 a while back. Cheers dude! Was always a huge Duke Boys fan when I was a kid.
From a 750 into a snifter
Impossible orange wax on this one.
APPEARANCE: Pours out clear brown and yields a two finger, looser looking, light tan head with very good retention. Clear bistre brown in color with higher levels of carbonation for the style. Head slowly fades to a full wisp. A foamy ring remains until the end leaving a few dots of lacing down the glass. Too light in color and an average-at-best-head.
SMELL: Roasted and smoked malts with bourbon, coconut, sweet vanilla and dark chocolate on the nose. Light soy notes and smoked meat with touches of caramel and molasses as well. Very bold and nicely complex as well. Good stuff.
TASTE: Very different and relatively disappointing compared to the nose. Lots of caramel, licorice and soy sauce up front with bourbon and alcohol into the swallow. A big and lingering finish of bourbon, alcohol, smoked malts, coconut, vanilla and a hint of bitter dark chocolate as well. Licorice, smoked and roasted grain with bourbon and oak linger. Flavorful, but the licorice and soy flavors made it less pleasant than the nose. Doesn't quite match the complexity I'd expected.
PALATE: Slightly thinner body with higher levels of carbonation. Not really creamy, a touch prickly perhaps, goes down okay and finishes slightly mouth-coating. Some heat lingers. Sub par, unfortunately.
OVERALL: This was okay, but nothing special. Certainly glad I didn't bug people for the entire set of these. The nose was certainly nice, but the flavor didn't match the complexity I'd expected and the feel was too thin and carbonated for the style. Not a bad beer per se, just not something worth writing home about. Thanks again for the box claaark13. Always good times.
1,838 characters
3.19/5 rDev -24.9%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Bo & Luke from Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse
Beer rating:
4.25 out of
5 with
922 ratings