Dark Charge - Bourbon Barrel-Aged - Tiramisu
Braxton Brewing Company - Braxton Covington

L:. Pours a thick oily black with a small tan head that dissipates

S:. Sweet molasses, notes of vanilla and syrup, and a sweet bourbon. Doesn't necessarily remind me of tiramisu but smells good.

T:. Lots of sweetness, vanilla, molasses, quite syrupy, a strong bourbon. Not really tiramisu but decent.

F:. Smooth thick body.

O:. Nothing spectacular but a solid stout.

Pours light black, with modest head. Aroma is chocolate with bourbon. Taste is coffee and vanilla. The coffee is predominant and perhaps overly so. Balance is not a characteristic of this beer. It is very light for a bourbon imperial stout. There is some maltiness, though it is mild. The coffee overpowers everything.

 

Medium black pour with a brown ring and light lacing. Aromas of vanilla with a dark chocolate and coffee combo sit atop the bourbon, oak and earth tones. Taste surprised me with how it opens up nicely with the coffee taking on more of an espresso note hat pairs beautifully with the chocolate and bourbon with subtle earth underneath, toasty oak and vanilla have a sweet complexion with speculoos accents to round out the sip. Feel is warm and chewy, with barrel having more of a presence than the adjunct which is appreciated. Seems like a natural evolution for the series, best of 2020 releases

 

Having a small pour, perhaps 8oz, from a large bottle shared by daughter Caitlin.

This brew is an opaque, dense dark brown, with a miniscule layer of foam. It is fine and thin, with most of the dark beige suds clinging to the rim, with light lacework. The aroma is rich, with dark choco, espresso, bitter coffee and some bourbon. Body is medium, which is light for the style, and it's fairly smooth.

Flavor has more choco, some cocoa and vanilla, plus charred, roasty notes. All this mixes in with some mild bourbon. It finishes quite dryly, with the cocoa and bourbon lingering slightly. Cheers!!

4.06/5 rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2235

 

2017 Dark Charge variant. Imperial stout brewed with espresso roasted Starter coffee, Madagascar vanilla beans, and cocoa nibs and aged in Bourbon barrels. Enjoyed on tap at Party Town in Florence, KY. The pour is very dark, nearly black, and not as viscous as one would expect. It sports a brown head with decent retention for a barrel-aged beer. The beer smells like a chocolate cake. I get notes of deeply toasted malt, lots of cocoa, some vanilla, and some espresso.

The beer has a full body and a firm feel. Up front I get lots of roastiness which is slightly offset by vanilla and cocoa. The vanilla is very brief and fades quickly as it falls victim to the roast. Around mid-palate some bourbon and toasted oak join in, but the intense roastiness prevails again. Lingering flavors of unsweetened cocoa and bourbon linger. Flavor-wise, this is one of the better Dark Charge variants I have had. Still, this beer just cries out for some more sweetness. If I had any bottles of this, I would definitely sit on them a little while longer.

It is pure dumb luck that I even got to try this beer. The keg was originally intended for a special event over the river in Cincinnati, but due to the recent government shutdown, they were unable to get the label approved so my local bottle shop lucked out and managed to secure it. Hey - at least something good came out of that mess. Perhaps I should send President Trump a thank-you note (just this once) ;)