Oil Of Aphrodite - Jackie O's Pub & Brewery

DavoleBomb

Ohio

4.4/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had this at the August 27th bottle release. 4 oz pour from a tasting snifter. Since all of the variants of Oil were quite similar to the regular, I'm using my review of the regular as a base and supplementing when necessary. I'm also not sure if this should be a separate listing or not.

4.5 A: Black. Came with just a touch of light brown head that left lots of lacing. The creamy nitro was evident in the little head that there was.

4.0 S: Rich, sweet malty base. Plenty of bittersweet chocolate and caramel. Moderate roastiness, toasty, with touches of coffee and molasses. The nuttiness from the walnuts makes this a special, truly unique beer. The candi sugar adds a final layer of complexity. This was a bit subdued compared to the regular, which is to be expected.

4.5 T: Full flavored chocolate, caramel, molasses, and a general neutral maltiness. A touch of coffee with a moderate roast. Again, the walnuts add a toasty nuttiness that I cannot get enough of. Pretty much the same as the regular. The nitro didn't subdue this much.

4.5 M: Heavier medium body. A bit more creaminess than the regular and a touch thicker, though this doesn't seem like full nitro. I hypothesize it is a blend.

4.5 D: Love the Oil. Love it on-tap. Love the variants, though nitro is far from the best.

Serving type: nitro-tap

09-02-2011 03:03:32 | More by DavoleBomb

inlimbo77

Delaware

3.99/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz, Bottle# 105/192 (not sure what year)
5oz mini snifter

A: Pours a deep brown color. Not very carbonated. Thin collar of light tan head around the edges of the glass. No lacing.

S: Smells like a stout. Nothing mind blowing. Nice roasted malts. Some chocolate. I do get a nice nuttiness, I assume from the walnut additions. Just not sure how old this bottle is.

T: Flavor follows the nose. It's a nice stout. Like some others have mentioned, maybe not quite worth the hype that it receives around BA circles. Nice roasted malts. Some hints of dark fruits and chocolate. Still getting a nice nutty presence. Dry finish. Lingering flavors of roasted malts.

M: Full bodied

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2013 14:44:30 | More by inlimbo77

mattcrill

Ohio

4.03/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Aroma: Big roasty notes up front with a nice foundation of anise, light chocolate, and some boozy warmth on the nose.

Appearance: Jet black with a dark tan head that retains well. Appears still in the glass.

Flavor: A touch of solvent hotness up front. Definite chocolate malt, roasty flavors up front. Balance is to the malt and chocolate. Finish is clean and dry.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, slightly oily (duh!), and some alcohol burn.

Overall impression: Good but not great. Seems to be a lot of hype surrounding this beer and it feel short for me. Would greatly benefit from some age.

Serving type: on-tap

03-10-2013 18:28:44 | More by mattcrill

williamjbauer

West Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Bottled, vintage 2010, thanks to Chip for cracking open your first aged beer. Served in snifter.

Appearance is dark motor oil black with no light passing through edges and a dark khaki thin .5finger head c poor retention quickly fading with the alcohol but nice sticky alcohol legs.

Smells strong of walnuts the age has really brought these notes out compared to the more chocolate note I had from Oil on tap last week. Taste start sweet with dark chocolate nibs the fairly dry and bitter with dark choc, big walnut character, brown sugar with a very dry finish. Mouthfeel dry talc, full body.

Great with age, the years really put some meat behind the walnuts, a really unique RIS.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 12:57:07 | More by williamjbauer

Alieniloquium

Florida

2.91/5  rDev -30.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5

650 mL bottle poured into a snifter. 2011 bottle #183/348.

Appearance - Inky and glass staining stout. Nice. A few wisps on the surface. Love the viscosity.

Smell - Dark bitter chocolate. Nutty, but I'd never identify it as walnuts. Slightly boozy.

