Imperial Stout
Boulevard Brewing Co.

The best by date on the bottle is 6 Aug. 2017.

The beer pours out into a snifter glass a dark brown that is almost black with a 1/8" dark tan head that soon recedes to a thin film on the surface and a small ring around the glass and leaving no lacing on the sides of the glass. Sipping creates lots of tiny small patches of lacking that slowly turn liquid.

The aromas include a touch of Bourbon including vanilla from the barrel along some dark chocolate and dark fruit in the background.

The flavors include an initial bit of roasted malt bitterness that may recede briefly but never completely disappears, the effects of the Bourbon barrel show in some vanilla sweetness and the hint of oak that comes along with that. In a different, less forward, layer of flavor there's some dark chocolate, a hint of dark fruit and that roasted malt. Throughout the alcohol is well concealed except for the slight warming effect

The mouth feel is on the full side of medium bodied and just a bit creamy from the very soft carbonation. The finish begins early on as the initial roasted bitterness that starts the show is only there very briefly before allowing the vanilla and oak from the Bourbon barrel to show up. Those flavors soon begin to recede allowing the chocolate and a touch of dark fruit to emerge and join in the flavor profile. These flavors also then recede a bit leaving the final ending to the vanilla with a hint of chocolate that is pretty much on the back of the palate.

Overall this seems an excellent beer that shows the effects of Bourbon barrel aging riding over the top the chocolate, dark fruit and roasted malt, but never completely concealing them so that they get to play a bit on the palate as well. While I'll be happy to have another it seems to me that this is a special occasion beer or one that can turn a dreary day into a special one all by itself. BTW, I recommend that this be the first beer of the day since I think some of the complexity would be concealed by having another beer first.

 

 

 

 

Draft at BitterCreek. I thought I had hit the highlights, but then this..... F’ing WOW! Inky black , small silky head. Blah, blah, blah. Aroma is a malted chocolate bar, roasty, sweet. Taste gets better, chocolate, sweet roast grains. And smooth....Velvet, dayglo bullfighter on velvet. Hits every mark. I’m melting into my bar stool. Incredible.

 

 

 

 

This is a review of the 2013 vintage, consumed on Halloween 2017.

Pours black but with a full sized 1" beige colored head. Dense. Aroma was light, sweet whiskey alongside a lesser amount of roasted malt, we're talking like a 60/40 split in the nose (similar to that on the label).

Taste was good and relatively easy going for something with a hefty amount of roasted malt, bitterness and whiskey barrel influence alongside an 11% mouth feel of alcohol that isn't anywhere near that perceptible. The yeast is far more influential taste wise, dark fruit bitterness on it, makes you think this is a quad and imperial stout blend. And I guess that would be the least desireable aspect of the beer, the bitterness from multiple sources (roasted malt, hops, yeast) that isn't fully met by the partial aging in whiskey barrels. That yeast also seems to contribute to the 'thin' notion that isn't really borne out by the hefty amount of malt going on here. I liked it, but less than your average person.

 

Reviewed from (long-standing) notes. 2014 vintage bottle, consumed 5/16/16. Poured from a 750 mL bottle into a J. Wakefield Brewing OG teku glass.

A: Very dark brown and nearly opaque. Low visible carbonation, but a big three-finger tan head with great retention.

S: Whiskey, chocolate, vanilla, and oak. Deep moist tobacco, cacao nibs, and toffee.

T: Chocolate and roasted malts. A big punch of whiskey with some alcohol sweetness and heat. Vanilla, oak tannins, and mild barrel char. Some bitterness (roasted malts – a bit of hops? Can’t pick out specific flavors) after the swallow with fading malt and ethanol sweetness.

M: The body is fairly thin, and I think this detracts from the beer pretty significantly. Whiskey flavors are pretty dominant, and it does drink a bit “hot” but not insanely so. Low carbonation sensation.

O: The whiskey presence toes the line, but I think stops just short of being over the top. Aside from the thin body, there aren’t really flaws here…but not much to set it apart or prevent it from being forgettable. Decent, but nothing I’d go seeking out in a world crowded with barrel-aged stout offerings.

 

 

Had the 2015 version 12 oz bottle in a side-by-side with a few other imperial stouts. Although it was very good, it was not at the level of a barrel-aged RIS, so I was a bit disappointed by this beer. For the price (about $4 a bottle) I judge there are many other better imperial stouts out there.

 

2014 vintage - had been in my cellar for 3+ years... Best by date is 10/2016, so I am a year late...

Pours very dark, gave me 3 fingers of foam, which was delicious (vigorous pour)! Great carbonation. Big whiskey and chocolate aromas, coffee in the background with the roasted malts. Pretty complex brew, rich and creamy, quite sweet, like s sweet milk stout, big whiskey presence, gobs of chocolate, sweet vanilla, some dark fruits, fig, prune. Viscous and sticky, fairly full bodied. Overall a nicely done brew - I am curious how it would have tasted a year or two ago.

12/4/17
Bomber
4.5 rating

 

2014 vintage, drank November 2017.

Barrel character is very apparent. Strong vanilla, and malt notes, weaker hints of chocolate, tobacco, smoke, and a touch of spiciness. To me this beer epitomizes what a barrel aged stout should taste like.