Bourbon Barrel Imperial Porter
Great Lakes Brewing Co.

 

16oz can, served in a snifter. Date stamp on bottom of can: 22:9:59 2025 A1 7HH

Appearance: Very dark brown, approaching black - just about stout territory in color. With a strong light you can make out some mahogany brown color to the beer. Thin dark tan head that died back to a ring and tiny islands of lacing that slowly slid back down the glass.

Smell: Roasted malt, bourbon, vanilla.

Taste: Very much like it smells, with the roasted malt providing the bitterness at the finish. Very smooth bourbon and vanilla dispersed throughout, and never overly sweet at any point.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, light (but just right) carbonation, a little sticky on the teeth, dry finish.

Overall / Drinkability: The line between porter and stout can often be blurred, and I feel like this one may be where they took Edmund Fitzgerald porter and amped it up, and then bourbon barrel aged it. It's more roasted malt than this style should have, but it's not quite fully a stout either. Regardless, I'm enjoying it. It's dangerously drinkable with well hidden alcohol.

Canned 2025/A1 whatever that means
Pours a fizzy bubble small brownish head with lower retention, no lacing, dark molasses brown almost black color

Nose brings a fair amount of barrel, juicy bourbon barrel, vanilla, caramel, oak spice, a bit of cocoa and dark chocolate, mild roasted malt, a little nutty and mild candy bar nougat like

Taste brings more rich dark malts and barrel, dark chocolate and cocoa, a bit of roast and smooth coffee, more bourbon barrel juice with mild sweet bourbon, again the vanilla, caramel, and more oak baking spices, fair bitterness some from the roasted malts and some from mild spicy hop, creamy nougat and vanilla milk shake, mild warming alcohol that increases on the slight sweet finish, more bitterness kicking in as well

Mouth is full bod, a bit creamy, lower carb but OK, fair warming tingly alcohol

Overall pretty good, I do like the barrel notes that came through nicely, malts are decent and maybe a bit more carb would have helped, also a bit boozy but def a winter sipper

16 ounce can, 2025A1 stamped on the bottom of the can. Big thanks to Brutaltruth for this! Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with not quite an inch tan head. Head retention and lacing are both good. I like the aroma, the brew smells like figs, raisins, vanilla, bourbon, and some roasted malt. Taste is similar to the aroma, but with the addition of some oak and earthy flavors. Also, the barrel character seems stronger in the taste than I was expecting. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's coating and a bit rich with a moderate amount of carbonation. I thought this was pretty good, definitely worth trying especially if you like barrel aged brews!

 

Aroma is huge raisins/stone fruit, roasty malts and a hint of chocolate. The flavor is dark/roasty malts, a hint of milk chocolate and an acidic/big bourbon alcohol finish.

Pours a very dark brown, opaque even when held up to the light. Khaki foam is moderate at first, but disappears quickly. Smell is bourbon over a backbone of roasted malt. The taste is more complex, starting with bourbon and bit of vanilla. Roast malt with chocolate take over in the middle. Medium body, medium carbonation and moderate hoppy dryness are not quite enough to balance the quite warming alcohol feel, especially in the aftertaste. The balance does get much better as the beer warms to near room temperature. Another reviewer described this beer as raw, and that is a very apt description. Overall, this beer has a very nice flavor and a lot of potential, but the alcohol, especially in the aftertaste, isn't sufficiently balanced.

 

Bourbon Barrel Imperial Porter (2025 Release) from Great Lakes. 16 fl oz can. Reviewed 07/06/25 (Review 3533). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of can stamped “21:35:29 2025A1 7MH.” Didn’t get stored at home – straight from the distributor’s reefer to my glass. $4.75 (including tax)/ $ 0.297 per fl oz. Served at 56.6 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 62.2 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Deep Amber (SRM 15), clear.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. Under direct light, same but with moderate precipitate showing. When rear-lite, amber at the edges, grading into red before becoming opaque.
Head – Large (Maximum 4.5 cm, aggressive center pour). Sandy tan, medium density, short retention, quickly dropping to a 0.3 cm crown and a thin partial cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4 – Not particularly strong but distinctly a mild, sweet bourbon. No yeast, no alcohol, no hops, no malt.
Flavor – 4 – Marginally bitter, little bourbon flavor, weak cocoa. No alcohol (12.5 % ABV, according to the label). No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Mild gastric warming.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium: somewhere between watery and creamy: soft carbonation. (i.e. typical porter)
Style: Follows the loose style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 4 Come on people! Start dating cans in a format that doesn’t require a Little Orphan Annie decoder ring! Uncredited label artist. In general, this is a slightly pumped-up porter with a bit of bourbon flavor – nothing special – even GL agrees – just check the price point! One and done.

 

 

 

 

From the 16 oz can in a snifter. This unique little brew pours a
blackish brown with a moderate head of khaki foam that settles to
a thick ring, thin dusty layer, and shows faint lacing. Nose of bourbon,
vanilla, oak, dark roasted malts, raisin, and dark chocolate. Flavors
follow the nose with dark chocolate, deep roasted malts, young
brash bourbon, raw oak, vanilla, cola, faint char, subtle raisin, and
subtle herbal hops. Mouth feel is medium full, medium carbonation,
warming, and finishing moderately dry and moderately sweet and boozy.

Overall, The bourbon is young and raw. A bit of a hot mess
compared to their other bourbon barrel offerings which I
am a fan of. Will let a can of this rest for a year or two
and try again to see if I like it better.

Cheers

 

Having this beer on-tap at the brewpub. served in a sniffer glass, this beer draws a very dark brown, practically black color with a tan that is about half an inch thick when first drawn and served. The head settles eventually to a thick ring lining inside of the glass with decent lacing. Aroma, lots of roasted malts, chocolate, and coffee, notes, a bit of booze, some bourbon oak, and a bit of an earthy hop presence. A very similar flavor profile with the aforementioned heavily roasted malts, some chocolate and coffee, some boozy bourbon, notes, and woodiness from the Bourbon barrel this beer was aged in, and a slight earthy hop presence. Not overly boozy by any means, although the roasted malts and the accompanying sweetness along with the bourbon barrel notes are certainly the dominating flavor profile here, and that is just fine as far as my taste buds are concerned. Has a somehow somewhat crisp, medium to thick, slightly syrupy, slightly oily, full bodied mouth feel with light to moderate carbonation. All of the flavors linger very nicely on my palate for a long time after each sip. Another very excellent beer from the fine folks at the GLBC!