Taste - And it's sour. Dammit. Chocolatey and a bit nutty. Definite lactic sourness. Dammit Jackie O's.

Mouthfeel - Nice and viscous. Vinous and sour. Not really intense, but it's enough to ruin it.

Overall - I had high hopes. Why are all their stouts soured like this? Ironically, it's a cleaner sour than their sours.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2013 03:51:44 | More by Alieniloquium

nlmartin

Ohio

3.93/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This bottle was from 2011. The beer was chilled and served in a snifter.

A- The body of the beer is black. The head of the beer was a burnt tan that rapidly desolved. No lacing marks this beers passage.

S- The beers aroma is milk chocolate, cocoa almost to the point of fudge brownies. All this sweetness supports an excellent black walnut nuttiness. Yes this beer has a nice darkly roasted character. Plenty of figs and dates bring fruityness to the aroma.

T- This beer has darkly roasted malt, cocoa, milk chocolate and semi sweet chocolate. Wrapped up in all this fudgey goodness is loads of walnut flavors, figs and dates along with a bit of burnt sugar. A light amount of tartness finishes the beers flavor.

M- The body of the beer is a little thiner than I want in a RIS. The carbonation is low. The beer has a palate coating walnut oilyness which is very nice. No sign of alcohol heat.

O- Delicious! If the body was a little thicker it would be perfect.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2013 15:31:35 | More by nlmartin

Scotchboy

Idaho

4.13/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Simply AWESOME 22oz bottle sent from dope (thanks man!) poured into my New Belgium Globe. Bottle 81 out of 348, 2011 bottling -

A: Very dark pour, completely opaque. Thin brown head recedes into a ring, leaving behind little lace and nice alcohol legs.

S: Big chocolate, fudge, and brownie; nice ever-present nuttiness makes me thing chocolate-walnut brownie or fudge...faint earthiness, moderate notes of molasses and licorice even...faintest hint of darker fruit and espresso bitterness. Very rich nose.

T: Again, chocolate, and mainly milk chocolate...walnut nuttiness as well...brownie...faint suggestions of coffee again, and a light lingering dark fruit tartness...alcohol is well hidden at this point.

MF: Thinner mouthfeel for a big stout, slick, probably straight up medium, but it coats the mouth well, with lower carbonation. I'd prefer more body but its not bad.

O: Pretty broad range of flavors that are all good in a stout; diverse. My least favorite dimension is that dark fruit note that borders on tartness. However for a non barrel-aged stout, the nose is as close to perfect as I've ever seen.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2012 16:23:39 | More by Scotchboy

illidurit

California

4/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle shared at Woodshop 7 at Beachwood BBQ. I can’t stand walnuts but this was pretty good. Gone was the awful astringency that eaten walnuts provide, and instead there was a nice earthy nuttiness to go along with the molasses, dark chocolate and espresso.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2012 07:18:37 | More by illidurit

ThePorterSorter

New York

3.53/5  rDev -16.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Jet black with an oily tan head. The nose is...tart (?) and chocolatey with a touch of fig. The taste is...slightly sour (?) with a strange malty aftertaste. It's definitely not smooth and drinkable and there is very little walnut at all. I'm not sure what's up with this beer, but something isn't right and I'm not sure why.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2012 23:30:06 | More by ThePorterSorter

twiggamortis420

Texas

4.2/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Big ups to Auslander for this beast. 750 mL bottle pours black and fairly viscous. Petit, but nice tan head leaves a great collar and spotty lacing.

Nose is almond nuttiness with rich chocolate. Big fruit - mostly figs - with a slight licorice aroma as it warms.

Taste is an outstanding combination of smooth chocolate, touch of roast and plenty of figgy-raisin fruitiness. Very slick and smooth mouthfeel. Sweet and bitter play off each other nicely...perfectly balanced. An excellent beer, I want to drink this again sometime.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2012 13:03:21 | More by twiggamortis420

madvermin

California

4.05/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to AwYeh for sharing this bottle with me.

