Bourbon Barrel Biggie S'Mores
Three Notch'd Brewing Co. (Craft Kitchen & Brewery)

Poured from a 13 ounce can 10/02/2023 into a snifter glass.
L - Pours a dark brown, almost black color with a slight tan head that dissipates slowly.
S - Smells of bourbon and s’mores.
T - Tastes of chocolate, vanilla, marshmallow, graham cracker and bourbon.
F - Full bodied and lightly carbonated.
O -

 

 

 

12oz bottle poured into a snifter
Bottled November 2019

A- pours deep black color with a one-finger creamy khaki colored head that reduces to a ring around the edge

S- aroma has bold notes of marshmallow and graham cracker, adding aromas of vanilla, chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, black licorice & whipping cream. Just a trace of underlying bourbon barrel

T- sweet and creamy up front, with notes of chocolate, vanilla cream, graham crackers and marshmallow. mid-palate brings out a bold and raw bourbon barrel note, adding woody oak and a hint of caramel. The finish gives more vanilla and graham cracker, with more barrel on the linger

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

O- the barrel notes didn't come through in aroma but were bold in flavor, all around worked well with the other ingredients

 

 

 

 

2017 release

Appearance - Pours black with hints of cola brown edging where light can penetrate. Tan, pillowy two-finger width head that displays great retention before finally settling to a fair layer of suds over the top. Mostly spotty lacing with a few small lines here or there.

Smell - The aroma is heavy with bourbon oak, vanilla and booziness foremost, with a healthy addition of sugary sweetness that's part maple and part honey. Lesser chocolate. Mild roast.

Taste - Prominent sweetness but doesn't quite get cloying. Sweetness that rides the edge between honey and maple. Creamed vanilla. Sweetness dies down as it gets closer to room temperature, opening up notes of oak and bourbon. Slightly toasted Breadiness hits the honey to add that graham cracker note, but any chocolate flavor is buried and mostly an afterthought. Finish and aftertaste is mostly honey/sugary sweetness, mild oak, faint chocolate and some nondescript bourbon character.

Mouthfeel - Full-bodied with low, bubbly carbonation. Slick with some creamy, velvety texture. Easy drinker at 10.3% with a smooth, slightly dry finish and only a touch of boozy warmth.

Overall - Pretty good imperial stout, but not once did I think to myself that this was a s'more inspired brew. The chocolate element is criminally underrated here. There's a bit, but it's distant and definitely not a 'chocolate lover's dream'. Overall I think this is a damn fine BA imperial stout, just not quite what was depicted on the bottle.

Shazam!!!