KBS '10-'12 Mini Vertical - Notes

Hey guys! I drank a 2012 KBS on Wednesday and I'm sipping on a 2010 and a 2011 vintage right now. I figured I'd post my reviews in case anyone is interested in seeing how these age. Also a big thanks to GRDave for sending me the '10 and '11!

2/17/2012 vintage into a brandy snifter. Reviewed on: 03-21-2012

A - Pitch black with some very light mocha edging which eventually disappears completely. A vigorous swirl simply produces more edging with tiny amounts of lacing. Has some sticky alcohol legs though. 3.5/5

S - Strong fresh coffee notes followed by some milk chocolate, oak, faint vanilla and a touch of alcohol. As it warms up the bourbon becomes more pronounced. The coffee is just so prominent and dominant here, and this is some damn good coffee beans were talking about here. 4.5/5

T - Bitter coffee followed by some bittersweet chocolate and bourbon notes. Oak, vanilla and butterscotch. This is a beer for bourbon lovers. Its amazing how it starts off with dominant coffee and leads right into a fine bourbon. The finish is boozy and bittersweet. 70 IBU's? Holy hell! 4.0/5

M - I don't know how I feel about the mouth feel. It's medium with an average level of carbonation. As a stout lover I feel like it could be thicker and chewier. As a bourbon lover I think it works really well. The finish is warm yet pleasant. 3.5/5

O - I adore BCBCS because its blends the fresh and intense notes of coffee, the roasty and sweet chocolatey notes of a stout, and the rich and buttery notes of a good bourbon to a near perfection. KBS doesn't blend all of these elements together very well. In the end its a bourbon strong coffee beer with a light body. Delicious in its own right, but I wasn't completely blown away by this beer. 4.0/5

02/25/2011 vintage into a brandy snifter. Reviewed on: 03-23-2012

A - Pitch black body with a one finger mocha head. 4.0/5
S - Fresh coffee is still present, but slightly muted over the '12. Leads into some bourbon and oak on the finish. 3.5/5
T - Bitter notes of the coffee minus a lot of the coffee flavor. Bittersweet chocolate, oak, and vanilla. 3.0/5
O - This is at an awkward phase right now. Majority of the coffee has faded but it hasn't yet melded into the sweet chocolate beer that the '10 is. 3.5/5

02/08/2010 vintage into a brandy snifter. Reviewed on: 03-23-2012

A - Pitch black body with a one finger mocha head. 4.0/5
S - Coffee is faded a bit more than the '10 but still pretty lively. Oak and bourbon finishes the aroma. 4.0/5
T - Milk chocolate is the dominant flavor here. A slight hint of coffee and vanilla, but this is all chocolate now. Very sweet and tasty. Oak on the finish with no alcohol present. Body seems a bit thicker here. 4.5/5
O - This is unbelievably delicious. Amazingly sweet chocolate flavor with a nice bourbon finish. However, the coffee flavor is all gone which makes this beer so unique. 4.0/5

In conclusion I found the beer to have an amazing aroma and a damn good taste when fresh. Just great coffee and bourbon notes. The mouth feel was a bit too thin for me though. At a year old its lost most of the coffee flavor but has retained that coffee bean bitterness. Seems like its at an awkward phase in its life. At two years old all the coffee has left the building as well as that awkward bean bitterness. Its become a delicious sweet chocolate stout with bourbon notes. Similar to BCBS but with a lighter body. Two years seems to be the sweet spot for this beer aged. I don't think I would go through the trouble of aging it though as it seems to defeat the purpose of a Kentucky breakfast stout.