Barrel-Aged Mocha Legion
Community Beer Company

Canned 12/24/23. Drank 2/23/24
Pour is black with a finger of lightly cinnamon head. Very good retention for 13+%
Nose is a wave of bourbon soaked mocha. soft vanilla bourbon, coffee, rich chocolate
Taste is a big hit of roasted malt up front - definitely reminiscent of the base beer. Behind that is bourbon, tannic oak, coffee, chocolate. Quite good. IMO wouldn't hurt to dial back the roast a bit (and this coming from someone who is not a fan of the overly sweet, lactose, pastry stout). But still very good. As the beer warms bourbon and coffee become more forward and the roast fades.
Moderately creamy mouthfeel, a tad thin given the ABV. appropriate low/medium Nothing to complain about, though.

 

Appearance: Arrives (after a careful pour) with the liquid almost black but scarcely a head; a few spots crop up now and again

Smell: Roasted malt, chocolate and caramel with prominent coffee tones

Taste: Roasted malt with some char in the forefront followed by emerging chocolate, caramel and a touch of dark fruit; the coffee appears in the middle but the Bourbon doesn't really impact; the finish is bold nevertheless

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with low to moderate carbonation; surprisingly thin for the ABV

Overall: Decent but lacks the full mouthfeel and Bourbon flavoring that I would have expected for a high ABV BA stout at this time

Pours black with an inch of medium-density beige colored head that hung around for a minute or two, leaving behind a decent amount of lacing. Rich coffee and chocolate aromas come off this in waves, with molasses and some fig-like notes underneath the more dominant coffee / chocolate. On the whole, this is very inviting.

Taste is heavy on the coffee, with plenty of roasty flavors. Not quite as nuanced as I expected based on the smell, but this does have a fairly long finish and some additional flavors seem to emerge long after I have swallowed a sip. In particular, the booze are more present late than early.

Overall, a well done beer. Perfect Sunday morning sipper.

 

Poured from a can into a snifter
Appearance – The beer pours a super dark brown, nearly black color with a one finger head of tan colored foam. The head as a light level of retention, fading to leave tons of streaky lace on the sides of the glass. The thickness of the brew can be seen when the brew is swirled in the snifter, with sticky fingers of beer clinging to the sides of the glass before slowly fading back to the bottom of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is heavy of a roasted malt and coffee aroma mixed with big aromas of chocolate and some brown sugar. Along with these smells comes a strong showing of vanilla and a nice char smell and a bit of caramel. Rounding it all out is a bit of a boozy smell, being a mix between a bourbon and coffee liquor like smell. Overall the aroma is rich and robust.
Taste – The taste begins with a heavy and dark roasted brown bread and malt taste that has a lot of caramel, brown sugar and molasses sweetness. The chocolate taste is rather protenant upfront, with it being of a milk chocolate like nature. While heavy in the nose the coffee is lighter upfront, but as the taste advances, the coffee, as well as the milk chocolate get stronger and stronger, becoming some of the main flavors of the brew. At the same time there is come earthiness and char that develop as well as some light oakiness. Toward the end some of the bourbon and a bit of dark rum flavor comes to the tongue, and with the big dark and sweet tastes, it leaves on with a nice warming and sweet dessert like taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel - The body of the brew is super thick and creamy with a carbonation level that is rather low. For the mix of sweet chocolate, roast, and bourbon taste the feel is great and makes this one a nice slow sipper indeed.
Overall – A rather tasty imperial stout with a good sweet milk chocolate and boozy taste.

 

 

Pour from can, dark brown with beige head, decent retention and lacing. Nose very light cocoa and coffee. Taste also very light as well as body. Getting barrel and some booze, but not a good balance.