Choir Of The Dead
Burlington Beer Co.

 

 

Dull black with brown edges under a fairly short tan head that dies quickly.

A bit stinging of rummy vanilla is followed by marshmallow topped with viscous chocolate before finishing warming, semi-sticky and sweet.

Drank 8/3/24. 2023 vintage.
An aggressive, jet black, pour yields little in the way of a deep, dark cinnamon. Nice head color; just not much head.
Nose is vanilla, bourbon, mocha, coffee
Taste is a wave of vanilla, followed by bourbon, chocolate, roasted coffee. Flavors are nicely balanced; nothing dominates. Lingering subtle smokiness, leather, ash, coffee.
Thick, creamy, full body. Low/moderate carbonation

 

 

 

 

16oz can from Half Time. Near black pour, thin beige head. Aroma is chocolaty first, followed by roasty malts. Taste starts sweet, lots of chocolate, light roasty bitterness. Simple, tasty and little sign of the 10% ABV.

 

 

 

Typical dark brown imperial stout color. Very nice heavy bourbon smell. Good taste of chocolate with some vanilla overtones. Best beer of the day. BBCO does some very nice bourbon barrel stouts!

This is the cask aged, 2019 version.

Deep brown color. No light passes. Rim bubbles once I received the glass. Some spots for lace.

There's a sweet, maple sugar start to the smell. I also get alcohol and brandy to the nose. Surprisingly little chocolate or coffee.

This is a boozy beer, closer to a barley wine than anything else. Very rich with minimal--definitely a dessert beer. More chocolate in the taste but the cherry and some vanilla come through as well. The vanilla lasts the longest in the aftertaste.

No can date
Pours a small fizzy bubbly brown head with med-lower retention, a bit of lacing, long legs, pitch black color

nose brings vanilla out front, sweet vanilla with some mild oak, baking spices and cookie dough follow with dark chocolate, light bourbon in the background, some caramel and toffee, and a little black malt

Taste is fairly sweet with lots of vanilla up front again, sweet candy-like vanilla, with more dark and milk chocolate, some baking spices into more cookie dough, light oak and light bourbon, a hint of roasty dark malt, a bit of caramel, light bitterness, creamy almost lactose like character, fair sweet sticky finish, more vanilla and candy lingering

Mouth is fuller bod, a bit creamy rich, med foamy carb, almost no alcohol

Overall meh, this was fairly boring for what it should have been, good vanilla but very little bourbon or barrel, base stout is a bit lackluster, alcohol was hidden well at least, I think I can see what they were going for but I think it needs a bit more malt character and definitely more barrel. Surprising average beer from BBC.

Drank from a 1 pint 473 ml can purchased at Craft Beer Cellar, Belmont, MA
2020 vintage
092420
Served in a tulip

Near pitch black appearance. The viscous, oily looking body was capped by a tight, creamy, finger-tall, saddle brown head that quickly dropped to a resilient collar. A few streaks and dots of lacing stuck along the glass.

The aroma was pretty mediocre initially but improved considerably with time. Roasty and somewhat steely. Subtle bourbon vanilla notes were detectable in the background. As the beer warmed, the nose became richer and smoother. The vanilla notes really came forth. Moderately boozy with a strong brown sugar presence. Sweet but not excessively so. Dark chocolate was also apparent.

The flavor profile was quite disappointing. Deeply roasted malts came through strong on the front end. A touch ashy and acrid. Subtle vanilla notes appeared as the beer moved along the palate. Somewhat boozy in the center. More roast and bitter char on the back end and the finish. Acrid, ashy notes lingered after the swallow.

The mouthfeel was also rather underwhelming. Fluffy and lighter in body for the style. The liquid contained a fine, fairly aggressive effervescence that felt a touch airy on the palate.

I definitely picked up a good amount of bourbon vanilla in this beer but no bourbon barrel per se. All in all, Choir of the Dead was pretty disappointing, even for a shelfie.

 

 

On tap at the brewery