Barrel Aged Sumo Sumatra
Austin Brothers Beer Co.

Canned on 9/7/20; consumed on 1/7/21

Pours a clean, glossy black body with the faintest chestnut accents at the surface, and topped with a finger of nearly creamy, pale mocha foam; solid head retention yields a few paper-thin, spotty islands of cap, a moderate, creamy collar, and a short-lived spatter of webby lacing sparse around the walls of the glass.

Aroma bursts with a rich, roasty display of chocolate and caramel fudge upfront, unwavering as it seamlessly embraces hints of hazelnut with an edgy coffee roast into peanut brittle over the middle; roasty dark chocolate bark is singed with earthy vanilla on the back end as lightly roasted, bittersweet malts compliment a delicate bourbon undertow.

Taste offers a healthy dose of dark chocolate fudge supplemented by nutty caramel upfront, with an oaky/malty char developing firmly over the mid-palate; light bourbon flows throughout, a quiet influence on tones of almond cake, toasted vanilla pod, charred coffee bean, and lightly smoky toffee as they evolve over the back end of the profile and through the finish.

Mouthfeel shows a medium-light body and minimal carbonation, inviting a malty prickle bringing an almost oily spritz through the mid-palate; an elevating roast develops subtly to stage off an outright thinness and brings a firm, charry grit to the finish; minimal alcohol presence shows throughout.

A barrel-aged stout exemplified in its brilliantly integrated synchronicity of oak and adjuncts, the precision on display melds complexities across the spectrum, from deepening char to nuanced bittersweetness, for an end result kind on the palate and decadent in expression.

 

A - Pours pitch black with a thin tan head. Nice soapy lacing.

S - Aroma is coffee, dark chocolate and bourbon.

T - The taste coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, roasted malts, oak and bourbon.

M - Medium body with medium body. Creamy mouthfeel with a soft dry finish.

Pours a dark brown with a foamy head that lasts quite a while. Aroma of coffee, vanilla and bourbon. Taste is sweet with a hint of bourbon. Slight boozy flavor. Good mouth feel.

 

 

 

 

Thank you strohme2 for this
12 oz can poured into a tulip

A- Black with a two finger mocha head.

S- Roasted coffee, vanilla, bourbon, chocolate, roasted malts, some caramel, toffee.

T- Chocolate, roasted coffee, vanilla, bourbon, toffee, some dark fruits, mild bitterness.

M- Smooth, full body, slightly chewy.

O- A very well done stout, everything come together nicely. The taste it not quite as big
and impressive as the nose, but it is still great.

 

12 ounce can into snifter, canned on 9/10/2019. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of huge dark roasted coffee, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, vanilla, cream, toffee, brown sugar, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with light notes of licorice, molasses, raisin, fig, date, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Incredible aromas with amazing balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, coffee, cocoa, vanilla, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with big strength. Taste of huge dark roasted coffee, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, vanilla, cream, toffee, brown sugar, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with light notes of licorice, molasses, raisin, fig, date, smoke, charcoal, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Very mild herbal, grassy, roast, charred coffee bitterness; and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark roasted coffee, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, vanilla, cream, toffee, brown sugar, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, dark bread/crust, light dark fruit/smoke/char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Insane complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, coffee, cocoa, vanilla, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a great roasted bitter/sweet and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness. Medium carbonation and very full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and slightly slick/sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is amazing. Minimal warming for 12.4%, with no lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is an mind blowing barrel aged coffee stout. All around insane complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, coffee, cocoa, vanilla, bourbon barrels, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV, with the mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish; perfectly soft/silky feel for the ABV. Perfectly balanced between fruity/nutty Sumatra coffee complexity, rich malts, cocoa, vanilla, and bourbon barrel presence/integration. Mild earthy hops and fruity yeast. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A highly amazing and mind blowing offering all around. One of the best flavored BBA stout's I've ever had.

 

This beer is friggn' outstanding!
The amount of coffee is ridiculous.
The nose alone will give you the jidders. Not much of a looker but the flavor profile will knock your socks off.
Waves of vanilla, strong roasted coffee.
Body is a bit thin but makes up for it in taste.