Fundamental Observation
Bottle Logic Brewing

Received from the ever-generous @turkeysdrinkbeer in August 2022, and drunk in May 2023.

L: Tthick, jet black. Utterly still. There's a thin coat of rusty, coppered-coloured foam atop the glass.

S: Umami roastiness, booze, vanilla, dark chocolate, cocoa, and ethereal spirit notes from the bourbon. Surprisingly, this didn't change much as the beer warmed.

T: Vanilla and bourbon notes dominate the initial swallow, and then a wave of booze crashes over the top, burning throat, tongue and larynx like a good RIS should. There's a tangy hit of malt and then a retronasal whack of cookie dough settles in and lingers long. Warmth settles in the stomach and a medicinal sweetness slides in after the cookie dough fades. There's an excellent balance to this beer - there's no danger of cloying sweetness, nor is there so much stickiness that wasps begin to hover expectantly around my head.

M: Mouthfeel is thick and unctuous - there's minimal carbonation but it suits the beer well. As noted above there's warmth seeping lazily through my body at the halfway mark of this beer, and it settles deep and comfortably, like an old, familiar couch.

O: This is an enjoyable but intense beer experience. There's no likelihood of a second beer after you've spent an hour or so in the company of this beer, but the size of this beer means that's not a problem.

Cheers!
#242

A real sweet treat. It’s like a piece of Portillo’s chocolate cake soaked in some tasty bourbon and then poured into a glass. Plenty of vanilla presence too. Full bodied, big, bold, boozy, and in no way overly thick, oily, or cloying. A nice slow sipper, because it really improves and opens up as it sits in the glass for a few hours.

 

 

 

 

 

Previous review somehow deleted, but from memory hit notes reminiscent of other chocolate-heavy. fudgey, and dense stouts. Vanilla wasn't too prominent, while mouthfeel had some light carbonation and was surprisingly moderate.

 

 

Appearance: Fundamental Observation has a deep, dark brown color with a creamy, tan head that dissipates slowly. The beer is opaque and has good clarity.

Aroma: The aroma is rich and complex with notes of dark chocolate, roasted coffee, dark fruit (figs, raisins), and a hint of smokiness. There is also a distinct hop character that adds to the overall aroma profile.

Taste: The flavor is full-bodied and robust with a rich, creamy mouthfeel. The dark chocolate and coffee notes are prominent, with hints of dark fruit, toasted nuts, and smokiness. The hop character adds a pleasant bitterness to the finish.

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel is creamy and smooth, with a moderate carbonation that adds a nice effervescence. The beer is full-bodied and has a long finish that lingers on the tongue.

Overall impressions: Fundamental Observation is a well-crafted, complex beer with a rich flavor profile. The aroma and taste are well-balanced, and the mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. This beer is a great choice for those who enjoy dark, rich, and full-bodied stouts.

I had both the 2018 and 2019 vintage. This review is for the 2019 vintage. The 2019 is not substantially different (going off memory), although I think the body (mouthfeel) is a little thicker.

Surprisingly, at 3 years this beer hasn't lost much (any?) vanilla, although refrigerated most of that time.

The best part of this beer is either the taste or the smell. The nose is loaded with what reminds me of buttercream icing - with a hint of something else. Perhaps the alcohol that you get off vanilla extract. The taste is similar, but the buttercream on the taste is more of something you have to use your imagination for. It's the essence, but not direct flavor. Lots of deep, fudgy chocolate. A bit of alcohol on the back end, which is unusual, but I suspect is a result of the interaction with the vanilla. While tasty, I wouldn't say that the taste is complex.

Nothing exceptional about this beer, but it is very good. I think that my score accurately reflects how I feel about this beer and what I think it is deserving of.

 

Sampling a cellar temp bottle poured into my snifter. Received in part of my winnings for NFL BIF 33. This is a 2019 vintage with 13.55% ABV
The beer pours a black coffee color with a dense creamy beige head of 1 cm. This foam fades to a thick edge layer that creates some scattered lacing on swirls and sips.
Aroma is dark fudge, chocolate, bourbon, some vanilla notes and a little fusol alcohol. No hop presence on this aroma.
First sip is lighter body than I expected and smooth slightly creamy texture. Carbonation is soft and gentle and rolls easily across my palate. Easy drinking for a big boozy beer.
Flavor is sweet fudge and chocolate with hints of toffee and brown sugar. I also get bourbon and some vanilla and black peppery spicy heat on the finish. Again hops dont show up anywhere in this brew.
Im glad to have tried this one and like the flavor and aroma, I do think the beer could have a thicker body but that is just me. WOrth grabbing a bottle.

