Dark Apparition - Rye Barrel Aged
Jackie O's Taproom & Brewery

Look - supper dark brown no real rimming or lacing
Smell and taste - really nice rye chocolate and wood
Feel - thick slight carb
OVerall - 2020 drank in 2023 at the scout party. Small pour but it was fantastic!

Dark Apparition from Jackie O's comes in many variants. Their base beer has been around for over a decade and this is the Heaven Hill rye version. The beer is very dry, very strong, and big on the smoke. It truly captures the intense rye experience. Sweetness creeps in later on, but definitely takes a back seat.

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Inky black pour with minimal head.
Barrel, barrel and more barrel. Notes of rye, dark chocolate and tobacco.
Toffee, raisin, molasses. Sweet, barrel comes through on the end.
Great mouthfeel and well balanced.
Great barrel presence, another outstanding anniversary beer from them.

 

12.7 ounce bottle, 2020 vintage. Served in a Jackie O's snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch tan head. Head retention is decent enough and there's a small amount of lacing. The brew smells like rye whiskey, oak, dark chocolate, burnt/charred malt, dark bread and molasses. The brew tastes like spicy rye, dark fruit, molasses, oak, dark chocolate, caramel, dark bread and burnt/charred malt. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's coating and smooth with a low/moderate amount of carbonation. Easy to drink, and the 13.6% ABV is hidden pretty well. I liked this a lot, definitely worth trying if you're into big stouts and/or rye barrel aged brews!

Glossy black with a moderate puffy mocha head slowly settling to a creamy film and short but curled collar.

Chocolatey and creamy, the medium fluffy body is more luscious and decadent than Dark Apps of seasons past. A mild but nutty barrel presence contributes its most rye spice on the nose, while a lightly spicy, peppery Jack and Coke character comes with a numbing sting on the tongue before a cleanly semi-dry warming swallow. A little more char surfaces as it warms.

 

 

375ml bottle poured into a snifter
2020 Vintage

A- pours deep black in color with a one-finger foamy khaki head that eventually reduces a ring around the edge

S- huge barrel aromas up front, with peppery rye poking through as well as spicy oak. Big caramel/toffee notes, as well as fudge brownies, molasses, dark chocolate, tobacco, toasted marshmallows & german chocolate cake

T- sweet and malty with bold caramel and toffee notes, as well as fig & raisin. Mid-palate brings out notes of dark chocolate brownies, molasses & coconut. The rye barrel really comes through on the finish, adding plenty of peppery spice, barrel juice and sharp oak.Lingers of caramel, chocolate & rye

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel and a warming finish

O- extended barrel aging adds some fantastic barrel notes that intermingle with the base beer to produce another fantastic Apparition variant