Blackout Stout - Barrel-Aged
Great Lakes Brewing Co.

4.33/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

From the growler via Jungle Jim's Eastgate in a snifter. This solid
warming brew pours a blackish brown with cola highlights and a
very nice head of tan khaki foam that subsides to a thick ring, thin
wafting pool, and displays some nice lacing. Nose of heavy boozy
bourbon, dark cocoa, dark coffee, vanilla, and oak. Flavors flow
in line with the nose with bourbon and vanilla that are rounded
out by oak and moderate coffee and touches of cocoa with
faint char and warming astringent booze. Mouth feel is
medium, warming, moderately rich, light carbonation,
and a warming malt forward finish that is subtly
dry.

Overall, this is solid but improves VASTLY with warmth
giving it more of an appropriate RIS mouth feel.
That said, when it is cold it is a bit thin. Even
with warmth I have had BBA Dubbels that
compare in profile almost to a T. Still
it is a solid offering from a GREAT
brewery up by the LAKES.

About 5 years ago this brew changed
with more hops, then it got thinner...it needs
to be more "chewy" to reach that prized RIS label
like it once did. I know everything changes,
but PLEASE make this more beefy like it
USED to be...like 10 years ago beefy!


Cheers

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4.44/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours dark black. Aroma is mostly bourbon with hints of roasted malts. The taste is fuller and more complex than aroma. Amazing taste combining bourbon and chocolate sweetness with roasted malts and a hint of vanilla. Solid medium/fuller feel though as is my personal taste, I would like a fuller feel. Incredible stout.

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4.5/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2012 version sampled from 12oz. bottle at home. I very much like the low carbonation and the barrel presence is present but mild. Nice vanilla in the aroma. This has aged well.

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4.62/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I tried this at the Daily Growler in Powell, Ohio. It poured an opaque dark with thin tan ring head that did not leave much lace. The scent had waifs of bourbon goodness. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with bourbon and dark chocolate presence. The mouthfeel was fuller in body with smooth carbonation. Overall it was an excellent beer.

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4.37/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A-Pours a very dark color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has Bourbon, chocolate and roasted malts hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a Bourbon, chocolate and roasted malt flavor
M-A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A well balanced Stout

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4.34/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Tasted in a snifter from draft at The Vine on April 28, 2018. Next time the power goes out, light a candle and pull this bottle from your cellar. Aged in bourbon barrels, our bold, roasty Blackout Stout imparts flickers of vanilla and cocoa with every illuminating sip.

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4.75/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75

Look: Opaque cola black with brown highlights. The head is thick for a barrel aged beer and is cream colored.

Smell: Smooth and spicy bourbon notes. Vanilla, baking spices, leather, dark chocolate fudge, oak, and, some dark pitted fruits.

Taste: Bourbon soaked date cake with drizzled chocolate syrup. Sweet but just shy of being too decadent. The bourbon is rich and complex. Much like the nose.

Feel: Prickly carbonation. Full bodied but smooth. Just a bit of alcohol. Thinner then most big stouts like this.

Overall: Excellent. The flavor is absolutely spot on. I wish it had just a hair more body because it can seem a bit cola like with some sips. A spectacular treat.

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4.09/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz Bottle at 2017 RIS tasting. Inky black pour small tight tan head. Nice smooth aroma, wood, vanilla,. Taste picks up with some gentle sweetness, slick and slippery. Not too strong, but bursting with complex flavors, delicious through and through.

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4.4/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to JLindros for sharing this bottle. 2014 vintage.

A - Poured into a Kate the Great a nice almost black hue with a thin mocha head that fades to leave thin wisps.

S - Aromas of dark fruits, caramel, nougat, molasses, little bit of faint roasted black malts, good chocolates, the bourbon is super super faint.

T - Taste is similar to the nose with real good chocolate and roasted malts, nice vanilla, really good dark fruits. Excellent base beer here with really solid barrel notes.

M - Mouthfeel is nicely carbonated, good body, alcohol hidden nicely.

