Poured from the white waxed 22 ounce bottle, it actually seems a bit darker than the Four Roses but maybe not. Dark brown color on the pour while it looks completely black in the glass. There’s a nice amount of tan head that faded away into some thick bubbles along the edges, with surprisingly good lacing, too.

On the nose, dark fruits and dark chocolate are evident up-front, followed by a rich and sweet bourbon element. It’s certainly more present on this one than the Four Roses, but it still has that sweet nature to it. The taste follows structure – bourbon is immediate here, semi-sweet and boozy but not hot really at all. Lots of bitter dark chocolate notes, caramel and raisin come through towards the middle. The finish brings another wash of bourbon and roasted malts. It’s really complex, flavorful and delicious – very nice.

Couple those incredible flavors with a creamy, mildly carbonated body, this beer is dangerously easy to drink. Only my second ever Eclipse and this one certainly has many of the characteristics the Four Roses did, but I found myself enjoying this one more. The Elijah Craig 18 Year had more of a bourbon element to the beer which I really like, while still remaining balanced. Seek out immediately.

Rating

95
out of 100

From its glamorous box and packaging, we opened the 22 ounce bottle and poured it into two snifters. Motor oil as a descriptor does this no justice; this is thick, sludgy and oily coming out. In the glass, it sits completely still save for the thin bubbles trying to form a brown/beige head. After some very rapid dissipation, nothing but the deep dark abyss is staring back at you. It’s certainly not the most attractive beer in the world, but for being such high ABV I suppose the lack of retention and lacing is somewhat forgivable.

The aromas up front are complex and decadent, full of bourbon, dark chocolate, toffee, raisins, dark fruits and fusel alcohol notes. For being in the bottle a little over a year, you can tell the flavors are blending really nicely now. The bourbon, which I thought was going to overpower, seems to be well integrated with the rest of the aromas. A very, very nice smelling beer.

On the taste, bitter dark chocolate, bourbon and sweet caramel notes are first. Plenty of dark fruits, figs and dates, come through mid-palate. The back end finishes with more of a rich, matured bourbon and wood flavor than the beer started off with. Again, everything seems wonderfully balanced and blended at this point. To me, nothing is dominating or overpowering, and each flavor is able to be showcased quite well. The feel is incredible – creamy, full-bodied with nice carbonation to smooth everything out. This is insane how great this feels, especially for the high alcohol content. Perhaps one of the best parts of the beer.

Rare Bourbon County Stout was a serious treat to have. While I did really enjoy everything about the taste, it didn’t seem to have that same effect other “world class” beers had where I wanted to keep going back for more, and more. Though trust me, I was upset when the bottle was gone nonetheless. Absolutely a beer to try if you can get your hands on one, and let me say at the one-year mark this is drinking mighty fine.

Rating

97
out of 100

From the 22 ounce bottle, the Big Bad Baptist is extremely dark almost pitch black with some minor brownish-red highlights around the edges. There is a creamy light brown colored head of about one finger that leaves some spotted lacing on the glass. As I was pouring the BBB I was hit with aromas of chocolate and coffee. Upon closer inspection and in addition to the coffee and dark chocolate, there is a hint of bourbon and some dark fruits. The coffee and chocolate, mostly the coffee, certainly dominate.

The coffee and chocolate elements are more balanced on the palate. The smooth unsweetened chocolate flavors mend nicely with the coffee flavors on the front palate. Being aged in whiskey barrels and coming in at 11.7% ABV, you would expect some booziness but there isn’t any – just good whiskey flavors. Some vanilla and oak round things out followed by a warming (probably due to the ABV) finish. BBB has a medium mouth feel that is very nice, creamy and smooth.

I thoroughly enjoyed this beer as it had everything I wanted in an Imperial Stout. If I have one complaint, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, I wish the coffee and chocolate were toned down a little. This would allow some of the other flavors to come though. If you are seeking a stout with a good amount of coffee and chocolate with a whiskey undertone, this is certainly the one for you.

Rating

92
out of 100

My girlfriend and I decided to open this to toast and celebrate a new addition to the world (her sisters, not ours). Poured from the 12 ounce bottle into two tulip glasses, Black Magick embodies the name – it’s black. Deep black body with some dark brown and maroon hues around the top edge. This is all topped with a bubbly and creamy tan head that eventually rested as a patchy retention cap with some minor lacing.

The nose starts off with boozy bourbon notes followed by some dark fruits, sweet milk and dark chocolate, vanilla and wood. Towards the back end, hints of raisin and dates come through, but the profile is certainly focused on the barrel aging. It’s big, boozy, rich and wonderfully intoxicating.

