Dead Man's Hand Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout
Grand River Brewery

 

 

 

 

A - Pours motor oil black with a two finger tan head. Huge amount of soapy lacing.

S - Aroma is bourbon, chocolate, caramel and vanilla.

T - The taste follows the aroma. Bourbon, chocolate, caramel, vanilla and coffee. The finish has a light alcohol burn.

M - Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Soft creamy mouthfeel with a dry sticky finish.

O - This is a nice above average bourbon barrel stout. The flavors are sweet and inviting with the 12% ABV being nicely hidden.

I picked up a bottle of Dead Man's Hand Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout at Boyne Country Provisions. I've never had a beer from this brewery and since this is the only one they had at the store it seems like a good one start with it, so lets see how it goes. 2015 vintage. Poured from a 22oz brown bottle into a snifter.

A- The label looks nice, it's not the most eye catching, but it goes well with the name. It poured a nice black color that didn't let any light come through and it had a fingers worth of darker tan creamy head that died down to a thin ring that eventually faded away and it left some nice rings of patchy lacing behind. This is a very nice looking Imperial Stout, I have no complaints.

S- The aroma starts off with a lower amount of high sweetness with the bourbon barrels being the first to show up and they impart some nice bourbon and oak aromas with a little bit of a boozy aroma that goes right into a nice dark chocolate and cocoa like aroma. Towards the end comes dark malts, sweet malts and roasted malt aromas with a nice butterscotch and caramel like aroma also showing up. This beer has a good aroma, it's mainly what I would expect from the style, but it's just a little unique.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with the bourbon barrels still being the first to show up, but it's a lighter and it imparts more of a bourbon and less of a woody flavor this time and it's followed by that same cocoa and dark chocolate that I got in the aroma, but it's also a little lighter. Up next comes the malts which impart all the same aspects that they did in thee aroma, but this time the caramel and butterscotch aspects seem to show up a little more. On the finish there's hardly any bitterness with a little bit of boozy and slight metallic flavor that goes into the aftertaste with a slight bourbon and roasted malt favors in the aftertaste. This is a pretty nice tasting beer, but I wish the taste was a little more robust like the aroma was.

M- Fairly smooth, a little velvety, not too crisp, on the thick side of being medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel is pretty nice and it works well with this beer.

Overall I thought this was a pretty nice beer and a solid example of the style. it didn't blow my mind or anything, but it had enough of the key flavors to be solid and through the caramel and butterscotch aspects worked well with it and it made it a little unique. This beer had ok drinkability, I think one would be my limit, it might start to wear on me after that. What I like the most about this beer is the appearance and aroma, they are the highlights of this beer. What I like the least about this beer is that the taste wasn't as robust as the aroma. I might buy this beer again if it's fresh and I would recommend giving it a try if you want some that's just a little unique for the style. All in all i liked this beer, but I didn't love it and I think with just a little more work it could be a pretty good beer. It made for a nice first impression for this brewery and I'm interested in trying more of their beers. Nice job guys, this is pretty solid for the style, keep it up.

Poured into a nonic pint it has a orange-ish beige head of 2 inches with a dark dark brown body. Smell of bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, roasted malt, and coffee (very balanced on the nose with nothing that muted). Taste is chocolate, lots of coffee, slight roasted malt, a tad bit astringent, slight vanilla, a decent amount of bourbon (dry not so sweet), slight oak, and some slight citrus fruity flavor (clementine). Mouth feel is moderate to full same as body with a decent amount of carbonation. A decent semi-sweet (and a tad bit dry) bourbon barrel stout, especially for the price ($12.99), but a little sharp on the tongue, a great nose though.