Imperial Stout Appreciation Thread (2022)

Discussion in 'The Bar' started by Resistance88, May 20, 2022.

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  1. bbtkd

    bbtkd Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,790) Sep 20, 2015 South Dakota
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Goose Island Bourbon County Brand 30th Anniversary Reserve Stout, 14.4% ABV. Pours black with a one-finger light-brown head that left no lacing. Nose is light bourbon and chocolate. Taste follows, plus caramel/toffee, some sweetness, some bitterness, and bourbon burn. Excellent smooth mouthfeel, overall world-class. BTW - the gold label, the barreling tag, and the box really add to the flavor.

    4.65/5 rDev +2.2%
    look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

    Barreling of this batch;
    • 36% Booker's
    • 33% Knob Creek
    • 17% Basil Hayden
    • 14% Baker's

    Glad I bought three, may buy more. Equally as good as coffee. I need to get my hands on a Barleywine next, may have an opportunity soon.

    [​IMG]
     
    #1801 bbtkd, Nov 27, 2022
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  2. DIM

    DIM Grand Pooh-Bah (4,788) Sep 28, 2006 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I can't believe it's been 14 months since my first bottle.

    [​IMG]

    Yeah this is headed in the right direction. I enjoyed the first bottle, but this has improved I think. The sweet booze, dark fruits, and brown sugar are still abundant up front. They linger longer into the finish which isn't as hot or as bitter as I remember. Not sure how long I'll spread out the last 3 I have, this isn't going down hill anytime this decade. At least.
     
    #1802 DIM, Nov 27, 2022
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  3. VodkaPong87

    VodkaPong87 Pooh-Bah (2,060) Oct 9, 2020 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Are there different blends? Mine is the same
     
    #1803 VodkaPong87, Nov 27, 2022
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  4. bbtkd

    bbtkd Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,790) Sep 20, 2015 South Dakota
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Reportedly, yes. Though I haven't seen anyone posting them.
     
    #1804 bbtkd, Nov 27, 2022
    CarolinaCardinals, BigIronH, Luscious_Malfoy and 2 others like this.
  5. VodkaPong87

    VodkaPong87 Pooh-Bah (2,060) Oct 9, 2020 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Drinking the base first is definitely the right move. You can instantly tell that this has a nice amount of coffee. Really good, but it makes sense why people are saying it’s thin. The base is thin this year, as stated in my post from last night

    [​IMG]
     
    #1805 VodkaPong87, Nov 27, 2022
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  6. MadMadMike

    MadMadMike Grand Pooh-Bah (3,555) Dec 11, 2020 France
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    [​IMG]

    2017 Firestone Walker Parabola!
    Big Beautiful Stout! So smooth yet intense and brutal. It’s a nipple pinch.
    What a treat.,.
     
    #1806 MadMadMike, Nov 27, 2022
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  7. Beersnake

    Beersnake Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,884) Aug 17, 2013 California
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Plato's Shadow from Private Press. Double barrel-aged stout. Excellent. Cheers!

    [​IMG]
     
    #1807 Beersnake, Nov 27, 2022
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  8. jmdrpi

    jmdrpi Grand High Pooh-Bah (8,989) Dec 11, 2008 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Deschutes Black Butte XXXIV
    [​IMG]
     
    #1808 jmdrpi, Nov 27, 2022
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  9. StoutSnob40

    StoutSnob40 Grand Pooh-Bah (4,611) Jan 4, 2013 California
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Little Cottage in the Atlanta area is absolutely crushing the barrel-aging game right now. They are all 12 oz format, 1 pp and allow proxies.. their stuff has been absolutely stellar for the last year or so. This is no exception.
    [​IMG]
     
    #1809 StoutSnob40, Nov 27, 2022
    jmdrpi, BMBCLT, CarolinaCardinals and 18 others like this.
  10. sulldaddy

    sulldaddy Grand Pooh-Bah (5,716) Apr 6, 2003 Connecticut
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    This brew has been in my cellar for a bit. Problem with loving imperial stouts and barleywines, they stack up on you as its tough to drink more than 1 or 2 in an evening! This one came to me via @FBarber Thank you! This is mikerphone Brewing Lost in the Shadows Vol 1. a 13.62% ABV imperial stout aged in four roses bourbon barrels. After drinking this one, I gotta wonder when does vol 2 come out! :thinking_face:

    onto my review:
    [​IMG]

