Dragon's Milk Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout
New Holland Brewing Company

Not quite black, but getting close. Clean and sharp. Minimal brown head.

Nose is lightly big stout smells (roasty, coffee, dark fruit, maybe some chocolate), with definitely some vanilla, oak and alcohol, but not much. Enjoyable flavour types, but a little underwhelming in general. There's a sweet fruit in there as well in addition to the dark fruits listed above. Can't put my nose on it. Was definitely stronger initially.

Medium thick but sticky, medium carbonation, and a heat to it that's clearly actually from the alcohol, but tastes almost more pepper heat (even though I know better). Flavours of sticky chocolate, some fruit, some coffee, and some definite barreling. Smoothe and dangerously drinkable for 10% even though you can feel every percentage of it. A classic in the genre. My impression has always been that it is to BA stouts essentially what SNPA is to APAs or Black Butte is to porters or Boston Lager is to American viennas. Maybe not the greatest within the style in this golden age of craft, but kind of the bedrock example that serves as a great intro for many.
When I lived in Missouri, I kept meaning to pick it up, but never did because it was always there and I wanted to explore limited/locals first. Much gratitude to @Bulldoza for including it as essentially an extra in his awesome BIF box of mostly Texas locals for the opportunity to correct my above mistake. Thanks Nick!

So glad to have found this and picked up a four pack at an HEB in Kerrville, TX.

Look - used motor oil black with a light tan, one finger head that dissipated at medium speed. Low level but present lacing.

Smell - dark chocolate, malty ale with a hint of smoky bourbon.

Taste - sweet dark chocolate, coffee, and caramel, balanced perfectly with a mildly hoppy bitterness. Outstanding.

Feel - perfect level of carbonation with medium thickness. Not as thick and sticky as sweeter imperial stouts.

Overall - wish I could find this at liquor stores in OKC. I will be stocking up on this brew the next time I’m in Texas. Hopefully I can find it in the DFW area.

 

I’ll be honest, the price put me off of this one for the entirety of my 10 year beer journey. It was too widely available to be this expensive. Not seasonal, not niche, just an apparently safe barrel aged stout if such a thing could exist. And yet, my deep seated hasty opinion has been evaporated in about 2 hours time.

This is my favorite style of beer, so I expect a lot. And man has this one unexpectedly delivered. Stone fruits, dried dark fruits, vanilla hued dark balsamic mocha, toasty malts, creamy yet slightly bubbly mouth feel, this one has it all. I actually had to completely rewrite my review due to my negative bias slating this one as a A tier barrel aged stout, this one is safely in the S- tier for the style. Right there with Southern Tier Warlock. I’d still take Deth’s Tar and the Boulevard Barrel Aged stouts over this one, but this one is actually rotation worthy. This is my beloved Edmund Fitzgerald Porter in barrel aged stout form. If unacquainted with the style, this is a great starting point. If the price was a bit friendlier, this would be my go to beer and honestly it’s a good thing it isn’t.

An excellent American made stout. Beautiful dark color and frothy head. Smells like black coffee and dark chocolate. Tastes follows the nose but with a sweet oaky quailty and a slight bourbon burn on the way down (and some bourbon sweetness to boot). Solid lacing on the glass. Theres some subtle "burnt" notes in this but theyre pleasant. They nailed the mouthfeel of a great stout beer. A great introduction to stouts as well, it really checks off all dots. At 11% ABV and for the style its in, you really cant do much better than this.

Too high of an alcohol content. Bourbon flavor bitter with a sour strong long lasting aftertaste. Sweet and bitter at same time. Flavors clash too much for me coating your tongue and tastebuds. Im not a big fan of Whiskey beers. Budweiser did one a couple years back and I didnt like that one either. Im not a fan of stouts but Ive had Guinness and it didnt taste this weird. this to me is like a stout fused with a natty daddy

 

 

This is an excellent representation of an American made stout. it tastes great it is a regular entry on my menu of beers to bring home. I would recommend it to my friends and the 11% goes down smooth, but you can feel it, which is good by me. Try it you’ll be happy you did.

I like stouts and I love bourbon but these things just don't with for me. Sweet and sour and it’s just not my thing.

 

A damn solid beer. Bourbon forward and it lands almost like a nice black coffee. Nuanced and balanced while being just a damn good dark beer with a decent mouth feel, a thicker head, and a welcoming aroma. It's 90 is very much a well deserved score. I drink it probably more often than I should but not as much as I'd want. It makes a strong Irish car bomb too. On a cold winters night I genuinely prefer this too a hot chocolate.

This is a fantastic American Imperial Stout, worthy of the name as well.

 

 

 

 

Outstanding. Much sweeter than I expected, vanilla, coffee and chocolate are on display. For 11%, very drinkable, which can be dangerous. 4 of these went down way too easily, and they let you know they were there for sure. The bourbon undertones are easily detectable, and really enhance the flavor. One of the best I've had, and it was an impulse buy.