Marley Was Dead
No Boat Brewing Company

 

Dark and opaque with pour and sitting in the glass; thin head, tan colored, long-lasting. Fantastic dark roasted grain scent; dark chocolate and grain char; faint hint of whiskey barrel aging; tobacco. Outstanding flavors; dark chocolate and fudge; bourbon; cherries; charred coconut. Heavy body; dense and sticky; outstanding alcohol heat percolating up through the residual sugars.

This is just an amazing beer. I don't know if things like coconut or cherries were thrown into the mix during this beer's creation, but suggestions of those flavor are there. Whatever the source of those flavor sensations, the base bourbon barrel aged beer really pairs quite well with them. A killer dark beer delight!

ABV: 13.8%; pouring temperature: 45.4 °F; canning info: n/a
Source: @snaotheus

This is intensely chocolatey, with layers of different types. Bitter bakers chocolate, truffles, Hershey's syrup, and just a little chocolate infused balsamic vinegar. The barrels aren't shy, lots of delectable woody cinnamon and plenty of warming bourbon. There are more subtleties at the edges, earthy vanilla, anise, and charred nuts. Wonderful stout, thanks Ryan!

Poured at fridge temp from a can. Pours a very thick black with minimal head. The nose is vanilla ice cream, marshmallow, salted caramel, Oreo cookies, milk chocolate, and hazelnuts. Lovely.

The taste is really nice. I'm kind of shocked this isn't a pastry stout - could this really only be barrel aged? I don't see any indication of adjuncts being added. Sweet, but not cloying. Cinnamon, chocolate, hazelnut, macadamia nuts, vanilla, slight roasted malts, granola, graham cracker, and Tim Tam chocolate cookies. The bourbon barrel comes through nicely as well. A very slight bitterness hits on the aftertaste. Great stout overall! The ABV is definitely not detectable. Dangerous sipper!

Appearance is a deep brown / black with a small amount of short lived dark brown head. Decent enough looking beer, but it doesn’t stand out in any way,

Aroma on the other hand has more going on. I can’t tell if there are any adjuncts, but there is a really nice balance of sweetness and roast. Notes of vanilla and chocolate lead the way, with the roast more discretely lurking in the background.

Taste is similar to the nose, but with a bit of barrel replacing the roast. Still plenty of sweetness, with a pleasant alcohol warming. Smooth and decadent.

Overall, very tasty beer.

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque black in the glass with a one finger chocolate head that slowly dissipates to a thin film with light lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, bakers chocolate, licorice, bourbon, hints of cinnamon and coffee. Flavor follows with dark toasted malt, quality chocolate, bourbon, hints of cinnamon and holiday spices; a bit sweet and boozy. Medium to heavy bodied with moderate to heavy creaminess. A rich, full bodied barreled stout with great bourbon and chocolate character and just enough spicing to be festive, but not intrusive (I couldn't parse out anything other than cinnamon, but there were light spice cake notes). Super creamy, firm body with great mouth feel. A bit sweet, but not cloying. This is the epitome of a festive holiday stout. Big ABV well covered, requiring careful sipping. Nicely done.