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Jackie O's Taproom & Brewery

 

L: Pours a dark fudge, near-black. No appreciable head, lacing, retention. Some faint effervescence on the sides hints at carbonation. Held to the light, an extremely dark chocolate, opaque and thick.

S: Strong notes of honey and bourbon, followed by lighter aromas of vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Light malt.

T: Follows nose; heavy bourbon and barrel, tempered by sweet honey. Light oak and vanilla, with a dash of brown sugar. Roasted malts are more muted, with a finish of allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

F: Full-bodied. Rich, oily mouthfeel. Light bite of carbonation.

O: Pretty damn good dessert stout, if you can even call it that. The honey is sweet but not overpowering; rather, it complements the bourbon barrel quite well to create a balanced brew. The aromas took a few minutes to fully warm up, but otherwise no complaints.

 

12.7oz beer, split with the Mrs., served in tulip glasses. 2023 bottling (we think - no label, but we bought it in early 2023).

Appearance: Very dark brown, letting in a little light at the edges. No real lacing upon pouring or during drinking.

Smell: Bourbon, a bit of vanilla, and a bit of honey.

Taste: A lot like it smells, but I can taste a bit of spices at the finish. The roasted malt is not that bitter, probably covered up by the honey sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and nicely thick, but no carbonation. A little bit of a dry finish.

Overall / Drinkability: A slow sipping beer, and quite potent - both of us could feel the alcohol pretty quickly after drinking it. I think some of the different honey flavors got lost over time (maybe they were more noticeable when fresh?) and it's pretty much a sweet honey and bourbon stout bomb. Solid, but not amazing.

What a collab we have here. Jackie O's from, Midwest America, and Brussels Beer Project from Belgium. Honey and stouts are one of my favorite combos.

It has a spongy body with pops of honey foam. It is a "brighter" stout with the caramel barrel notes. The restraint on this beer, given the ABV, is incredible.

Poured from a 12.7 ounce bottle, the beer is a dark brown with very little head. No lacing at all. Typical for many of their barrel aged beers. This one was aged for 15 months in the barrel.

Given its time in the barrel, the aroma should not be surprising: luscious bourbon goodness with wafts of chocolate.

Taste follows nose as the barrel does not hide, but also does not burn. Sweet bourbon flavor is met with a deep malty chocolate with notes of honey, vanilla and nutmeg.

Good mouthfeel and body despite the dearth of carbonation.

Look - black thick syrup slight head rimming and lacing
Smell - definetly the JO's smell... barrel, brown sugar, vanilla and spice
Taste - almost like a barely Wine taste. Brown sugar, a ton of barrel and spice
Feel - full body with a lighter crisp carb
OVerall - interesting different stout. as noted prior, taste a lot like a BW

Dark brown, opaque. Maple, vanilla, nutmeg. The nose is very nice but it doesn't smack you. It's more subtle. Honey now coming through the aroma. Very nice. A long finish transforms into a less pleasant taste. it grows in bitterness on my tongue and leaves a bad impression. Interesting and complex, but I don't ultimately like the taste.

01/27/23 bottle @ home

12.7 ounce bottle, no dating I noticed on it but pretty sure this was a 2022 release. Served in a Jackie O's snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch tan head. Head retention and lacing are both good. I like the aroma, it's sweet and smells like honey, vanilla, cinnamon, roasted malt, bourbon and brown sugar. Taste is similar to the aroma, but with the addition of some nutmeg, oak, dark bread and allspice flavors. Another sweeter tasting imperial stout from Jackie O's! Mouthfeel/body is full, it's coating and a little syrupy with a low/moderate amount of carbonation. Thought this was a good brew, certainly worth buying but even more so if you like sweeter tasting imperial stouts!