Appears black with tan edges. Bubbly on sides with some Foam remaining slightly in the middle of the beer. Oily, as it should be.

Smells of burnt rubber, walnuts, burnt malt and molasses. Very nutty.

Tastes sharp at first, acidic and acrid, with nuts and molasses following. Phenomenally rich without being overpowering.

Mouthfeel is really clean for a big stout, acidity is high. Drinkability is phenomenal for a 10% big stout, the acidity cuts the richness perfectly. Probably the best part of the beer. Overall tasty beer, with the construction standing out more than any individual component.

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2012 06:43:02 | More by madvermin

AwYeh

California

3.95/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Bottle from February '11 release poured into snifter. I believe this was one of the last bottles available, and was not labeled or numbered as a result.

A: Thick, very viscous body, with a half finger of tan head topping of the glass. While head dissipates quickly, a light coating remains behind.

S: Big, thick, and sweet– loads of burnt and roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate, and walnuts. Very pleasant.

T: Rich flavor at the beginning, there's a bit of an acridity at the beginning reminiscent of both dark fruits and the nuts that show up in the smell. Chocolate, coffee, and roasted malts all show up once again. I'm a bit surprised by how quickly the flavor drops out before the finish.

M: Very smooth but rather thin-bodied compared to how viscous it looked. Light carbonation. Slightly sticky, but the thin, almost watery mouthfeel detracts from the flavor lingering on the finish.

O: Quite an enjoyable beer, though I do wish it was a bit thicker. I like the effect the walnuts have on the beer's flavor. Worth checking out if you get the opportunity.

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2012 06:41:50 | More by AwYeh

zhanson88

Montana

3.7/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 3.5

This was from the first bottling of this beer I believe. Bottle 166/192.

Appearance: Pours pitch black in the glass, very viscous. About 1/2" of dark tan head forms which has pretty nice retention and limited lacing.

Smell: Very roasty smell, with some coffee and dark chocolate present. Very pungent stout smells here, nothing meek at all about it. Not necessarily the most integrated, well put together smell though.

Taste: Roast, coffee and dark chocolate mix together pretty nicely. Bitter coffee and slight nuttiness intermingle on the finish. This isn't short on flavor, but not the best put together stout.

Mouthfeel/Overall: Mouthfeel is thick, viscous and smooth. Nice. Overall I'm not sure what I was expecting from this beer, but it certainly wasn't this. It definitely has some nice flavors and is not short on boldness. Could meld together better but worth a try for sure if you get the chance.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2012 03:13:48 | More by zhanson88

UCLABrewN84

California

3.83/5  rDev -9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to DarthKostrizer for sharing this at his tasting.

Bottle # 115/192.

Pours an opaque black with a dark khaki head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, ashes, walnuts, and alcohol. Taste is much the same with some cookie dough and cocoa flavors. There is a mild roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good stout for what it is but I think it tastes better than it smells.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2012 20:50:23 | More by UCLABrewN84

Dope

Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle 189/348, '11 batch.

A: Pitch black pour with a smallish medium brown head. Fades somewhat slowly, leaving substantial lacing behind.

S: Great roasted malt with sweet milk chocolate. Nutty almost like a brown ale would be. As it warms a nice coffee bean aroma shows up too.

T: Nutty and sweet up front and continues throughout. Roasted malt kicks in with some milk chocolate and finally fades into a roasted coffee bean taste in the finish. Hints of anise, cherries and prunes appear in the middle as it warms.

M: Thinner than you'd think for a 10% ABV beer, but velvety smooth and creamy. Goes down like silk.

O: An interesting imperial stout brewed with walnuts. Don't get a lot of nutty stouts. I'm a big fan of nutty brown ales so this is really combining some excellent flavors. Mouthfeel is top notch on this one, perhaps the nuts smooth it out a bit. Super drinkable as a result. Overall a tasty and well-balanced yet unique and drinkable brew.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2012 05:02:32 | More by Dope

boralyl

Oregon

4.58/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A - The beer produces a delightful creamy dark tan head with decent retention. The beer is pitch black.

