Back Country Burning - Maple Bourbon Barrel
Millersburg Brewing Company

On tap at the brewery into snifter. Pours dense pitch black color with a small dense tan head with great retention and spotty soapy lacing on the glass for the ABV. Nose of big dark chocolate fudge, maple, oak, toffee. Taste with big dark chocolate, fudge, toffee, maple, bourbon, oak; light pine, smoke, char, molasses, dark fruit, yeast earthiness. Mild pine/char bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish. Medium carb and full body. Very creamy/silky/bready malts mouthfeel. Lingering hop/char and oak tannin dryness. No cloying acrid astringent flavors. Warming/boozy 12.5% after the finish. Extremely well balanced rich stout malts and maple bourbon barrel presence/integration. Amazing as expected.

Apparently out of retirement, as this can art is a tad bit different, and it didn't exist at the bottle shop I purchased it from just a few weeks ago. Unless a distributor was sitting on it for a long time, anyway. The can has no date.

12 oz can, poured into a Speigelau barrel-aged glass at ~40 degrees F and allowed to warm during consumption.

L: Pours your typical stout black, and forms over four fingers of tan foam with okay retention.

S: There's maple in that beer, all right, along with the oaky-caramel-vanilla bourbon presence. Chocolate malts in the backdrop.

T: There's barrel aging in that beer, all right. The bourbon hits right up front and keeps on swinging the whole way down. Faintly through the sledgehammer of oak tannins and vanilla-caramel booze, there are some notes that resemble chocolate malts and coffee. There is no maple to be found, except some faint sweetness that emerges as the beer warms. The aftertaste lingers as coffee, ashes, and barrel.

F: A bit thin for a stout.

O: I'll probably pass on picking this one up again should the opportunity ever present itself.

12 oz can, born on 12/9/20, poured into a snifter at 50 degrees F:
L - black and oily with a head that quickly disappeared
S - malt, coffee, a slight breadiness
T - roasted malt, coffee, bourbon
F - thick mouthfeel with medium carbonation
O - good, but not great. very bitter but nice roasted malt flavor

12 FL OZ can
Served in a snifter

This beer pours black and is topped with a deep mocha head that leaves spotty lacing.

The smell is cocoa and coffee. I start to get some caramel and vanilla as it warms. Plenty of roasted malt aroma too.

Cocoa and coffee also lead off the flavor experience. The coffee lingers. There is a slight sweetness attributed to the maple. Vanilla starts to open up as it warms. Hints of booze.

Medium bodied with a smooth mouthfeel

It is a pretty good beer. It is far from elite, but for a small local brewery I'll take it.

I tried this at the brewery. It poured an opaque dark with thin off white head that did not leave much lace. The scent has roast and bourbon notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with subtle roast, chocolate and sweet malt base and subtle maple and bourbon highlights. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall it is a good beer.

I've had a number of Millersburg products, and they mostly have been real good, and I love huge stouts (had a few over the holidays). I've even thought about going to the brewery myself (it's on the way to Columbus, sort of). Maybe, one of these days when going out is OK again.

This looks a little questionable on first pour - only some big bubbles. This settles in to some fine bubbles (weird, eh). The aroma is of boozy stout malts. The taste is not up to par with many of the fine big boys out there, but still it has a lot going on. Big malts and loads of bitter from somewhere. Roastiness, alcohol. I warmed it up nicely so the tastes are really coming out.

Recommended. Not the greatest huge stout I've ever had, but one I would never refuse.

12 ounce can, no dating on it that I noticed but pretty sure it's a 2019 vintage. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about a couple inch tan head that didn't stick around for too long. There's a small amount of lacing. I like the aroma, the brew smells like maple, vanilla, bourbon, chocolate and roasted malt. I think the taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also some caramel and woody flavors noticeable too. All the flavors mesh well together here with no one flavor overpowering the others. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's a bit creamy and coating with a good amount of carbonation. I thought this was good, certainly worth a try if you're into imperial stouts! $12.99 a 4-pack (contains 2 cans of the Maple Bourbon Barrel and 2 cans of the Rum Barrel versions).

 

 

 

12oz can poured into a tulip. Pours almost black with a fluffy dark khaki head that fades leaving nice retention and decent lacing. The aromas have some bourbon and chocolate leading the way. Some caramel and vanilla. Malts are there. It's balanced, but still smells pretty nice. The flavors basically follow the nose. More chocolate leading the way. The bourbon really comes through without completely dominating. More caramel and vanilla. Hints of toffee and dark fruits. Mild hints of coconut. Some oak/wood coming through in the finish. The maple is subtle. It's not as sweet as I was expecting, which isn't a good or bad thing, I'm just saying. Malts do their thing. Alcohol is well hidden and basically goes unnoticed considering the ABV. Mouthfeel is full-bodied with moderate to active carbonation. It feels light and smooth. This one is definitely dangerously drinkable.

This is a pretty solid brew. Nice aromas and flavors. It's impressive how the alcohol basically goes unnoticed for such a big beer. It doesn't really drink big. It's enjoyable and fun to drink. Well done. I like it.