 

Ink black body, opaque; thick, frothy, sticky medium brown head. Incredibly rich and alluring smell; dark chocolate, cocoa powder, vanilla. Amazing flavors; brownies; dark roast coffee; boozy; sweet chocolate; vanilla. Heavy body; rich residual sugar density; velvety and viscous; mild alcohol warmth tempering the sweet mouthfeel.

Wow! This is one amazing imperial stout. It's like a German chocolate cake with a low-key boozy edge. Dense with a rich complexity that brings joy with every sip.

Pouring temperature: 51 °F; bottling info: RELEASE 2022 BATCH *008*

 

 

Serving: 1 Pt. 0.9 Fl. oz. bottle poured into a Founder's CBS snifter. This is the 2019 edition, so a little age on it. Sorry, it's all I could find! The bottle has 2 check boxes though, one for "drink fresh" and one for "cellar and save" and the latter is checked. So I'm at least following the rules.

A: Pours super dark and thick, motor-oil like. Nice lacing up the glass. Minimal off-white head that fades quickly.

S: Huge vanilla up front. It's like extract, maybe vanilla coffee creamer. Super on the nose, with a little bourbon note behind it.

T: Again, vanilla is the centerpiece. It's a real sweet vanilla note here, I know it's not extract, but it's so concentrated and strong. Bourbon there on the finish, really a second player to the vanilla.

M: This is where this beer really excels. Nice, full mouthfeel. Very balanced. The vanilla is huge, but so is the bourbon. Feels like everything is in HD. Way chewier and thick than some of the more recent BCBS beers I've had.

O: Okay, well. This is very good. I'll start by saying I am not familiar with BL at all. I always noticed FO at the top of the 250 list, but it was so out of reach, I didn't think much of it. Was very fortunate to take a vacation to SF recently and a shop still had some '19 bottles left. Seems like the big comparison point with this beer is BCBVS, which I can totally see. I haven't had that beer in some time, so this isn't a 1:1. But I'll say just from memory that this beer is every bit as good, if not better. My initial impression is that I like the mouthfeel and balance of this beer more. But I do feel the vanilla flavor of BCBVS might be a tough better. This is really strong and vanilla forward, and it's a really sweet and pastry-like vanilla. Not that I want it subdued in any way, but BCBVS has it reeled in and maybe a little more natural-tasting. I really feel like I'm splitting hairs here. At the end of the day, it's huge props to BL for making a really good, chewy, balanced, BA stout. Oh, and I think the age may have even helped this beer. I get no sense of oxidation or fading of flavor. Again, the vanilla is huge on this.

Recommendation: I think this beer deserves its ranking and reputation. Must try for any BA stout fan.

 

The beers pours the expected blackish brown color with minimal lacing and fair at best head retention. This beer has the look of a beer that has seen some pretty significant barrel aging (though it's not overly viscous). On the nose I get dark chocolate and vanilla, with underlying bourbon and light licorice. It's nice but I was expecting a more robust aroma profile. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely in this fairly sweet stout, but with a much greater level of intensity. Mouthfeel is fairly full, with a long, moderately sweet finish. Carbonation seemed to be on the low side, which I tend to think works well with rich, BA impy stouts (like this one). Alcohol is very well integrated into the flavor profile, though you can tell it's up there a bit. Even so, there's no way I would guess an abv. in the 14% range.

This is a very nice BA impy stout, no doubt, though I guess I was expecting a bit more complexity. I'm glad I had the opportunity to try it, but I'm not sure it's a beer I'd go out of my way to find. Still a very solid beer...

