Emo Barrel Aged S'mores Imperial Stout
Platform Beer Co.

 

Received as an extra in a trade.

A - Poured into my Duvel tulip a nice dark brown hue with a thin half finger light tan head that faded at a decent rate to leave very light side lacing and a thin blanket.

S - Aromas of dark bakers chocolate, decent amount of char as well. Big marshmallow sweetness. Definitely smells like a roasted marshmallow, but graham crackers I think not. As it warms the chocolate fades and it becomes pretty much all marshmallow. There are super faint flashes of a bourbon-esc barrel but it's far and few between.

T - Taste is similar to the nose. Fair amount of chocolate followed by loads and loads of sweet charred marshmallows. It's actually really impressive marshmallow flavour. There are flashes of an almost medicinal metallic flavour on the finish though before it gets sweet again. Decent amount of almost acrid roast. Not much barrel or bourbon here. Little bit of booze. As it warms the marshmallow comes out even more.

M - Mouthfeel is lightly carbonated, alcohol makes itself known some and the body is a bit thin.

O - Overall this was somewhat disappointing. I understand the lack of graham crackers, that's more gimmick than anything, but the lack of a barrel and the low level of chocolate was really a shame. The marshmallow here was incredible though!

Serving Type: Can

Poured a 12 ounce can into a DFH tulip. Nice sized tan head which faded quickly over a dark brown body. Smell when cold was a bit off putting as an oddly medicinal sweetness seemed to be isolated from the barrel, but as it warms you can detect each individual aroma of a s'more including the charred marshmallow. Likewise on the taste where you can detect more of the barrel. Mouthfeel is incredibly light for a beer of this ABV. As someone else said this is dangerously drinkable.

Platform gets blasted a lot for whatever reason around here. I have no hidden agenda in defending them (like every place else they serve their imperial stouts much too cold) but when they do things right I acknowledge it. I'm sorry this was just a one time thing.

 

 

From the growler via DEPS in NKY in a snifter. This VERY nice brew pours a rich
blackish brown with a nice head of off white foam that settles to a thin ring, subtle
wafting pool, and displays some very subtle lacing. Nose of chocolate, bourbon,
rum, brulee, and some dark breaded raisin notes with hints of astringent booze.
Flavors surpass the nose with a moderate bourbon laced dark chocolate note over
a nice bed of dark raisin bread and touched with coconut and brulee. Rum is more
notable with warmth but bourbon still makes an appearance with touches of oak and
warming booze laced with a dollop of vanilla. Nice mouth feel; medium full mouth feel,
moderate to light carbonation that is lightly bubbly and able to give some needed lift,
and a boozy warming chocolate and vanilla laced finish with a nicely done balanced
effect between a stout and a desert stout.

Overall---another SOLID brew from a great brewery!

Canned on 11/19/18. 12oz can poured into a tulip. Pours almost black with a small khaki head that fades quickly leaving decent retention and lacing. The aromas have hints of rum and cocoa. Malts are there. The flavors basically follow the nose. More rum barrel characteristics. More hints of cocoa. Mild hints of coconut and vanilla. Malts do their thing. Solid spiciness coming from the rum barrels. Mild warmth in the finish, but it's not hot or boozy at all. The alcohol is ultimately well hidden. Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of full-bodied with moderate to active carbonation. It's slightly thin, sharp and dangerously drinkable.

This is a solid stout. The rum barrels outweigh the bourbon barrels. The bourbon barrels are pretty hard to pick up on. This one doesn't really have much of a S'more vibe going on. It's still slightly unique and enjoyable stuff. It's not bad at all and becomes even more enjoyable as it warms up a bit.

12 ounce can into snifter, canned on 11/19/2018. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger dense and rocky khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, bourbon, rum, coconut, toasted oak, marshmallow, graham cracker, roasted nuts, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of molasses, dark fruit, smoke, herbal, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balanced and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, marshmallow, graham cracker, lactose, bourbon/rum barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, bourbon, rum, coconut, toasted oak, marshmallow, graham cracker, roasted nuts, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of molasses, dark fruit, smoke, herbal, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light herbal, grassy, roast bitterness; and bourbon, rum, oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, bourbon, rum, coconut, toasted oak, marshmallow, graham cracker, roasted nuts, dark/brown bread, molasses, dark fruit, smoke, herbal, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, marshmallow, graham cracker, lactose, bourbon/rum barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great roast/hop bitter/sweet, and rum/bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying/acrid flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roast bitterness and bourbon/rum/oak spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and lightly slick/sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is great. Mild warming alcohol for 10%, with zero barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is an awesome barrel aged flavored imperial stout. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, marshmallow, graham cracker, lactose, bourbon/rum barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish. Awesome balance of rich malts, lactose, and marshmallow/graham cracker flavorings; with nice overall bourbon/rum barrel presence/integration. Not overly sweet from lingering dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive experimental dessert style example.

Appearance - Pours thin black with nice tan head that settles to a thick ring. Spotty lacing.

Aroma - I am not really getting the S'mores but there is a good bit of peanut, vanilla and roasted malts. The bourbon is very light in the nose.

Taste - I am getting much more S'mores in the taste. Sweet salty combination of marshmallow, graham cracker, vanilla, no chocolate to speak of but the flavor is really nice. I really do not get much bourbon but the rum comes in on the end a little.

Feel - Medium bodied, smooth and creamy with a nice slightly dry finish.

Overall - While I am not getting the full S'mores effect it is still a really tasty BA stout. Lots of marshmallow in the taste, the bourbon comes out well in the nose more rum in the taste.

 

Pouring from a 12 oz. can into the center of a tumbler glass this beer pours out a medium brown, almost coke like. Forms no crown whatsoever, despite the pour. (3)

The smell brings an almost soapy fruit presence. Strawberries, cherries. Almost like a cough syrup to me. Might just be the bourbon and rum mixing. Not really digging the smell. (3)

The taste comes in slightly more natural and brings a huge marshmallow presence along with a rum fruit element. Graham cracker slightly on the finish. I would like for chocolate to show up more in this to complement the marshmallow and graham cracker, but it's hardly detectable. (3.25)

The mouthfeel provides a nice body with medium carbonation and a nice marshmallow like coating in the mouth. A little too syrupy. (3.25)

Overall, I think it definitely delivered on the marshmallow aspects, while slightly delivering on the graham cracker too, but I would've liked some chocolate to compliment them. I also just couldn't really get past the kind of artificialness, soapy, syrupy notes I was picking up. But without having the original, it's hard for me to tell whether or not it was just the way the bourbon and rum were mixing. It's not something I would search out again, but I might give it another shot sometime. I'm interested in finding the regular to do more investigating (3)