    Sampling a cellar temp 500 ml bottle. Im pouring into my trusty snifter. The beer pours a jet black color with minimal dense tan head of 1cm foaming up. This foam does stick around but only as a thin edge layer on the glass.
    The aroma on the beer is dark chocolate, roasted notes, some light vanilla and a good bit of bourbon. No hint of hop character at this point.
    The first sip of this brew reveals a medium to thicker body with syrupy texture and fine tingly carbonation. Feels like a pretty hefty beer on my palate.
    Flavor on this beer is robust with dark chocolate and brown sugar mixing with a heavy dose of bourbon that lingers after each swallow. It isnt boozy, more the flavor of bourbon. In fact the beer doesnt have much of a warming factor at all. There is a bit of a roasted malts note too, but the bourbon carries the day. As expected, the hops dont show up at all.
    I enjoy this brew and am very glad to have tried it. Definitely feel the 13.62 % before the bottle is empty! Nice brew!
    4.51 in the BA DB
     
    #1810 sulldaddy, Nov 27, 2022
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  11. mschrei

    mschrei Grand Pooh-Bah (5,137) Jul 4, 2014 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Something tells me this style is only surpassed in popularity by Imperial IPA, so I get this having almost 50 pages at this point. It almost seems unnecessary to have a forum dedicated to it, but why not?

    This one is a coffee forward, roasty stout that loves up to the name.
    [​IMG]
     
    #1811 mschrei, Nov 27, 2022
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  12. Luscious_Malfoy

    Luscious_Malfoy Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,068) Oct 5, 2016 Illinois
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    isn’t that a perfect reason to have a thread dedicated to this wonderful style?!?
     
    #1812 Luscious_Malfoy, Nov 27, 2022
    CarolinaCardinals, MadMadMike, SLeffler27 and 3 others like this.
  13. mschrei

    mschrei Grand Pooh-Bah (5,137) Jul 4, 2014 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Unnecessary = perfect reason?
    Makes perfect sense to me.
     
    #1813 mschrei, Nov 27, 2022
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  14. Luscious_Malfoy

    Luscious_Malfoy Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,068) Oct 5, 2016 Illinois
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    i suppose that’s one way to look at it. we haven’t been shut down yet so must be acceptable. we’ve been censored but not shut down!
     
    #1814 Luscious_Malfoy, Nov 27, 2022
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  15. VodkaPong87

    VodkaPong87 Pooh-Bah (2,060) Oct 9, 2020 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    [​IMG]
     
    #1815 VodkaPong87, Nov 27, 2022
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  16. Luscious_Malfoy

    Luscious_Malfoy Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,068) Oct 5, 2016 Illinois
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    [​IMG]

    can’t get enough of this stuff lately.
     
    #1816 Luscious_Malfoy, Nov 27, 2022
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  17. Resistance88

    Resistance88 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,462) Apr 9, 2015 California
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    How dare you.

    The door is that way >>>>>>>>>>>


    :stuck_out_tongue:
     
    #1817 Resistance88, Nov 27, 2022
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  18. LampertLand

    LampertLand Grand Pooh-Bah (3,163) Nov 2, 2011 Canada (BC)
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    #1818 LampertLand, Nov 27, 2022
    Nugganooch, BigIronH, sulldaddy and 5 others like this.
  19. DIM

    DIM Grand Pooh-Bah (4,788) Sep 28, 2006 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Doing a blind side by side of the 2022 regular Bourbon County Stout versus the 30th anniversary. The latter is pretty clearly an egregious money grab, picking out special barrels just can't justify a 3x markup. I am curious to see how different they are though.

    [​IMG]

    If nothing else, they are definitely distinct from one another. #1 is very dark chocolate forward, it's deeply rich and has some subtle fig and toffee. Booze is strong but not hot, with light oak and vanilla. #2 is a little drier with less of the decadent chocolate, less layers, and more naked heat. The mouthfeel on #1 is a little more full, but both are above average for a BA stout. I prefer #1, and by a decent margin. But I'd be happy to have either one in my glass.

    The reveal

    [​IMG]


    Ok, I preferred the special anniversary edition. This year was my first since 2013 going Bourbon County hunting. I'd forgotten how good they are. They do have plenty of stiff competition these days, I doubt I'll be back out again next year. Going to enjoy the hell out of all I got this year though! Keeping a world-class Barrel program going for 3 decades is quite an accomplishment.
     
    #1819 DIM, Nov 27, 2022
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2022
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  20. BMBCLT

    BMBCLT Grand Pooh-Bah (3,427) May 9, 2014 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    My gums are slightly numb and tingly from the 15% ABV, but this is about as good as it gets, when it comes to non-barrel aged Pastry Stouts...

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Cheers!
     
    #1820 BMBCLT, Nov 27, 2022
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