Dark Horse Bourbon Barrel Aged Plead The 5th - Dark Horse Brewing Company

womencantsail

California

4.43/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle from Derek. Thanks!

Black in color with a nice viscosity and a finger of dense brown head. Heavy on the bourbon and vanilla, as expected. Great chocolate character with hints of roasted malt, caramel, and molasses. Pleasantly sweet, but not cloying. Great milk chocolate and vanilla flavors all the way through with tons of bourbon as well. Not too heavy on the oak, but a little bit is present. Mild roasted malt and caramel flavors.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2012 19:43:58 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.63/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Huge thanks to Eric for bringing this bottle to the post-Christmas tasting in Chicago.  Really glad to be able to try this.  Served in a Cantillon tulip.

Pour yields a beer that is near black with a thin whisper of a mocha head without any real retention, just a few bubbles here and there.  The nose brings forward all sorts of delight with nice bourbon, oak, vanilla, chocolate, and roast.  Also, there was a bit of a creamy peanut butter note that I really enjoyed.  The taste wasn't quite as nice and explosive but the bourbon did quite a few great things for the base beer.  Good oak and bourbon throughout, creating a really nice feel.  No hint of the huge alcohol presence. Drinks quite well and my pour was gone well before I had gotten enough of this to satisfy my thirst.  Thanks again, Eric!

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2011 13:23:39 | More by Thorpe429

UCLABrewN84

California

4.08/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle pour shared by DarthKostrizer at his place.

2011 vintage.

Pours an opaque black with a 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 malt, cocoa, cinnamon, wood, and bourbon. Taste is pretty much the same with an alcohol kick in the throat with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer but it’s a bit hot in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2012 04:49:54 | More by UCLABrewN84

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

4/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some light lacing. Aroma consists of light dry roasted malt notes with some black chocolate notes with medium bourbon notes with some vanilla undertones. Taste is also dominated by creamy black chocolate notes with some light dry roasted malt. Body is full with creamy texture and good carbonation with no apparent alcohol. Not as complex as I was expecting but very well balance overall with chocolate and bourbon creating an efficient mix.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 18:29:29 | More by Phyl21ca

drabmuh

Maryland

4.47/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

At the time of this review, this beer is the #7 top Russian Imperial Stout on the beeradvocate.com "Top Beers - Russian Imperial Stout" list. Another top 10 beer for me. A big thanks to Thorpe for letting me have some of this beer during our impromptu epic New Years Day tasting.

Beer served in a sniffer. Beer is black, oily, this dark brown head of small bubbles, low retention, falls back to halo the glass minimal lacing and low carbonation.

Aroma is sweet, chocolate, strong malt presence. The boubon come through strong. Mild oak. Smells like a big bourbon stout.

Beer is medium to big in body, malty sweet with a strong bourbon character. Fudge and chocolate with minimal roast. The sweetness carries through all the way to the end. The bourbon wins in this beer. So sweet, so oaky, vanilla, booze but without heat. I really liked it.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2012 17:14:27 | More by drabmuh

MasterSki

Illinois

4.3/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at Local Option. Served in a snifter. The perfect nightcap for a Thursday night filled with drunkenness and debauchery.

A - Filled to the brim, so it's hard to get a handle on head volume/retention. Thick ring with a bit of film on top, and some spotty lacing as the beverage is consumed. Ominous black body.

S - A lot of dark roasted grain character, with an earthy and fairly mellow bourbon character. I'm not sure what barrels were used, but they certainly seem to be of high quality. This really needs to warm up, and even then it isn't the most aggressive nose.

T - The taste is quite excellent, with a hefty amount of dark roasted grain, caramel, vanilla, butterscotch, and other sweet things. Again, the bourbon makes its presence known through barrel flavors and depth, rather than in-your-face harsh whiskey.

M - Shockingly little warmth for a 14% beast. Full body, with sufficient carbonation to keep it from getting too syrupy. Stick finish, with only light tannic character.

D - This was quite drinkable for the ridiculous ABV. I'm tempted to trek back to Local Option for another pour under more sober conditions. Also, kudos to Dark Horse for enhancing an already excellent beer with tasteful and well-integrated barrel-aging. They've also done a good job keeping the beer from thinning out too much or getting too astringent.