S - The aroma has a nice nuttiness, light chocolate notes and a hint of maple syrup.

M - They were spot on with the body. It has light carbonation and is smooth and creamy and full in body.

T - The taste is much like the aroma, but with a little more of Belgian candy flavor. The walnuts give the beer a unique nutty flavor. There are tiny notes of chocolate followed by the Belgian candy sugar which pair well with the hops. The alcohol is surprisingly well hidden.

This is a fantastic beer. The combination of ingredients work very well. It drinks way too easily for what it is and has great body.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2012 04:03:34 | More by boralyl

nrbw23

Ohio

4.43/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A- Pours a pitch black color with a fairly thin brown colored head. Head leaves a good amount of lacing.

S- Smell is quite a bit of malts going on here. Chocolate, caramel, roasted malts, and light coffee. The walnuts also come through but are fairly light.

T- Again very rich. Starting with the chocolate, caramel, a touch of molasses, and char. Coffee is here fairly light. The walnuts come through here too.

M- Fuller side of medium in body and light carbonation.

O- Very impressive brew for sure.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2012 20:44:50 | More by nrbw23

ManVersusBeer

Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to trxxpaxxs for sharing with me and Boogknight.
2011 vintage, bottle 264/348.
Dark black, dark cola line of head then nothing.
Smells pretty great, but hard to pinpoint. Meaty as in nut meat and smoke, oily, honey.
Bitter roast to start then fades toward moderate charcoal, some raw nut walnut meat and good campfire s'mores topped with dried blueberries.
Medium to fuller with a slick, smooth and drinkable clean chocolate finish. The Goddess of Love touch makes this even better. Well done.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2012 00:25:03 | More by ManVersusBeer

trxxpaxxs

New York

4.43/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

2011 vintage, bottle 264/348

A: Pours a wonderful deep black with some thin brown around the edges. The head is a dark khaki. It settles quickly and there is no lacing as it drinks.

S: The smells is sweet malt, oily nuts, a touch of smoked meat, and some dirty earth. It smells fantastic.

T: The first blast is toasted malt and burnt toast. The middle is more roast, some light smoke, a good amount of cashew and almond (perhaps walnut, says the label). The finish is bitter coffee grinds, dark chocolate, and charcoal. It's wonderful.

M: Full bodied beer. It envelops the palate, but it doesn't linger. It's clean on and clean off. The carbonation is low and perfect for this style.

O: Great beer. I'm impressed. The flavors dance one the palate and the transitions are smooth and creamy. I'm a bit shocked at how well balanced this beer is. I'd love to try this beer again.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2012 00:10:18 | More by trxxpaxxs

ehammond1

California

4.28/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle (2011)

Acquired via trade
Thanks, MrHirschybar!

Dark black body with a moderately sized dark brown head. This beer looks shiny, dark, thick, and heavy. It's nearly perfect for the style--it's menacingly gorgeous.

A rich, inviting, decadent aroma. There's lots of chocolate and roasted malt with a distinct nutty element as well. There's also some dark fruit. Complete.

The flavor too is very nice, with lots of roasted malt, chocolate, walnut, and a hint of licorice character. Delicious.

Full bodied with low to moderate carbonation--creamy, decadent, luscious--just awesome.

An incredibly drinkable imperial stout with a unique and interesting walnut component.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2012 23:18:09 | More by ehammond1

aasher

Indiana

3.95/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I received this bottle in a Darkness Day trade with urbancaver. Thanks again Cam! The bottle is the 2011 Batch and bottle 221/348. It is being poured into a Jackie O's Third Anniversary mini snifter courtesy of backfat, thanks again Dave!