 

 

Viscous hell-black with ribbons of tan but no head retention.
Nose of fig, big thread of booze, some barrel, dark rock candy, espresso grounds and a big vanilla hit.
Fig jam, pastel de nata-ish vanilla pastry tart, root beer, bourbon, ash - but also rum-soaked chocolate cake - but also a ton of booze-soaked dried fruit - with a clean, char-less, roast finish.
Rich, full, chewy, round, dead smooth and NO BURN

4 4.5 4.75 4.5 4.5

Looks lethal and the nose goes as deep as you want it to. I could sniff this all day; there’s dark rye bread, beef jerky, baker’s chocolate…
That flavor, though. It tastes like a pastry - fig, vanilla, caramel, flaky shell - that doesn’t actually exist. But then it’s also cake! Steph sez: “It’s like they crashed a full bakery into the bottle.”
4-way mud wrestling match between all the vanilla (both bean + barrel, yet without any booze from the latter), sugar, dark fruit, and roasty notes. Everyone takes a turn without taking over.
It’s a perfect example of barrel aging, it’s savoury, it’s dessert - walks a razor’s edge. How is it so cakey without being that sweet? How does it tame the sweet without being charred or boozy? Not hot, ashy, cloying, sugary… the execution is just baffling + masterful.


All the hype is true. 2010 Vanilla BCBS is the only thing that comes close. Fantastic.

Exceptional. Exquisite.

 

 

 

2021-12-25
500ml bottle split between a pair of tulips. 2021 bottle, batch 007. Mine is labeled "Imperial Vanilla Stout" andthe label lists it as 14.0% abv. Received from @Beersnake1 in a LIF associated with NBS BIF #14.

Pours black, very thick, no head, no visible carbonation. Smell is sweet milk chocolate, alcohol, roasty/burnt bitterness.

Taste is sweet chocolatey, lots of booze, vanilla, oak. Strong roast bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is thick, chewy, with a small amount of grittiness. Overall, very nice beer.

Pours a pitch black. No translucency. A finger of mocha head arises and quickly reduces to a thin ring. Oily traces line the glass after each sip. Aroma is vanilla, coffee, chocolate, caramel and dark fruit. Taste follows suit, exactly. Feel is silky smooth. It is a good beer but very average for its overall rating on BA. I’ve had much better.

 

 

Pours pitch black, completely opaque and shiny. It appears thick and viscous. Thin, weakish, velvety mocha colored head fleetingly appears on the beer.

The aroma has notes of vanilla, roasted malts, chocolate, caramelized brown sugar, brownie batter, oak, and some light smoke and dark fruit notes. The vanilla however is the show here - its absolutely dominated by the vanilla and its lovely.

Taste follows the nose with notes of roasted malts, dark fruits, vanilla, sweet cream, bourbon, wet oak, vanilla, chocolate and yea, vanilla. If you like your vanilla stout to avoid subtly this is perfect. Its sweet, but dances up to the cloying line without going over. The barrel aging is nicely balanced. There is a light smokiness that I occasionally get, but I suspect that is the influence of the bourbon.

Feel is thick, fuller bodied, smooth and viscous. Mild, soft carbonation, but it does not come across as under carbonated.

Overall this is absolutely delicious - an absolutely outstanding use of vanilla in a barrel aged stout.

 

Pours a deep black color with almost no head whatsoever. Laces the glass like a wine, I don't know what it's called, Legs? And They Know How To Use Them? Smells of sweet vanilla, smells like cake with a hint of bourbon at the end. Taste is incredible, not as sweet as I was expecting. It's sweet vanilla upfront followed by bourbon and then a nice deep roasted malt flavor. It's smooth, perfect amount of carbonation, warming. Excellent beer, Bottle Logic does it again!

 

 

2018 bottle Poured cold, hard to a tulip. Jet black, no floaters. No head at all…starts to bubble for a ring, then peters out. Nose is a sort of light smoked cherry wood, not at all what I expected. First sips are great! The mix of bourbon barrels is very complex. You don’t get any one distinct flavor, but rather a changing swirl of sweetnesses and woods. The vanilla comes in mid-palate with a sort of vanilla bean shell earthiness, a hint of coffee-ness without the coffee. The malts are deep, robust, providing a massive foundation. Some of that cherry comes back toward the finish. Mouthfeel is perfect: Full but crisp and refreshing. Alcohol has that bourbon flavor, but no noticeable bite or warmth at this stage. As it warms, that might change. I can see why people search this out. Excellent brew!