Serving type: on-tap

09-04-2010 04:43:03 | More by MasterSki

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Vintage 2011: The grand finale to the night spent with jzeilinger. Poured this between the two of us. This beer was black it had a brown head that was faded quickly but left a ring around the edge of the glass. The look of the beer is pretty typical for the style. The smell of the beer is surprising to me, I expected the barrel aging to stand out a lot more on this. There is some vanilla on the nose along with some other sweet aromas. The taste of the beer is also really subtle. I was surprised by this, Really thought you'd be able to get much more intense flavors of the barrel and the bourbon. It's a great tasting beer regardless. The mouthfeel is thick and gently carbonated, it's a very smooth beer. Overall it's much more balanced than I expected, it's a solid beer from start to finish. I would have enjoyed a little more bourbon on it though. It's good but I don't feel it's worth the 100% rating on here.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2013 17:39:43 | More by Knapp85

emerge077

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Second time trying this, too bad it's served in such a tiny glass. I can only imagine the pure devastation that a growler would bring.

Jet black with a sticky cap of mocha foam. It sticks around for the duration, and adheres to the sides. Did I mention sticky? Doesn't look all that different from Plead the 5th, it seems to have definitely retained carbonation after time in the barrel.

Deep fudgy chocolate and blackened, fried plantains dripping in brown sugar syrup. Not overly sweet, but with a vanilla barrage from the barrel. Dark roast and bittersweet chocolate figure large in the equation. Rich flavor, blackened roasted barley, toasted marshmallow, vanilla and chocolate intermingling, with a light sweetness peeking through in the middle. Even carbonation, and with a bigger swig the alcohol is evident, but creeps by unnoticed when sipped. It has an unwavering intensity that is impressive. A solid A+ RIS from Dark Horse.

Serving type: on-tap

11-05-2010 02:13:44 | More by emerge077

mdfb79

New York

4.63/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Huge thanks to immobilisme for sending a few bottles of this my way; thanks Todd! One of my biggest wants…I love the normal Plead the 5th so have been wanting to try this since they started releasing it.

a - Pours a pitch black color with one inch of dark tan head and low to moderate carbonation evident. Head only lasts for about 30 seconds and no lacing or retention.

s - Smells of bourbon, rich, sweet chocolate, light bakers chocolate, roasted malts, oak, vanilla, cream, toasted malts, and coffee. While the bourbon is there and up front, it isn't overpowering at all. Very surprised how much sweet chocolate still comes through, but I love it. A really great nose here.

As it warmed up, more bourbon came out in the nose as well.

t - Tastes of bourbon, vanilla, oak, sweet chocolate, sweet dark fruits, roasted malts, bakers chocolate, coffee, fudge, and alcohol. More bourbon here than the nose. Again, really great, though I slightly prefer the nose.

m - Medium body and very low carbonation. Thinner than I was expecting for the look and 14%, but still good for a stout. Would have liked a tiny bit more carbonation too. Weakest point of the beer in my opinion, but it's still good; the rest is just great.

o - Overall I thought this was a great BBA RIS, and an improvement on an already fantastic base beer. I love the normal version and had high hopes for this one, and it did not disappoint. The nose and taste both had a ton of bourbon and chocolate, with the nose having more chocolate and the taste having more bourbon, though for 14% it isn't overwhelming. I think another thing I love about this is that they sold it in 12 oz. bottles. So many great BBA RIS's come in 22 oz/750ml bottles, and cracking a 12 oz. bottle of this tonight was just perfect. Very happy to have another bottle of this.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2012 02:00:22 | More by mdfb79

weeare138

Pennsylvania

4.6/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appears a dense, dark midnight toned onyx. A small tan head slowly fades into a gentle cap and collar. Spotty bits of lacing are left around the glass.
Smell is of campfire s'mores with black grapes and sugary syrup.
Taste is of the aromas with a sugary sweetness up front followed by an oaky, vanilla, caramel blast.
Mouthfeel is sticky, full bodied, sugary, intensely insane, and smooth in the finish.
Jeez! This is one sick beer!

Serving type: growler

06-14-2011 01:34:26 | More by weeare138

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

4.23/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Deep black with almost nothing as a head, kind dark cherry cola looking wisp to it. Aroma, vanilla, chocolate, bourbon, all almost equally present, not domineering, nice.

Taste, wow, really smooth, more of the same elements from the nose keep their equitable place on the palate. Overall sweetness is up there, but never diabetes inducing stuff, really, this is a well balanced flavor profile for a huge beer, that doesn't knock you over the head with the alcohol.

This is one of those special beers. Plead the 5th is an already great base beer. Sometimes (Rasputin) you can throw a great base beer into a bourbon barrel, and it becomes less great. Not the case here. It isn't a pretty beer, and the first look and smell won't tip you off to how good this is, but drink it, you'll like it.

