Midnight Oil - Bourbon Barrel Aged with Coffee and Vanilla (2022 - Maker's Mark)
Beer'd Brewing Co.

A fairly aggressive pour reveals a dark cola colored beer that settles black in the glass and sports a creamy tan head. Beautiful beer. The nose reveals a nice cocoa note and some roasty coffee.

The taste is led by the rich cocoa flavor, accompanied by a nice roasty flavor that draws a bit of a coffee flavor, and a very nice stone fruit flavor of slightly tart plums, which I did NOT expect, but gladly welcome. After a few drinks, that cocoa flavor proudly sits with the plums at the back of the palate. Delicious stuff.

The mouthfeel is medium and nicely carbed, commensurate for the ABV.

16oz bottle courtesy of Roguer. No obvious freshness date.

Poured into a snifter, this was a very dark brown, virtually black. When held up to light, on the most extreme edges showed a lighter, mahogany kind of shade. Decent sized tan head and lace.

Fairly robust bourbon aroma emerged as soon as the cap was popped. Some vanilla notes as well, above what could normally be accounted to the barrel aging. Some brown sugary, molasses notes as well, almost rummy. As it warms, there's a little more depth. A slight coffeeish char aroma and a little bit of a chocolate sweetness.

Taste is much like the nose. The bourbon barrels dominate this beer, with the vanilla as a less active co-conspirator. The coffee is mostly in the background. Not a lot of standard oatmeal stout flavor.

A bit thin in the body for such a beer. Somewhat watery mouth feel.

This one has possibilities, but it seems like a case of trying to do too much with too little. The adjuncts are simply too strong for the beer they were added to. Still quite tasty, but something of an also ran.

500ml bottle served in a Spiegelau tulip. Pours the color and clarity of cola with a loose, quarter-inch, tan-colored head that quickly dissipates into a soapy band and an oily froth. Nose expresses big roasted coffee notes and hints of dark chocolate. Taste follows nose - hints of the barrel, as well as vanilla are detectable in the background. Mouthfeel is light-medium in body with an easy, even carbonation. This is not a “big beer” despite the label; however, at 5.5% it is really quite flavorful.

Decent head production and retention.

Lovely bourbon notes on the nose; it's very pleasant and not overpowering. Vanilla seems to hide in the background, but the coffee is quite noticeable, making for an excellent pairing with the bourbon. The aroma overall could use a little more strength and depth, but it's very nice. There's a bit of roasty-toasty-char, as well.

As expected, the mouthfeel is perfectly soft without being big or heavy; it's a modest ABV beer that drinks smoother than its non-oatmeal contemporaries. No alcohol sting despite the bourbon presence.

The flavor doesn't come together quite as well as the mouthfeel, owing to the sharpness of both the bourbon and the coffee - and perhaps even the vanilla. It's nice enough, but the flavor of the malt base doesn't come through quite strongly enough to hold up to the bourbon. That's not to suggest it carries a ton of strong bourbon flavor, or coffee for that matter; it's how the bourbon is expressed that is imperfect, with a slight sourness from the mash that in a stronger beer may be more complementary.

Full tasting notes include bourbon, sour red grape, vanilla (pungent and earthy), modest coffee (noticeable but not overly strong), toast, light char, caramel, date, and toffee.

Overall, a very nice effort. It's right on the edge of greatness for my tastes, wavering just above and just below a 4.0.