Brewer's Choice 2021: Five Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout
Boulevard Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

Look: dark brown, light head that quickly dissapates
Smell: oaky, bourbon comes through pleasantly, some malty chocolate in their as well
Taste: sweet, malt, roasty, very light dark fruit,
Feel: good full body, light carbonation
Overall: Just a very solid bourbon barrel stout. No crazy notes, well balanced. When you want a coke, it should taste like coca-cola and the baseline you expect for a BBA stout is something like this.

L - Poured a thick black with a half-finger fizzy chocolate brown head that quickly dissipated to none.
S - Light nose of cocoa, roasted malt and bourbon.
T - Lip smacking sweetness, bourbon, roasted malt, cocoa, dark fruit balanced with a long black licorice finish.
F - Full bodied, thick, slightly oily with low carbonation. Alcohol is noticeable.
O - Very nice stout with some complexity.

 

Brewer’s Choice 2021 5 Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout from Boulevard Brewing. 12 oz bottle from a mixed six-pack $23.00 (Including tax), $0.319/oz. Stored on room temperature shelf in store and at 40 degrees after purchase. Reviewed 1/4/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on rear of label “PLEASE ENJOY BY: 20SEP23”. Served at 56.1 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 60.0 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), nearly opaque.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. When rear-lite, still opaque with no penetration at the edges.
Head – Average (Maximum 2.5 cm, aggressive center pour), initially burnt umber but lightening to golden brown, slowly diminishing to leave a 0.8 to 1.0 cm crown and cap. The crown is evenly supplemented by effervescence. Crown and cap last the entire glass but never produce lacing.
Lacing – Fair. A tight, narrow band of tiny bubbles drags along as the level drops.
Aroma – 4.25 – Light aroma of roasted malt and cocoa, with warm bourbon overtones. No hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 4.5 – Begins slightly sweet with a weak alcohol burn. No hops, no yeast. Ethanol (13.3% ABV, as marked on container) is not hidden but is attenuated by the sweet bourbon. Some chocolate comes through the roasted malt. Overall, pretty basic flavors but delicious – no deep thoughts necessary. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4.25 – Full, approaching creamy, soft caressing carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 Simple taste but good. Highly quaffable and potentially deadly when the 13.3 % ABV kicks in. Alcohol is obvious only in subsequent belches.

 

 

 

 

 

l: black with coffee/chocolate color head, thin

s: chocolate and fudge

t: amazing chocolate fudge taste, some caramel, bourbon, cherry, licorice, vanilla, raisin

f: thick, balanced, a little boozy but it's ok

o: awesome brew! great flavor and barrel stuff with a very decent price

 

 

12oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours a viscous black color with a foamy one-finger khaki head that eventually reduces to a ring

S- heavy barrel aromas, with sharp wet oak, barrel juice, caramel, vanilla and coconut. Undertones of chocolate, char, toffee and dried figs

T- initial taste follows the nose with huge barrel notes; bourbon, wet oak, caramel, vanilla and a hint of coconut. The base beer gives notes of rich chocolate, marshmallow, charred malt, figs and raisins. The finish gives more bourbon barrel that continues into the linger

O- rich, thick and bold, well done

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a creamy mouthfeel that turns chewy into a velvety finish

Poured from a bottle into a snifter
Appearance – The beer pours a nearly pitch-black color with a one finger head of tan colored foam. The head fades rather fast, leaving a little bit of foamy lace on the sides of the glass. Upon pouring the brew looks super thick, boarding on the line of a motor oil like appearance.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is massive of a bourbon and dark roasted malt smell. Mixed with these aromas comes a good deal of must and char as well as some nice notes of dark chocolate and vanilla. Along with these aromas some a decent showing of sweet smells, with cherry, plum and raisin dark fruit smells being complimented by brown sugar, molasses, and toffee aromas. Other notes of crème and wood are there as well, overall, producing a nice robust and rich aroma.
Taste - The taste begins with a very thick and sweet roasted malt flavor. The sweet is heavy of brown sugar, molasses, caramel, prune, raisin, and plum with the roasted flavors being of a charred and toasted malt mixed with milk and dark chocolate and some lighter coffee. As the taste moves forward the bourbon starts to become known, starting off lighter, but ramping up in intensity as the taste moves forward. At the same time the sweet gets sweeter, while the roastiness gets lighter. All the while, some char and leather flavors also come to the tongue. With some oak and vanilla coming in more toward the final moments of the taste on the scene, a rather thick, roasty, warming, and very sweet taste is left to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – Super syrupy and thick with a carbonation level that is very low. Almost like drinking maple syrup in nature. OK for the huge rich flavors, but on the boarder of being a bit too thick for my liking.
Overall – A very flavorful brew overall. Very sweet and thick.