Bourbon Barrel Aged Big Black Pumpkin Porter
Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery

 

 

Served in a snifter at Flossmoor Station. Thanks to HeatherAnn for remembering how awesome the original BBP was last year and going down to Flossy to get some of this with me.

A: Served pitch black with a dark espresso crema colored head that lingered shortly and left a little lace.

S: Delicious nose of vanilla, caramel, and bourbon. Toasted coconut, heavily roasted malt, but not too much pumpkin.

T: Bourbon and cherry with dark chocolate very light allspice. Sadly, not much pumpkin for most of the glass. Savory pumpkin flavors came out around the last sips.

M: Thinnish when cold, but thickens considerably as it warms.

D: Very good but doesn't improve on the original Big Black Pumpkin. The serving temp for this at Flossmoor was waaaay too cold. I should've ordered this and another beer at the same time and let this one warm up for 20-25 minutes.

Tried this at FoBAB - served in the accompanying mini-pint taster glass.

A - A finger of tan foam that dissipates quickly to a thin ring and some haze. Not much in the way of lacing. Pitch black with the faintest hint of brown at the edge. Pretty good considering the small serving size and high ABV.

S - Lots of spices - nutmeg, cinnamon, a touch of wood and vanilla, light pumpkin, roasted chocolate malts. This one takes a while to come alive, but when it warms up it's very potent. I initially couldn't detect much of the barrel-aged influence, but by the end it was right up in my face. A little too much spice, even for the style.

T - Taste is pretty similar - lots of the spice and pumpkin pie flavors up front, and then a sweet cracker, chocolate, and black malt melange mid-palate. Finishes with lots of tannic barrel-qualities.

M - Medium-thick creamy body, mild carbonation, big sticky finish. No complaints here.

D - This one is just too spicy for me to want more than 6-8oz. I generally do enjoy pumpkin beers, but this would be a once a year treat instead of a regular session option.

Pours black with one finger of creamy tan head.

Scent of oak, vanilla, molasses, chocolate, pumpkin and a hint of spice. The oak characters and spices blend very nicely with some subtle pumpkin notes keeping it interesting.

Taste of chocolate, oak, sugars, vanilla, pumpkin, spice and anise. Finishes with dry oak and vanilla flavors, excellent. A really impressive pumpkin beer, complex with a wonderful balance, all around a great beer for the season.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and slick, but a little thin with good carbonation.

On tap at the brewpub served in a snifter.

A very pitch brown and black liquid with a finger of light mocha head that fades to a thin collar.

The nose is amazing. TONS of chocolate, some coffee, vanilla, oats, real pumpkin pie, cinnamon, dried candied fruits. Banana bread, bourbon. Maybe some overly ripe chocolate covered banana and fruit cake. Very impressive.

The first sip is bourbon filled chocolates and pumpkin. Lot's of festive spices that carry well without being overly present. I'm picking up on a lot of fruit cake and more candied dark fruits as well. The bourbon sort of fades as the beer warms. More fruity esters and green banana are showing up as it warms as well. I can't taste the alcohol at all. It's a crazy combo of flavors and it's working really well. There's a bit of a twangy coffee like bitterness in the finish. It's quite warming too!

Mouthfeel is creamy, full and somewhat light with a medium to low amount of carbonation.

This beer is something special. It's far more complex than the original beer, but BBP is still in there. It's a shame there isn't much of this because I'm going to finish this keg tonight, sorry jerks!