BBIS Amburana
Reuben's Brews

super heady, these guys do a great job with the huge stuff, even if it remains a pretty unsung aspect of what they do, at least outside of their home market. i was stoked to get into this, have had a few dark beers with amburana wood that really were cool, and while i think that element is a little more subtle than i was hoping for in this, its really good and quite distinctive anyway. awfully close to black, pretty good viscosity on it, although not insane for its abv. unique nose, this is aged in bourbon barrels, and to me apparently high end ones, rich vanilla and oaken char, right out in front with the roasty malt and the deep espresso note it casts, less boozy in the aroma than anticipated, and then the curious amburana wood, which in the aroma hits like maple, molasses, and maybe fig jam, sweetness here for sure, bitter though from the roast, smooth and regal and with some dark chocolate too. the flavor is whiskey forward but there are some cool malt layers too, dark bread, brown sugar, and enough spiciness to make me wonder if the snuck some rye in. smooth and long with lots of body, light smoke, dark cocoa, and again a maple note, could be the amburana. some dried fruitiness in here, raisin and tobacco, a hint of anise. its cohesive, elegant for its size, very well refined, and quite lightly carbonated although not totally still. its long on the palate, strong but not fusel or burning, and has taken a ton of vanilla from its time in oak and from the bourbon, which gives it some serious richness. really nice beer, set up to age pretty well too i suspect, not as amburana forward as i think i was hoping for, but also distinct enough where there is no doubt it has an impact, even if its hard to finger a little bit. hope to encounter this one again...

Poured into a Reuben's Brew small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque in the glass with a thin khaki head that dissipates to patches with light lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, bourbon, chocolate, cinnamon and lightly woody. Flavor is dark toasted malt, bourbon, dark chocolate, cinnamon and light woody astringency; bourbon forward up front with the amburana wood increasing into the finish. Medium bodies with light to moderate creaminess. I got a chance to pick up a few variation stouts and barleywines at Reuben's brew and this is the first one to sample. As with the standard BBIS, this is quite bourbon forward, but has good chocolate notes and character of the amburana wood which adds a cinnamon-like spicy flavor. Initially it's mainly bourbon, but the woody, spicy notes increase during the taste, revealing cinnamon and then wood, which dominate the finish. The flavor progression and transitory reveal of flavors make the taste quite interesting. Lots of woody barrel character. Nicely done.