O - Overall this was a very good Russian imperial stout, aged very nicely.

Serving Type: bottle

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4.41/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

2014 vintage
Light fizzy head, no lacing, very black beer, decent legs

Nose big dark malts, little roasty, tons of cocoa dark chocolate, little vanilla barrel and faint oak, nougat marshmallow like, very light sweet whiskey like, big fudge and expensive chocolate, caramel

Taste again big chocolate, expensive cocoa, little roasty and loads of caramel, fluffy nougat and marshmallow, touch nutty, little bitterness, mild vanilla barrel faint bourbon, dark chocolate late, drier finish no booze, powdered cocoa, fudge, little roast

Mouth is thicker little creamy, no booze, lighter carb

Overall base beer aged incredibly, wish the barrel was more.

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3.68/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

The appearance was a decent jet black color with a quickly dissipating less than a finger’s worth of white head into the body. There was barely any lacing. The smell was a super strong alcohol. It was so strong that I had to let it warm up a good half hour just to let it warm up to my senses. Once that happened there were some light vanilla and chocolate characteristics. The taste was mainly sweet and alcoholic hot. The aftertaste was hot, sweet and sticky leading into the same sort of finish. On the palate, this one was a sipper, there’s no if’s, and’s or but’s about it. This was meant to be sipped. The carbonation was pretty smooth as well. Overall, I say this was a pretty good Imperial Stout well worthy of having again. Age this beer, don't drink this fresh, trust me.

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4.1/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

2016 snifter pour

L - pretty lackluster. Very light for a stout. Medium brown with medium frothed khaki head.

S - faint everything. Faint bourbon, faint lactose, sour dark fruit. Base beer smells better.

T - sweet roast. Sweet char. Vanilla, lactose, cream. Mild bourbon and vanilla.

F - creamy, spicy, absurd alcohol for 9.5%. It's not hot, but I've had 15% stouts that had less detectable alcohol. This is okay that because I like alcohol to be present in a big beer.

Overall. Far from a world class ba beer. It's maybe not even as impressive as blackout stout. It's not bad, it's just not above status quo. The biggest selling point it has I'd being a solid sub double digit ba stout. If this were in a 12oz bottle and not brewery only release it'd have much merit. But as a limited bomber - it's one and done.

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3.04/5  rDev -30.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

Black with a minimal tan head dying to a thin ring.

Lots of woody, dry oak on the nose, almost a smoked applewood, like bacon, with soy sauce, and roasted almond.

Very heavily roasted, tangy malt flavor, with roasted almond, soy sauce, and a smoked hammy-ness.

Thin, fizzy and a little hot.

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4.5/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Vintage 2015 - So enjoyed fresh! Loved this one! Lots of chocolate and some solid barrel notes. I have one with a few years on it in my cellar so I am looking forward to that!

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4.58/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Even better than regular Blackout - the look and pour are similar, but the aroma is more intense. The bourbon tones add to the chocolate making this a great scent. The taste is fuller than regular Blackout, and the bourbon flavor follows through to the after-taste. An excellent beer.

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4.15/5  rDev -5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

This was a really great beer, but I was not blown away by any stretch. I expected a lot and sadly this one just seemed like a really solid BA stout. I didn't pick up any adjunct flavors and got mainly barrel character. It was good, but not great.

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4.49/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

On tap in a 12oz snifter. Opaque black with a half-to-one finger mocha head. Nose is sweet bourbon. Palate is bourbon and chocolate (little cocoa though - very little bittersweet). Mouthfeel is thick and chewy, solidly done. Overall, this is a great beer, but it's hard to shake the feeling that this beer owes that fact more to the style in which it resides than the brewery itself. The palate is somewhat monotonous, but the notes it relies upon are deep and very rich (reminiscent almost of KBS, though not as well executed). The profile intrinsic to the style's palate is hard to argue with. Great Lakes didn't make anything overwhelmingly groundbreaking here, but it is a respectable brew that fits well in an intrinsically outstanding style of beer.

