Bourbon Chicory Stout
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

Beer Geek Stats
From:
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
 
United States
Style:
Belgian Dark Ale
ABV:
5.8%
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
3.5 | pDev: 1.71%
Reviews:
2
Ratings:
3
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 27, 2014
Added:
Feb 27, 2012
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
A hugely roasty sweet stout with robust bourbon character, spicy belgian yeast, subtle vanilla and coffee-like character from the use of Chicory.

28 IBU
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Recent ratings and reviews.
 
Rated: 3.5 by DrBier from Pennsylvania

Jul 27, 2014
Photo of stakem
Reviewed by stakem from Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
A nitro pour offering at the Lancaster location. The brew appears black in color with a creamy tan cap of froth that retains perfectly from the nitro delivery. Some patches of lace stick to the glass.

The nose is robust and inviting with a depth of aromatics ranging from slight hints of the base beer to almost am intrusive and overpowering amount of barrel presence. The smell is a mixture of coconut, vanilla, raw oak that is almost insence-like, chocolate and a tangy inclusion of alcohol. The backend is quite toasted.

The taste mimics the aroma with coconut and vanilla right upfront. There is a nutty grain flavor of roasted malt that transitions into a tangy inclusion of alcohol that is lightly reminiscent of bourbon and slightly tart. It is a bit raisony mid-palate and into the aftertaste with coconut character from the barrel aging constantly there as a reminder. Some fruited aspect blends with a spice almost like insence.

This is a silky smooth brew that is light in the feel. It Is easy drinking but a bit too light. I feel like all of the base brew character has been lost as watered down instead if intensified and deepened by the barrel aging. Of all the barrel aged offerings I've had from IH, this one was not that impressive and I would most likely not choose it again.
Mar 16, 2012
Photo of akorsak
Reviewed by akorsak from Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A nitro pour at Iron Hill Lancaster. The Belgian Chicory Stout aged in bourbon barrels.

A: Black with a creamy colored head. The stout body is quite deep, an abyss that absorbs all color. The creamy head has a nitro-influenced look, thick and, well, creamy. Lacing follows the head as I sip through the glass.

S: The nose, initially, is bourbon hot. The foamy head, I think, captured more of the aroma that would be good. The result was a very fresh, very sweet aroma. As the head dissapated and the ale warmed, the bourbon settled down and released vanilla, coconut and wood. The chicory and spices of the underlying ale added phenolic sweetness and candi sugar-like fruitiness.

T: The first sip - too bourbony and fresh. Given time, the barrel settles down and claws back some of that newness. Plenty of vanilla and coconut, barrel driven, throughout the body. So much so that it threatens to push the Belgian stout body away. That body gradually comes through with a spicy finish - phenols and fruits fighting against the barrel. The edge goes to the bourbon with its rich booziness.

M: A mouthfeel that improves as the ale warms and the head dissapates. Fresh bourbon, you can practically taste the fifth poured into the glass. The fact that the Chicory Stout doesn't get lost is pretty amazing.
Feb 27, 2012
Bourbon Chicory Stout from Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
Beer rating: 3.5 out of 5 with 3 ratings