Tennessee Jeppe And The Thoroughbred Hillbilly: An Imperial Stout...
Blackberry Farm Brewery

 

 

Poured from a corked 750 ml bottle into a snifter.

L - Deep, rich brown that is opaque in the glass, but shows a clear mahogany at the edge when held up to the light. Little initial head, but a sweep of brown foam and a ring of lace around the glass persist.

S - Complex aromas are not very stout-like but are very pleasant. Maple, coffee, campfire smoke, chocolate, low berry-like fruit.

T - As in the aroma, the imperial stout character has been mostly submerged by the massive amounts of smoke and barrel character, along with berry flavors and alcohol. The malt flavors are savory, with burnt grain, smoke, soy sauce, pumpernickel bread. Some of these strike me as the result of oxidation. These heavy flavors are lightened in the finish by sweet, fruity alcohol, like a dash of blackberry liquor.

F - Medium to heavy body feels silky. Low, almost non-existent carbonation. Impression of hops bitterness is medium, but the IBUs might be extremely high on paper to make any kind of impression against the beer's dense mix of flavors. Warming alcohol.

O - This is an incredibly complex beer with many delicious flavors and aromas. My sample seems to be about 2 years old and its age may be showing with the soy sauce flavor, but there are still so many other fine characteristics that it is still a stand-out beer.

 

 

Sampling a cellar temp corked and caged 750 ml bottle poured into a snifter. Beer is a part of a trade with @jerryfreak. Thank you.
The beer pours a dark cola brown color with minimal tan head foaming up .5 cm and fading to a minimal edge layer quickly after the pour.
The aroma is rich and malty with lots of roasted notes and some charred wood with a bit of molasses, dark fruit and brown sugar too. I also get a little bit of dark chocolate and bourbon notes. Hops absent and the high ABV is pretty well hidden.
First sip reveals an average to thick body with very fine and slightly tingly carbonation. Beer has a smooth texture that leaves a sticky coating on my palate after each sip.
Flavor is rich and malty just as the nose advertises. Brown sugar and molasses are dominant, but some bourbon, charred wood, and some ripe plum. Again hops are absent here. Booze is minor bit enough to slow my consumption to sipping. No heat or warming on the swallow, more of a presence in some black peppery note.
This is a big roasty robust brew and im enjoying it quite a bit. Im sure to be feeling this by the end of the sampling. Very cool beer to have tried, would recommend to boozy malt hounds.

I love how the smoked malt and the bourbon/maple syrupy barrels balance each other. Both are bold but neither overpowers, impressive! Light black appearance with very faint brown bubbles. Smell is laced with tobacco, wood, bourbon, musk, leather, herbs and soil with slight maple, cocoa, and chicory. Taste brings in the maple more, with cocoa, dark roast coffee, charred wood, cola, and some dried dark fruit in addition to aroma flavors. Lots going on, each sip is different, but this is a sipper! Very robust, cumulatively smoky yet not too heavy, if anything I wanted more weight

 

Poured into a tulip glass. Opaque dark brown on the pour, slightly viscous, with a thick tan head. Good retention and the foam lingered for a while. The distinctive Benton's smoke was there on the nose, but was restrained, allowing the chocolate, char, and maple to shine through. The smoke was much more prominent on the first sip, but it played well with a rich, dark chocolate presence. Maple was also there but was fairly subtle. The beer was not overly sweet, thanks to a firm floral bitterness. Slightly warm on the finish but drinkable for an 11% beer. Overall an outstanding smoked beer with delicious dark chocolate notes.

 

 

 

 

750 ml bottle into snifter, bottled on 2/21/2018. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 2 finger dense and rocky khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, wood/peat smoke, maple syrup, molasses, toffee, toasted oak, peppercorn, nuttiness, and dark bread; with lighter notes of licorice, charcoal, vanilla, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, blackberry, currant, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/black/roast/smoked malts, maple syrup barrels, and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, wood/peat smoke, maple syrup, molasses, toffee, toasted oak, peppercorn, nuttiness, and dark bread; with lighter notes of licorice, charcoal, vanilla, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, blackberry, currant, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate roast/char/herbal/woody bitterness and peppery yeast spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, wood/peat smoke, maple syrup, molasses, toffee, toasted oak, peppercorn, nuttiness, dark brown, licorice, charcoal, dark fruit, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/smoked malts, maple syrup barrels, and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a nice roast/hop bitter/sweet and yeast spiciness balance; with minimal acrid/astringent flavors lingering after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from hop/char bitterness and spicy yeast. Medium carbonation and full body; with a very creamy/silky/velvety, and fairly sticky/chalky/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Lightly increasing warmth of 11.3%, with minimal booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is an awesome smoked imperial stout. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/smoked malts, maple syrup barrels, and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the modestly bitter/spicy/drying finish. 50% age in Blis barrels. Really unique. The Belgian imperial stout I expected, but not overwhelming on the yeast character. Very rich malt complexity; nice background fruity/spicy yeast, barrel presence, and earthy hop character. A really enjoyable offering and well made offering as expected.

 

of all the beers i just got to have from blackberry farm, this one for our group was the consensus favorite. it combines everything i love, and is as complex, unique, and expertly made as can be, an absolute treat! it pours black as midnight, with a ton of viscosity, leaving long legs on the edges of the glass and sporting a full inch of tan head as thick as meringue. its got a light shine to it, totally impenetrable to light, intimidating a little bit. it smells immediately of hardwood fire, like a low and slow kind of barbeque thing, even a little meaty with the smoke and wood. lots and lots of bitter roast on this, they spared no dark grains on this one, as intense as can be on the low end, roasted barley, burnt coffee, and raw cocoa all there. the smoke is powerful but well integrated, with some light maple or molasses sweetness to balance it and a uniquely unifying almost english high gravity type ale yeast, impressively complex. most of this comes through in the flavor too, where the smoke and the dark roast really lead the way. the smoke has a cool energy about it, mellow for how bold it is, patiently smoked, hickory, its amazing, somewhat meaty too. some oak here too, a little sweetness in the middle, dark chocolate, booze, and bitter almost ashy carbon lingering. its got an enormous body and lots of alcohol to it, but feels so smooth and fancy that it never really gets overwhelming to me. a slow sipper to be sure, but one of the more ambitious beers i have had from these guys and one of their best. seriously incredible stuff, maybe the stout of the year for me so far in 2018!

 

I really like the saisons and wild ales from Blackberry Farm, so I was interested in trying an imperial stout - especially one that was brewed with Jeppe. Unfortunately, I was not impressed. Not bad, but not particularly good either.