Dark Charge - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Braxton Brewing Company

L: Pours a thick black with a small brown head and very little lacing on the glass.

S: Bourbon is forefront, followed by a bit, roasted dark malt, and ash and a touch of vanilla.

T: Some sugary molasses, bourbon with a note of vanilla and cherry, toasted malt.

F: Smooth, lower carbonation a bit slick in the

O: A decent imperial stout but I have had better ones.

 

 

 

Look - nice thick black with a slight tan head
Smell - dark chocolate vanilla roasty malt boozy
Taste - slight roastyvwoody dark chocolate vanilla
Feel - medium full body and medium light carb
Overall - pretty good standard bba stout

Medium black pour with brown tones and cap. Smoky bourbon and oak meet chocolate malt, tobacco and molasses in the nose. Taste start with this same combo before caramel, dried fig and char add to the sneaky complexity. Feel is chewy, warm, barrel forward and has a body that is not light necessarily but highly drinkable for style. No gimmicks here, yet plenty below the surface

Having about 8oz from a 22oz bottle, 2020 version, courtesy of elder daughter Caitlin.

Pours jet-black and dense, with no chance of seeing how the carbo looks. Head is thin and fine, a beige layer of creamy foam, with decent lacing. Aroma has dark choco, a little vanilla, dark fruit and mild bourbon. Has a medium body with decent smoothness, all in all.

Taste brings more dark choco and vanilla. Has a bit of bitterness, along with some raisins and dates. Has a bit of an oaky nature along with the bourbon lurking throughout. Quite warming as it goes down, as well. Cheers!

4/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2234

 

Thank you Sturgeon83 for this
22 oz bottle poured into a tulip

A- Black with two finger mocha head.

S- Milk chocolate, bourbon, some oak, vanilla, roasted malts.

T- Chocolate, dark fruits, bourbon, charred oak, some vanilla, coffee.

M- Smooth, medium to full body.

O- A tasty barrel aged stout, easy to drink.

 

 

From the growler via DEPS in NKY in a pint glass....cause snifters get old.
This fine brew pours a rugged coal black with a brown head of foam that
settles to a thick ring, thin dusty layer, and displays some mighty fine lacing.
Nose of cocoa, rich bourbon, vanilla, and mild coffee, char, and deep roast.
Flavors follow the nose nicely with light vanilla, bourbon, char, coffee, dark bakers
cocoa, and showing notes of dark fruits of blackberry with a touch oak.
Mouth feel is nice with light carbonation that is lightly prickly and
gives substantial lift, full body, smooth, coating, rich, lightly warming,
and finishing moderately dry with cocoa and bourbon.

Overall----the best of Braxton bar none.

2018 edition.....solid!

Cheers

 

 

Bourbon barrel aged imperial stout. 2018 Edition, which clocked in at 13.5% ABV. Poured from a bottle into a small Triple Digit tulip. The pour is pitch black with a frothy tan head that has very good retention. The nose contains rich notes of molasses and toffee as well as roasted malt, unsweetened cocoa, vanilla, toasted oak, and a little smoke.

Full body with a firm feel. Massive char and roast up front, without much sweetness to balance it out, in the form of deeply roasted malt, smoke, and unsweetened chocolate. Around mid-palate a little bit of rich sweetness creeps in with flavors of vanilla, toffee, and bourbon barrel, but those roasted, charred, burnt notes persist through the finish. Lingering flavors of unsweetened chocolate, toffee, and espresso linger, along with just a hint of booziness. No oxidation or off-putting tart flavors that would indicate infection, but there is a rather harsh, acrid undertone to the beer from all that roast.

This is one big beer! It is very good, but it could definitely be improved upon. I had it at Dark Charge Day and my impressions of it are the same - it desparately needs a little more sweetness to balance out all that roast. Other than that, there's a lot to like. It has a luscious feel, intense flavor, and a nice rich boozy warmth. Perhaps some age may do it good. Many of my friends (who drink a LOT of beers from all over the country) are somewhat lukewarm on this beer. My criticisms aside, I do think that it's better than many people give it credit for. I will definitely attend Dark Charge Day and buy it again next year as I had a fantastic time there and do enjoy the beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coal, bourbon and a working-class attitude all converge in taste and optimizes what Kentucky is all about- and this is the taste that these Covington beer makers have achieved in Dark Charge imperial stout; but with their bourbon barrel variety, the beer it tied together with the barrel's caramels, vanillans and charred oak.

With the depth of a pit of tar and a slow tarnish head leaves the beer looking like a viscous, creamy espresso. And the nose also respirates with strong, burnt even, coffee. A strong scent of campfire, molasses, walnut and cocoa give roundedness to the roasty scent. Its burnt sweetness also saturates the tongue with cocoa-rich, coffee flooded char.

And across the middle palate, the roasted taste continues to expand, sharing more of its seared in secrets. Rapidly dissolving molasses sweetness shifts to carbonized sugars and strong espresso roast. Softened only with hints of caramel and vanilla, its underlying nuances of charred fruit and spice character rise. Light vinous flavors of roasted grape, cherry and licorice provide understated complexities ahead of the undeniable and masculine charm of charred oak, wood spice and peppered whisky.

Full, burly and even sultry with roasted sweetness, the over-the-top stout is balanced further with strong oak tannins that dry the palate and further expand the acrid roast for a semi-powdery, plaster-like finish. Hot and spicy, the boozy finish is once again inflamed by the use of charred oak to reel in the lovers of straight Kentucky whisky.