Vladislav - Bourbon Barrel Aged
Diebolt Brewing Company

12oz can with 2020 on the label. Opened 7/17/20.
1/4" tan head stick around for a minute and fades to a thin but mostly solid cap on a jet black imperial stout.
Spotty lacing. Looks the part.
Wet wood. Vanilla and coconut oak aroma. Booze, mild aroma of roasted malt and faint chocolate. Fig/plum.
Rich malt, intense roast mingled with a sweet bourbon heat. Cola. Brown sugar. Milk chocolate.
Full body and silky smooth mouthfeel. Low carbonation. Very long roasted grain and bourbon filled finish.
Smooth and easy to drink for a big BBA IS 10%-er.
Very Good to Outstanding.

 

3 oz pour into small snifter at the brewery. Murky, deep, dark brown with a think head of khaki foam and spotty lace. Intense aromas of dark fruit, vanilla oak and barrel char. Full, rich flavors of dates, raisins, vanilla, oak tannins and hints of roasted coffee and whisky. Smooth, oily feel, medium to full body and gentle carbonation. A serious sipper packed with flavor.

Slightly sludgy pour yields no discernible head, rather just a thing medium khaki collar... Color is a deep dark brooding mahogany... Big nose of chocolate, roasted malt, marshmallow and faint whiskey notes... Palate is led by the barrel aging which is reminiscent of an Irish whisky... Also present are some dark chocolate and roasted malts... Perhaps a hint of black licorice as well... Full bodied and dense with just a smidge of carbonation... Sleek and smooth going down a bit too easily sip after sip... We'll crafted and really enjoyable...

Very small, darker beige-colored head. This settles quickly. Modest lacing. The liquid is dark brown where the faintest of light will pass.

Dark chocolate aroma but not bitter. There's a faint cherry smell. It's dry almost like cardboard to the nose.

Some oiliness from the higher alcohol. The body leans rich, the carbonation diminished. Darker chocolate flavor and again, no bitterness. The swallow draws out more alcohol with a corresponding whisky touch. Long chocolatey aftertaste.

strong malty stout great malt taste in evey sip slight taste of chocolate

Appearance: The bubble show builds into a three finger head capping the espresso colored liquid; the head sticks and sticks, leaving webs of lacing

Smell: Chocolate and espresso notes enveloped by charred oak; the Bourbon is quite apparent, as well

Taste: There is a burnt flavor from start to finish that overwhelms though the chocolate and espresso tones come through; the Bourbon arrives in the mid-palate, but recedes as the burnt oak builds to the finish

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with moderate carbonation; warmth in the gullet

Overall: There are a number of things to like about this beer but I just can't get past the burnt oak aspect

Sharing the Russian imperial love with the beer drinking populous, the Diebolt brewery asks the burning questions. But with a half of a year soaking up the bourbon character in used whisky barrels, and this beer is only going to put the hurt on you no matter how much you ask it not to.

Espresso black and rounded with light and creamy froth, Vladislav charms the senses with dark chocolates, coffee, nuttiness and a host of dark fruit, oxidized savoriness and a pep of sherry for good measure. Malty sweet with chocolate, molasses, toffee and caramel and the early introductions are brownie-like.

As the lavish stout unfolds across the middle palate, its sweetness stews on the tastebuds, saturating them with the full dessert-like taste of bittersweet chocolate, coffee and candied walnut in a strong tiramisu and latte blend. The barrel's influence is bold with the character of booze soaked oak that offers a vanilla, caramel, coconut woodsiness to an aged port, sherry and red wine fruitiness.

Savory, sweet and roasty, the full bodied stout has a slightly lower rate of carbonation to allow the malt to saturate the tastebuds fully with sultry, dark and robust flavors with the luscious viscosity to match. A long and bittersweet linger of coffee and cream lasts nearly as long as those fortified wine and whisky flavors do in an extended afterglow of ether.