Call Me Chris
Bonesaw Brewing Company

Poured into a small orange juice glass after an 8 mile morning run in 25F weather in a garage next to a fire pit. Awesome breakfast.

Pours and drinks like Goose Island’s little brother. More carbonation, less boozy, and a little more hoppy.

Have 6 in the cellar to see how they age. Excellent representation of a US Imperial Stout.

Reminds me of goose Island, with less sweetness and some bite.

Look: Pours an opaque black hue with a deep copper, almost red head. Beautiful pour and great looking beer.

Smell: Bourbon and vanilla, followed by hints of cinnamon, chocolate, coffee, and

Taste: The front is dominated by the bourbon, and then it slides its way into the vanilla and spices. I’m also getting some dried fruit on the end. Really nice blended flavor profile here.

Feel: Heavy body as expected but this finishes sweet - it almost is like if you sipped bourbon and simultaneously had a dash of sugar tossed in there as you swallowed it. Carbonation is pretty light on mine but it was the 2021 bottle, so has been sitting for three years.

Overall: Superb beer. Splendid blend of flavors and just an all around fun one to enjoy over a cold night.

 

 

 

 

Good head production and retention. Black as night body.

Quite roasty on the nose, leaning toward RIS (but not quite), with a ton of barrel influence. Notes of whiskey (sweeter mash), coffee, oak, chocolate, cream, red grape, toffee. Really lovely. Not at all intimidating despite the massive ABV and barrel influence.

A touch thinner on the palate than expected, but it's still full bodied - just not thick or chewy. Decent amount of alcohol heat, carried both by the naturally high ABV and the effervescence of the barrels.

Remarkable flavor profile. Chocolate, cream, and pecan up front; the middle features the influence of both barrels, just the slightest bit sour, a touch sweet, and a bit spicy (and hot); creamy finish with lingering light char. Tasting notes throughout include red grape, cherry, vanilla, cream, chocolate, espresso, whiskey, rye, oak, neutral grain alcohol, prune. Only moderate bitterness. Despite the complexity and nuance, the flavor profile isn't overwhelming; at its core, quite simply, it tastes like an expertly crafted barrel aged imperial stout.

This is a lovely, wonderful beer. As good as it is, it also highlights the difference between an excellent BA IS and a world-class BA IS. The mouthfeel is a touch thin, the flavor profile delightful but not quite as rich as with the best.

500ml bottle, capped and waxed. Label has this as vintage '2021'.
Black colored body, with this a tiny back lit edge. Creamy tan head. Partial walls of lacing are left behind.
Aroma of dark roasted malts, cacao, cream, whiskey barrel, spicy rye barrel, and dark berry jam.
Taste has a lot of whiskey and rye barrel, which express as oak and dark berry, over dark roasted malts which express sweeter with caramel and molasses. Creamy and sweet in the aftertaste.
Thicker mouth feel. Creamy smooth. Dry in the finish. Very good carbonation.
A version of a fruited chocolate vanilla dark bread.

Solid black motor oil appearance.
Light carbonation with an above average body with a slight slick oily creamy feel.
Aroma is roasted malt, bourbon,, brown sugar, milk chocolate, dark chocolate.
Taste is boozy,bourbon,sweet,espresso, milk chocolate and a mild almost dry dark chocolate.
This was a complex well made beer that was very flavorful and interesting.

2021 Release. Poured from 500 ML bottle into a Stout glass at 61°. It pours a dark mahogany with cola hues at the bottom of the glass and a large, foamy, frothy yellow-khaki head and a thin sheen of creamy lacing. Its nose offers whiskey, char, leather, tobacco, and just a hint of caramel. About the only sweetness in the taste comes from the Tennessee Whiskey. Otherwise, it's nicely dry and bitter. The influence of the Rye barrels is noticeable. As it continues to warm and breathe, I also taste baker's chocolate, tobacco smoke, and oaky, nutty char. It has a nice depth of taste but it remains a very basic (in a good way) Imperial Stout. The mouth feel is not quite as thick and creamy as I'd hoped. The carbonation level is lite-moderate. It appears that Bonesaw has dialed back the ABV; this release is 10.5% and it's not distracting. Overall, Call Me Chris is a well-crafted Imperial Stout. I like it a lot more than Bonesaw's Le Dejeuner, which I thought was overly sweet. It has enough substance to pair with a hearty meal or to sip after it.

 

 

 

This is actually not retired - I reviewed a 2021 bottling, aged in both Tennessee and rye whiskey barrels. This is a nice imperial stout definitely on the barrel and whiskey forward side, leaning towards dry, and medium weight. Pretty well attenuated with subtle savory notes, char, some hoppy bitterness, reminds me of an old school Russian imperial with assertive barrel treatment.

Nice beer, probably wouldn’t buy it again but would definitely drink it again if offered. Making that statement because I absolutely loved the barrel aged old ale and barleywine from Bonesaw and would buy any I find (especially when money is no object). I couldn’t even keep those beers in the cellar because I wanted to drink them. The stout is good but doesn’t rise to that level.

 

Pours black with a nice creamy light brown head. It settles to a really nice layer of that same light brown, a pleasant site that still lingers.

Aromas dark roast malts and all the aromas of bourbon, vanilla, coconut, oak.

Taste is dark chocolate with the richness of fudge and strong presence of bourbon.

Mouthfeel is full bodied, creamy carbonation a touch of bitterness. Little booze in the mouthfeel without the heat.

This is a really good well balanced beer. It’s relatively fresh so the bourbon is prominent at the moment. Great supper for a Sunday night.