Black Ops - Four Roses Small Batch
Brooklyn Brewery

Picked up a 4 pack of cans.

Very nice pour, deep black with decent head.

Smell a bit funky, not exciting.

Extremely disappointing taste. I actually waited until I drank another one to make sure it wasn't spoiled. This tasted like a beer that went wrong. Just off. Extremely.

Smooth enough.

Highly dissatisfied. This is supposed to be a top notch beer, and not only was it not good, it was barely drinkable. Redeeming factor is that the ABV hits nice and hard!

 

 

 

The beer pours a creamy light brown head that dissipates quickly. The beer itself is a dark chocolate dark brown that has a sort of thin sheen to it.

The smell is good. It has a strong bourbon and vanilla note upfront. The chocolate comes out in the finish.

The taste is good. The chocolate comes out upfront and is followed by the bourbon notes such as cinnamon and apple with a bit of leather to it. The vanilla follows it immediately. It has a slight alcohol taste but not much.

The feel is good. It has a silky texture and heavy body but with a thinness from the bourbon.

Overall, it's a good beer that drinks more like a cocktail than it does a beer.

 

This one pours a dark black color, with a small white head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells like roasted malt, booze, and some chocolate.

I didn’t really like Black Ops a ton back in the day, so I’m not 100% sure why I rolled the dice on this one. It’s very thin tasting, with a sort of weird herbal booziness, and some vague chocolate. It’s just very boring. The fact it’s a small batch single barrel thing just does nothing for me here.

This is thin, boozy, and not super drinkable.

This is a pretty significant miss for me here. I still do like Brooklyn a lot of the time, but this isn’t it.

Pours a very dark color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has chocolate, malt and Bourbon hints
The taste follows the nose with chocolate, malt and Bourbon flavors
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A good Stout

 

 

 

The flavors of vanilla and cacao are quite harmonious in this Imperial Stout. The only thing that is not delivered as advertised, is the bourbon aroma. I smelled no bourbon notes at all. Great beer though

Infected. Slightly sour smell with some chocolate, coffee, barrel. Taste is all sour/vinegar. Threw the rest away.

16oz can. Dark brown pour, skin of beige head, ring. Sweet aroma, caramel, chocolate, light whiskey notes. Taste is chocolate and caramel, sweet, whiskey notes, light vanilla. Silky smooth, creamy, gentle warmth. Superb.

 

Solid black appearance.
Medium light carbonation with an above average body.
Aroma is bourbon,roasted malt, coffee,dark fruit,boozy.
Taste has a very mild sweetness with burnt wood,dark chocolate, dark fruit, malt,and coffee.
Overall this was a way above average beer that was worth the splurge

From a 16 oz. can acquired and sampled on December 3, 2022.

Handsome looking dark brown to black pour with a short-lasting tan head. Some lacing.

The aroma I perceive is dark roasted malts, butterscotch, Graham cracker, wood, and a touch of booze.

The mouthfeel is a lot lighter than I might have expected but it is creamy and smooth.

The taste is sweet, dark, roasty, and a more notable slightly fruity and Bourbon-like character. It is very good but I was not as enamored by it as others here.

From the 16 oz can in a snifter. This excellent imperial pours a pitch
black with a very nice head of light brown foam that settles to a thick ring,
thin clumping layer, and shows some nice lacing. Nose of bourbon, vanilla,
oak, dark chocolate, subtle dark coffee, and dark berry hints. Flavors hit the
mark with bourbon, oak, vanilla, brulee, dark tart cherry, dark chocolate, faint
coffee, and dark roasted goodness. Mouthfeel is medium full, smooth, warming,
and finishing medium dry. As others have mentioned it is a touch on the thin side.
That said, it is still an excellent flavor for the BBA lovers out there.

Cheers

2022 Can from Whole Foods on the UWS. Pours black with a finger of light tan head, decent lacing, smell is bourbon, oak, toffee cake, brownie batter, devils food cake batter, vanilla, cocoa powder, chewy caramel, hints of char, taste is watered down bourbon, dark caramel, dark chocolate, oats, mild bitter roast coffee on the finish, feel is very thin/watery, mild dry/oak finish. Chocolate starfish and hotdog flavored water.

Definitely "infected".

Drain-pour!

 

Purchased in a 4 pack from Wegmans in Collegeville, PA. Purchased on 11/9/22. Poured from a 16oz can into a tulip glass.

L- Deep onyx color.

S- Very strong boozy nose.

T- Very strong, almost overpowering bourbon flavor. I love BA bourbon
stouts, but this might need to sit
a while. After the initial boozy opening
this does give way to a nice cocoa
flavor.

F- Rather thin watery mouthfeel. For a
Bourbon BA Imperial Stout there’s
not much in the way mouthfeel
complexity.

O- Decent offering. I might have to review
this again after letting it sit for a while.

Poured from a 16oz can into a pint glass. Appearance was pitch black with slight tan head, about an eighth of an inch. Smell was of roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate and bourbon. Taste was a heavy alcohol burn with roasted malt. One of the most prevalent alcohol burns I’ve had in the style, very boozy. Overall it was a great beer, just was expecting a thicker mouthfeel and more complex flavor.

Definitely middle weight for the style and also definitely still an old school take, and I like it. Nicely attenuated, no flabbiness here, whiskey forward, a little roast and bitterness, bakers chocolate, espresso, dark fruit, initial aromatics and flavor notes very vinous but that begins to dissipate. Really enjoyable and a welcome change of pace from the big and sweet barrel aged stouts that are so frequently encountered these days.

Chocolate with some bourbon on the nose. Deep roastiness with some fig perhaps?

 

16oz undated can poured into a Spiegelau stout glass at just above fridge temp 12.4% ABV per can. The beer pours impenetrable black with fizzy, cola like head. Spotty lacing.
The aroma is moderate in strength featuring notes of chocolate, coffee, vanilla and bourbon. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt with an immediate and delicious bourbon bite. Further sipping offers a little dark chocolate and coffee. Strong bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Alcohol is well hidden for 12+ ABV. Overall, excellent. This is a bourbon lovers RIS and that's ok with me.

2019 in a large bottle, poured moderately hard into a snifter glass. Formed just a bit of tan head before fading to nothing. Smell is mild bourbon and I think the vanilla/oak, very enticing. Taste is a background of bourbon, a little sweetness, and the tail end is definitely oak/vanilla, very very good. Bourbon flavor comes forward as it warms, I think I prefer this one colder. Medium bodied with light carbonation. Absolutely superb but simple bourbon aged stout.