In the drink, dark chocolate, vanilla, bourbon and wood all hit the palate immediately, seemingly dominated by the bourbon at first. Once it passes, the roasted dark malts, sweet sugary dates and more chocolate notes on the back end come through. It’s big and warm going down but certainly full of all the flavors you’d expect from a bourbon barrel aged stout. Simply fantastic. The feel was bubbly, creamy and initially it seemed medium-bodied. Unfortunately, the more I drank this beer and it warmed, the body became quite thin on the palate. It didn’t necessarily seem watery but thick, viscous and chewy? Hell no. It goes down quite hot in the back of the throat, but I love it.

Everything about this beer was fantastic, save for the mouth feel. I really wish this would have a bigger body to complement such strong barrel aging and flavor. A bit more here and this would easily be one of the best bourbon barrel aged beers out there; in fact, it’s already one of mine. The feel is hindering it but overall, this is absolutely wonderful.

Rating

96
out of 100

The Black & Red arrived in a snifter glass displaying its dark black body, standard for any Stout. There wasn’t much head on the beer, which could have been from some dissipation waiting to be delivered up stairs to our table. A thin mocha colored ring did line the walls of the glass. Mint and nothing but mint is overloaded in the initial aroma. Subtle dark chocolate notes come in towards the back end of the nose, along with some other roasted chocolate malts. A finishing dash of mixed berries is on the end.

The first sip I took I honestly didn’t know whether I liked it or not. Up front once again is the mint but it’s nowhere near as powerful as the aroma. The mint is rather quickly balanced by the chocolate notes, more bitter dark chocolate. Accenting the chocolate is an eclectic blend of some tart berry flavors – mostly raspberry and some blueberry. For being a big Imperial Stout, I enjoyed how smooth and full-bodied this turned out to be.

There’s no doubt the Black & Red is a very unique and interesting take on a Stout. I felt it was almost a little too minty for my liking but overall a beer I’m glad I tried. I recommend at least trying it if you have the chance to visit the brewpub.

Rating

87
out of 100

After popping the cap of the slim 550 ml bottle, the Rauch Geek pours out with the almost perfect appearance you could ask for in an Imperial Stout. The body is virtually pitch black with a rocky and bubbly dark brown head. The retention is phenomenal and exemplifies the definition as it relates to beer. While the lacing was there, it’s the only thing that held this back from being perfect – a bit heavier and hands down, perfect.

The nose opens with big charred wood notes, heavily smoked malt, burnt coffee beans and Applewood smoked bacon. This immediate blast of aromas all hit you at once, which at first seems quite overwhelming. As it breathes, the flavors seem to mellow out and blend, though the common theme here is the smokey-burnt notes. Instead of it being completely gross as it may sound, it’s rather inviting and balanced.

Seemingly fit, the taste is smoke and roast centric like the nose. Smoked pork, honey glazed bacon notes and a slight bitterness from the coffee beans are evident through mid-palate. The finish gives way to some cream and vanilla bean hints, but leaves a smokey wood-like linger. The carbonation was decent, but could have used some mellowing out, while the mouth feel was full-bodied and creamy.

It’s hard to rate this beer, because if I’m being honest, after finishing the bottle my stomach felt a little unsettled. Perhaps this overly smoked and burnt flavor profile got to me, or it was just in my head. Either way, smoke – like it’s claimed – is the common element in this beer. Unfortunately, I cannot compare it to the Beer Geek Breakfast as I’ve never had it, but this was a fairly tasty attempt at a smoked stout.

Rating

86
out of 100

I spotted this while casually browsing the bottle list at Canal Street Pub in Reading, PA. No matter the price, I had to try it. The 12 ounce bottle cost me $9, though from what I had been hearing, it was every bit worth it. Poured into a miniature chalice, the Péché Mortel has an opaque dark brown to black body with a small creamy tan head. It was rather incredible how silky, smooth and rich this looked both while being poured and resting in the glass.

The aroma is as enticing as an Imperial Coffee Stout could be. Fresh roasted coffee beans start things off, being the dominant aroma but enough to still allow other scents to be noticed. Bitter, unsweetened cocoa nibs blend with a subtle minty candy-cane smell to take something that could be very single threaded into a blend of divine flavors. This exceptional refinement in the aromas makes this beer stand out already among the plethora of other Coffee Stouts on the market.

