Bo & Luke - Chocolate Pecan Pie
Against The Grain Brewery

 

16oz can poured into a snifter

A- pours jet black in color with a one finger khaki head that reduces to a ring

S- initial aroma is roast and chocolate. The smoke is there but it’s more subtle than past variants that I’ve had. It does provide I light smoked pork nite in the background. The barrel emerges at it warms, adding oak and peppery bourbon. Not really picking up anything resembling pecan pie

T- chocolatey malt up front with a hint of caramel. Mid-palate is about the same with a hint of bourbon popping up as it nears the finish. The linger almost tastes burnt, not that signature smoke that I’ve come to love from this beer. The linger is actually quite off-putting. No pecan or pie to be found

M- medium body with medium carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that turns slightly creamy into the finish

O- I’ve had about 10 B&L variants and this one tasted nothing like them. Rather than the smoke coming across and meaty and peaty, it just tastes burnt. Pretty disappointing

16 ounce can, looks like the canning date is 11/23/23. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch and a half tan head that stayed around for a while. There's also a good amount of lacing. The brew smells like chocolate, smoked malt, vanilla, burnt/charred malt, pecans and some bourbon. Taste is somewhat similar to the aroma, but the burnt/charred malt really stands out to me along with some earthy, coffee and smoky flavors. Not much chocolate, pecan or bourbon noticeable to me. Same issue as with the Coconut Cream Pie variant I tried recently, really don't get much of the variant flavors and just more of the roasty ones. Mouthfeel/body is full, it's a bit creamy and coating with a decent amount of carbonation. Not a bad beer by any means, but it doesn't quite stack up to past year's versions. Worth a try though if you get a single can like I did.

Aggressive pour yielded extremely aggressive head. Nice and dense and foamy though.

Smells mute. I'm literally getting nothing

Taste is very sweet and artificial. Aspartame and saccharin all day with little else here. This IS NOT hitting the mark of tasting like chocolate, pecan pie, or normal bo and luke. Its pretty fucking gross to be honest just like the last candy bar variants were.

Bo and luke used to be one of my favorite beers. Since they've gone to cans every one has been drain pours.

You fucked up at.

Smoky, chocolaty and roasty, the boys that are up to no good now set their sights on the fall flavors of pecan pie to fuel their annual release of their barrel-aged smoked imperial stout.

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bo & Luke revs up with a luscious and creamy pour of very dark brown, easily mistaken for black. As its frothy crown rises so do a cornucopia of dark sugars, chocolate, coffee, wildfire and peppery whisky. With its sweetness greeting the tongue, the sweetness of molasses and sorgum is met with chocolate and caramel to frame a malty praline early palate.

As the sweetness rolls along the middle palate, the coffee flavors tighten int full-blown espresso with a wrap of smoldering ember, bunt pecan, scorched sod and peppery oak for an earthen, rye-like taste. Caramel and chocolate weave in and out of bourbon nuances of caramel, vanilla and coconut with a spicy and coffee-like finish with a soilish Turkish coffee character.

Full bodied, richly textured yet balanced, the stout steers away from pastry-like tendencies and favors the woodsy hops, peppery smoke and bourbon barrel influence as the chocolate and praline dissipate.