I traded a CBS for a Rum Oil of Aphrodite. The OoA was terrible and I drainpoured half of it. Seems like my experience was in line with some of the recent reviews. Such is life.
This. I think people go into them expecting life-changing experiences or something. The last Rum Oil that I had (about a month ago) was phenomenal. Fresh, there was a little too much rum burn for my tastes, but it really mellowed out nicely. The only one I haven't been crazy about was the Rum Dark App, though Vanilla Rum was pretty excellent.
I've only had the Oil of Aprodite, and I will say that it is worth trading for. It's not as thick and complex as other stouts, which can be a little disappointing if you are expecting a mind-blowingly complex beer, but the hazelnut flavor is definitely unique. Expect an awesome stout, not the stout to end all stouts.
In bottles I've liked them all, the only exception being Brandy Dark App. On tap there are too many variations to consider. Lots of experimentation, with mixed but interesting results. Most of the Nano Dark Apps I've had we're impressive too, notably Nano Beans and Nano Ice. Answering the OPs question, the Nanos are the hardest to trade for, there are so few out there. The bourbon, brandy, and Rum barrel aged DA and OoA are the next hardest. Easiest are straight DA and OoA, but even then the bottle counts are 300 or less.
BA Middle of Nowhere is awesome. With that said, it doesn't take too much to get them.... a real "Value Deal" if you decide to trade for it.
BA Middle of Nowhere was probably my favorite of all their stouts. Wonderful beer, and awesome label as well!
I'm sorry that you got a bad bottle. For what it's worth I've tried CBS a handful of times and had large amounts of bottle variation. One bottle lacked all of the bourbon and tasted like pure syrup. With that being said I've also had some bottles that were amazing! ANY bottle of ANY beer can be off. What I guess I'm really trying to say is you should go to Athens in 2 weeks for the release and give Jackie O's a second chance. I can GUARANTEE you wont be disappointed.
Same.....I was stoked to try OoA and it was almost sour and completely off-putting. Bourbon Barrel Middle of Nowhere was good but nothing I need to have again. I will say that the Cherry Wood Ya Honey is quite a memorable beer though - simply delicious and I would love to have it again!
Regular Oil of Aphrodite is one of the best stouts out there, I like it more than CBS that's for sure. I know Jackie O's, and many brewers, have had infection issues with some of the barrel aged beers... this is common. For me it's always better to drink a fresh beer and wouldn't risk an old stout from any brewery.
To the OP - $4$ - simple. Ohio BAs aren't too greedy, generally speaking. Batch you receive matters, though. Speaking as a Jackie O's homer and hopefully honest BA there are two valid ways to try a Jackie O's stout: fresh, or at Jackie O's. Half the joy of Jackie O's is the experience. And there has been some inconsistency in the bottles. When all is right you're talking top shelf and sometimes over the top original. And there are only two ways to guarantee such an experience, and those have been previously stated. I recommend that if you can't be there you should try them FRESH off release - that way you get a proper taste. Given time the wrinkles will hopefully work themselves out, but in the meantime I recommend trying them fresh. I really want everyone to experience the Jackie O's I know and love.
So far I've had the following in bottles: Dark App - Vanilla Bean Bourbon Barrel Imperial Razz Barreled and Portered Rum Oil The Dark App and Impy Razz were both very tasty. The Barreled and Portered and Rum Oil were both bad and drainpoured. Based on the reviews of the last 2, I'm not alone in getting bad bottles. I've still got the following bottles lying around and should probably get around to opening them: Captain Barley Heart Joe the Plum Bourbon Barrel Matriarch Kopi Lowak Dark App Quincedence To be honest, I'm really only looking forward to the Kopi Lowak Dark App. If anyone in Columbus wants to trade for any of the others, let me know. Hopefully I'll make this or the next release, so I can try the beers as they were meant to be tried.