Oil of Aphrodite pours a full bodied dark chocolate brown that appears black once collected in the glass. There is no head, just a slight beige lacing around the glass. The aromas consist of sweet chocolate, molasses, toffee, cola, with just a touch of alcohol. The flavors are of bitter chocolate, roasted malts, black coffee, slight molasses, and a touch of alcohol. It's not as smooth or as complex as I remember it. It drinks a little thinner than I remember it too. Overall this is a solid imperial stout but the first time I had it, a different batch, it was phenomenal. I like this one but wouldn't go out of my way to trade for it.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2012 01:05:38 | More by aasher

tewaris

Minnesota

3.55/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Imperial Stout brewed w/ walnuts

Thanks Dan!

Pours dark brown with good clarity and a cola colored head. Medium retention and lacing. Aroma is really tart, almost citric, with decent amount of coffee/roast notes typical to stouts. Taste is also a little too tart for my liking, but with a good amount of roast in there.

Brewed with walnuts? Tough to tell. Yeah, there are some nutty overtones and a walnut skin like bitterness at the end, but if I had not known, I wouldn't even fish for those aspects. Other than that, it's a fairly average Imperial Stout and pretty lackluster in the richness department. Mouthfeel is medium with high carbonation, so it drinks like a 7-8% ABV beer. Not a fan.

4, 3, 4, 3.5, 3

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2012 21:28:12 | More by tewaris

claspada

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle from the 2011 release, 34/144.

Pours a slick and thick dark dark brown, basically like motor oil. Quite viscous with no real head, probably from the walnuts as oil kills head retention. Light lacing if you swirl the beer around.

Aromas are quite thick with chocolate and light smoky smelling roast. The walnuts aren't immediately identifiable to me but there is definitely an interesting nuttiness here that sets this apart. Not sure I would know they are here if this was a blind tasting though. Some hints of molasses and brown sugar emerge as it warms.

The flavors begin quite intense as well, with a mix of acrid roasted coffee and sticky notes of dark chocolate and toffee. Not getting much of the nuttiness (or as much as I was hoping for) even as it warms. This finishes dry, roasted, and warm. While this is a good Imperial Stout, I am disappointed by the lack of flavor imparted from the walnuts.

The mouthfeel is full bodied and definitely has some thickness; a chewy and syrupy feel that really accentuates those sweet flavors. That 10% ABV is not hiding at all, adding some beefy power to the body, yet keeping any stinging heat elements away from the other flavors.

Overall this was a really really good Imperial Stout, but it left me wanting more. The flavor profile is spot on for the style, lots of dark chocolate, roast, mild burnt notes, intensely dark toffee underneath as it warms, but not enough nutty flavors to advertise itself as a stout made with walnuts. I cannot recommend it for that reason as there are much more readily available and less expensive (either $ wise or via trade) stouts on the market (any of the Great Divide Yeti for example). I won't be breaking my back, to track this down again, any time soon that's for sure.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2012 16:20:52 | More by claspada

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This beer poured out as a black color with a thin brown head on top. The smell of the beer was decent, it had a bunch of roasted notes to it with some light nuts in the mix. The taste of the beer seemed like most other stouts. There might have been some hints of walnut in there but nothing too impressive to me. The mouthfeel of the beer was smooth with a little bit of an oily texture to it. Overall I'm glad I tried it but I wouldn't have to seek it out again.

Serving type: on-tap

02-06-2012 20:20:19 | More by Knapp85

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

4.2/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I got this beer from Auslander. Thanks Chris!

22oz bottle ('11 - 84/348) served in a snifter.

L - black with a small tan head that thinned to a ring leaving some thin film on the glass.

S - nutty, chocolate and roasted malt.

T - starts out sweet and nutty with roasted malt coming in to play finishing with some light bitterness and a chocolate licorice taste.

F - medium/full bodied with a smooth and creamy feel.

O - a good example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 01:43:26 | More by JoeyBeerBelly