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5/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Big, boozy and badass.... Amazing beer... Blackout on steroids for sure.. Base beer is terrific but this is.... Badass..... The aromas, the flavors, the booze... Absolutely amazing.... Desert island beer right here.., descriptions are pointless... This beer is incredible

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4.31/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Blackout stout looks like a blackout alright. Damn sturdy 1" brown head on it.

Aroma was roast, soft bourbon and wood touches, a little bit of caramel and vanilla.

Taste was pretty diverse given the monolithic black appearance. Not a huge as beer, its big, but manageable without effort, you can really drink this easily for what it is. Chewy viscosity is very nice. Sugars aren't overdone. Creamy smooth at times when you hit that sweet spot temperature wise. Chocolate is dark and slightly bitter.

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4.53/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap into a snifter. I'm not a fan of most of the Great Lakes offerings I've tried, but I'm a sucker for BBA stouts. Look is deep black, no head. Smell is all whiskey barrel and dark fruit. Taste is more of the same. Lots of dark fruit again, more whiskey. This one actually reminds me more of a quad than a big stout. Perhaps more like a muted version of Stone w00t. Feel gives more of that slick sweetness and a nice boozy burn. I enjoyed this one.

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4.51/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Medium thickness mouthfeel. Dark black body with a lighter brown thin head. Aroma is a dull cocoa smell. Good chocolate taste with hints of sweet caramel.

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4.06/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hmm . . . This one is a strange ba stout in my opinion. Nothing is necessarily out of place and it doesn't even come across as disjointed per se. However, as a whole nothing stands out as world class or even above average for me. I suspect that this beer has been better in seasons past and may be better in seasons future. Meaning that this years version of ba Blackout is possibly a product of quality issues I believe has plagued many of GLBC brews this year. Then again as an after thought, this was probably brewed and barreled in 2014 and coincidently bottled in 2015. Anywho . . . even from the pour it almost doesn't resemble a deep and richly black imperial stout. This appears to be more of a very dark brown. Very little head and some lacing lingers as I search for words to overly describe this beer. Aroma is overall good with plenty of roastiness and some bourbon. Taste is fine overall but the flavors come off as rather mute and watered down in a sense. Even the bourbon is pretty subtle. Which I can usually appreciate world class subtleties in world class beers but like I mentioned above . . . Nothing is coming off as above average. The number one thing that makes or breaks a beer for me other than taste is mouthfeel. This beer has an average feel in my book. Just too thin with no substance. So, in closing I will seek this out again. Maybe next year or Lord willing the year after that as I believe GLBC has had some quality issues in 2015 for whatever reason . . . Nosferatu, Dortmunder, Oktoberfest, etc. Until then some think this is tje best. Some will argue that Jackie O's has a better ba stout. But in my book, Thirsty Dogs ba Siberian Night still sits atop the throne as Ohio's best ba stout.

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4.54/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Not sure if this was ba or not. Was on tap and advertised as "aged" but had little if any barrel character.

But an awesome beer drank like what I would imagine a triple oatmeal stout would.. very roasts and some other all the overwhelming sweetness that I remember from regular was gone.. awesome!

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4.17/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

On tap at GLBC event at City Taphouse in Philly. I had just downed a SN Narwhal, so this IRS was next up. Served in a short snifter for some reason. Nice, but I was not taken by the bourbon barrel overtones. Great bbl aged stout that I'll go back to again when I find it. So glad you guys were at the City Taphouse.

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4.65/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

2015 vintage served in a Teku.

Pours a very dark brown with minimal head. Chocolate, oak, sweet dark fruit, and bourbon on the nose. Taste is similar to the aroma and it's a bit sweet. In addition to flavors in the aroma I'm getting a little roasted coffee and nice charred flavor that I absolutely love. Mouthfeel is thick, but not syrupy like BCBS. Overall, this is a fantastic BA stout that stands out to me with the charred finish that it has. I really like the base beer as well, and the added barrel aging makes it even better!

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