Lower Expectations
Bond Brothers Beer Company

2022 vintage; drank 3/31/23 @ Pokemon Communion.

Black appearance.

Small dark tan head; no lace.

Oak, mild vanilla & faint chocolate notes in the nose, with a tart, sour edge.

Thick, sticky mouthfeel.

Vanilla, chocolate, oak & booze flavors...and again, a hint of tartness. Gone bad? Going bad? Regardless, it was drinkable.

 

Poured from a 12oz bottle into stout glass

Pours like walnut gall ink, almost black, with a thin, barely present, mocha colored head that hangs a thin film over the surface and gathers at the edges, which is exactly to be expected at 13.5 ABV. Some faint signs of carbonation on the walls of the glass but the beer is too dark to see into - it's completely opaque even when held directly up to my desk lamp. I'm excited.

From a distance, the scent is baker's chocolate, adding vanilla, milk chocolate, bourbon, and a vague undertone of something spicy I can't quite place yet when you get closer. I can smell the chocolate at arms length, though.

Flavor is a front note of sweet molasses, moving toward the same back notes as dark chocolate. Hints of bourbon, hickory, and raisin. And just a soupçon of black licorice, hitting just before the fade.

(I've been wanting to say "soupçon" in a review for ages, ever since seeing Sideways, a movie I disliked but which nevertheless stuck with me)

Mouthfeel is full and oily, like a Turkish coffee. I expect to find beer solids at the bottom of my glass.

I'll be buying this one again. And hopefully again and again. A robust stout that doesn't go for a gimmick nor does it default to just roasting me out with charred notes (which, honestly, I don't mind). It's a great palette and the beer is just the thing for the cold season.

Delicious imperial stout! Bourbon-chocolate-coffee notes in perfect proportion! A touch sweeter than KBS or Bourbon County. Bond Brothers is world-class!