Blended Imperial Stout
Westbound & Down Brewing Company

 

Pitch black pour with a thin brown ring. Earth, char, roasted malt, and dark chocolate enter into a world of barrel in smell and taste. Smell has better clarity and is comfortable with the barrel leading. Whereas the taste comes across overly roasted with trace amount of coffee and burnt wood. Still the oak on this is quite impressive. Feel is barrel forward, earthy and roasted, complex in the nuances of textures but simple in how they fall into these three categories. More interesting than good, would recommend to those who like woody stouts

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like spicy oak, ash, roasted malt, dark chocolate, vanilla, and lots of roasted malt.

I don't get a lot of pure bourbon out of this one, but there's a good amount of oak char, some smoke, and a bit of vanilla that could be from the barrel. The base is just loaded with bitter roasted malt, with some dark chocolate as well. As it warms, some of the bitterness recedes and some complexities come forward.

This is medium bodied, slightly creamy, with a bitter roasty finish.

This wasn't my absolute favorite WB&D stout, but the bar is just set so high.