The immediate sip leads to bitter espresso notes coating the palate that doesn’t linger too long to cause any stale or burnt off flavors. Some chocolate morsels come through — bitter not sweet. The finish leaves some roasted malts, grains and chocolate-centric oats while remaining full of flavor. The body is incredibly smooth and creamy with mild carbonation lending hand to the overall mouth feel.

There’s no argument here why Péché Mortel is such highly praised. Its flavor profile is one to look up to for Imperial Coffee Stouts. Nothing in this beer seems overdone or exaggerated. The melody of roasted coffee flavors, bitter chocolate and grainy oats help make this one of the best Coffee Stouts I’ve sampled to date. While the price might not come cheap, it’s worth the money to try this World Class beer.

Rating

96
out of 100

Oatmeal stouts are normally very smooth and have a bit more sweetness, making these normally high ABV stouts much more drinkable than you would expect. The Oat pours out coal black with hints of brown highlights. The thick one and a half finger head is caramel brown and very creamy, leaving prominent lacing on the glass. The aromas are spot on for this style of stout, with roasted malts, vanilla, oats, caramel, and toffee. There is a hint of alcohol at the end but overall the Oat has a pleasantly sweet aroma.

The taste is mostly as expected for an Imperial Oatmeal — upfront there is sweet chocolate and some roasted malt. This is followed by the vanilla, some dark fruits and caramel. There are some lingering spicy hop notes adding some complexity. This is a sweet beer, sweeter and stickier than most other oatmeal stouts that I have tried. On the first sip you also get hit with the alcohol but this subsides a bit. The stickiness is compounded by a thicker, low carbonation mouth feel.

If you enjoy the sweetness that an Oatmeal Stout brings, this is one to check out. And if you can get past the alcohol and stickiness there truly is a good beer underneath. The sweetness is more than I expected, but again — it is an Oatmeal Stout. If the mouth feel was improved and the alcohol masked just a bit better, this would be a great beer.

Rating

80
out of 100

The Cappuccino Stout was on draft and poured into a 16 ounce pint glass. The color was as expected, a really dark brown body with some red hues around the edges. Atop the beer sat a one and a half finger light tan head that left minimal lacing on the glass. There is also little visible carbonation, and the body seems a bit thin compared to what one would expect.

The aromas are mostly standard fare for a coffee stout. Consisting of roasted coffee beans, some sweet malt, hints of chocolate and toffee as well. But there is also some brown sugar notes and a hint of aromas of cream and milk. The coffee elements outweigh the cappuccino elements on the nose but they’re still present. The overall aroma is on the lighter side of things — it isn’t overpowering but I think it works well for this beer.

The taste of this beer is where the cappuccino elements start to come out a bit more. The roasted coffee elements come through first, but as with the nose it is more subtle than a standard coffee stout. This is followed up by some sweet malt and vanilla notes that are mixed in with the creamy flavor and starts to pull the beer into the cappuccino realm. There is some alcohol at the end, but it isn’t enough to kill the rest of the flavors.

I think that Lagunitas tried something a bit different here and they succeeded. The Cappuccino Stout borrows a lot of great elements from a standard coffee/espresso stout and then adds a bit more to turn it into a cappuccino beer. The nose could have some more of those elements added to round everything out. This is a very drinkable stout, which for an Imperial Stout sitting at 9.2% ABV, is to be commended. If you are a fan of coffee beers, check this one out.

Rating

89
out of 100

Title photo from: Flickr

The Siren Noire pours a deep black with a thin light caramel colored head. What head there is diminishes quickly and there is no residual lacing left on the glass. The aroma consists heavily of roasted malts with dark chocolates. There are also hints of vanilla, toffee, and lightly roasted coffee. This is certainly not a complete chocolate show like the Choklat that Shane reviewed yesterday.

The palate starts off with some bitter chocolate upfront mixed with split vanilla beans. There’s a good amount of roasted malt throughout and towards the middle are hints of coffee and dark fruits. At the end, there’s more of a milk chocolate flavor with a slight hint of alcohol. The Siren Noire feels a bit thin for an Imperial Stout, I expected a bit of a creamier mouth feel and slightly more robust flavors.

This is a good example of a coffee and chocolate Imperial Stout though some things are awry. It does well with many elements, particularly the sweeter chocolate finish, but there are some just so-so elements as well. While the Siren Noire is a good beer, it is about average for its style. With some more coffee and chocolate flavors and a bit of a thicker overall mouth feel, the Siren Noire could be a great beer.

Rating

72
out of 100