Bourbon Barrel-Aged Black Mocha Stout
Highland Brewing

11 ounce pour - $8.25 at Taco Mac in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Appearance: Displays a simple black body topped with a thin cap of light beige foam that quickly recedes leaving a splatter lace pattern.

Smell: Roasted malts with faint notes of coffee, chocolate at the distant edges and really not much more than a touch of the barrel showing in the aroma.

Taste: A light, amiable roasty base tone with soft chocolate and a little dark fruitiness. There's some barrel qualities, sure, but it's rather mild. Very minimal hop character, bitterness. A light vague roastiness and a very light vague barrel element on the finish - it's a beer that's gone before the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation.

Overall: It's by no means bad, but this is one of those instances where I'm not entirely sure if the barrel treatment helped, as the base beer seems somewhat deflated.

Bourbon, oak, and chocolate dominate the aroma. Flavor reveals chocolate, caramel, and toasted oak, becoming lightly roasty mid palate, with notes of coffee bitterness and char in the finish. Tar surfaces in both aroma and flavor. Bourbon weaves throughout, with vanilla accenting chocolate nicely. Excellent brew! Very complex, and fairly balanced in extremes. Not overly bitter, as with most stouts. There's a touch of an offputting acrid character that surfaces late.

 

 

 

Growler

Appearance: Pitch black with rich creamy khaki head

Aroma: Delightful vanilla, bourbon, coffee, chocolate

Taste: Irish car bomb... bit of alcohol, nut, chocolate, coffee, cream

Palate: Creamy, starts very sweet, finishes with a hint a bitterness, slightly dry mouthfeel

Overall:

 

 

 

A surprise tap offering at the brewhouse. Enjoyed just prior to our VIP walking tour of the grounds. I think that Raquel, FTB, JBug, ksak and I worked through this one. And another. And another.

A: Dark as night, still with just a bit of head. The stout just sits there, daring you to try it. As I made my way through the glass, some off-white head was generated and clung to the sides of the glass.

S: Rich bourbon is the hallmark of the nose - warming with sweet coconut and vanillla flavors. The stout's mocha base is a well-suited base, a chocolate aroma that does nicely with the vanilla. The barrel really does the ale justice - the boozy aromas are present but not overpowering.

T: The Gaelic was good; this one verges on divine. The bourbon is so nicely blended with the stout, a contrast of darker malts and mocha bitterness and the sweet sting of the bourbon barrel. It's wood imparts a vanilla and booziness on the stout, strengthening it without making it too strong. A lightly roasted finish carries the bourbon away, vanilla still strong after a sip is gone. A very good beer.

M: Drinkable, dangerously so when you realize that it comes in a pint glass. Hope you got in to try it; probably won't last long.

Had during Brewvival 2012! Served from tap into a Brewvival sampler imperial pint. Poured a deep reddish brown with a minimal tan head. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of roasted malt, mocha, wood, and sweet alcohol. The flavor was of roasted malt, sweet malt, mocha, wood, and sweet alcohol. It had a medium feel on the palate with mild carbonation. Overall this was a decent brew. This one was a little bit of a letdown for me as I was expecting so much more from it. Not sure if the barrels just completely overwhelmed this one or what... But a lot of the flavors of the base brew definitely got lost in the barrel flavors that took over. If you are a big fan of -bals in your beer this is one you have to try, if you are not, you might not enjoy it as much as you would want to. Tick.