Thanks to largadeer for breaking this, and many other gems out at the Solar Eclipse party.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2012 17:41:08 | More by Beerandraiderfan

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

First had: on tap at Hawthorne's, Philly, PA

This guy eluded me for a while, but I finally caught it at Hawthorne's. Served in a Chimay chalice, I can't imagine a better looking beer: thick, dark black like motor oil, capped with a creamy dark chocolate head that quickly sank to a ringlet of bubbles. Maybe a little more retention would've been nice, but I didn't expect much from such a high octane beer. Aroma of dark malts, moderately roasty, dark chocolate, heavy bourbon. Dark sweet malts in the taste, chocolate chips, toasted marshmallow, heavy yet smooth bourbon with notes of vanilla and oak. Full body, creamy and delicious, a great sipper. Not quite as smooth as a nicely aged BCBS, but a great brew nonetheless.

Serving type: on-tap

06-10-2012 01:51:07 | More by Rifugium

HopHead84

California

4.15/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

12/29/2011

2011 batch. Snifter. Huge thanks to Ed for the bottle.

My pants were extremely tight at work today. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. Though, it's nothing I can't sort out over a barrel aged Russian Imperial Stout. Any lapse in advocacy may lead to depression and torpidity. I have much thinking to do, it may require efforts from a bomber of IPA as well.

A: The beer resembles motor oil as it flows forth from the glass when I gently tilt the bottle. The head strikes me as a mixture of russet and sepia. It lingers for half a minute before receding to a small collar of froth around the edges of the glass.

S: Caramel drizzled dark chocolate cake, brown sugar, and big oak notes. Vanilla is light and bourbon is dominant (in a good way). Roasted grains are evident, blending with milk chocolate and alcohol.

T: Liquid dark chocolate, rich and delicious, with a light molasses presence and an upper low earthy bitterness. There's a lot of booze in the flavor, but the taste manages to still be quite good. I get a shadow of caramel and a fair amount of oak with big fudge notes. Bourbon is well integrated. Roasted grains are restrained. Alcohol takes over in the late midpalate and dominates through the finish. It's a bit rough near the end, knocking this from a 4.5 to a 4 in the flavor.

M: Full in body with lower medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is silky, chewy, and sticky.

Overall: Enjoyable, but this is just a bit too boozy at this point. I'll bet this will be excellent in 6 months if it manages to avoid becoming infected like many other barrel aged strong ales. A pleasure to try.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2011 04:36:28 | More by HopHead84

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had this on tap at DH and at Michigan Brewers Guild Summer Beer Fest

Pours 1 finger of creamy dark tan head that has amazing retention. Color is an oil black.

Aroma: Warming bourbon, thick rich chocolate. Roasted malts. The nose is fairly muted.

Taste: Much better here. Bigger bourbon flavors, oak, sweet chocolate, vanilla, caramel, dark fruits, and raisins.

Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, and warming. Full bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. Ends rich, sweet, and malty.

Overall, a solid -bal aged stout. Great flavors and very drinkable. Very impressed with DH on this one.

Serving type: on-tap

07-30-2010 15:06:20 | More by mothman

JohnGalt1

Idaho

4.5/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Starter of the night at an EPIC tasting at RB's Footbalm's house... Eric set the bar high.. Thanks buddy... I hope your travels treat you well, and our paths always cross.

Not much of a head... oily.. thick staining the glass deep brown brew...

I had a surprising number of proper pours of this brew over the evening and was increasingly impressed on each one.

Deep dark chocolate with dark malts punctuating the nose.. good oak and bourbon without ever becoming overdone...

Flavor is brownie batter spiked with dark chocolate covered espresso beans and good bourbon.. vanilla and oaky bourbon... something that I wrote down as toasted marshmallow.. everything is amazingly well integrated ... especially when warmer.

Thick and inviting.. wonderful.. lite carbonation but nobody complained.. I could have easily sat content with this bottle the entire night.

all 4.5's

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2011 05:41:04 | More by JohnGalt1

thagr81us

South Carolina

4.45/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks goes out to cmrillo for sharing this one after a ticking session at a local restaurant this evening! Thanks brother! Served from bottle into a Ommegang Three Philosophers chalice. Poured pitch black with a half finger brown head that subsided to a minimal amount very quickly. Maintained phenomenal lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised roasted malt, sweet malt, brown sugar, dark fruit, wood, sweet alcohol, and vanilla. The flavor was of sweet malt, roasted malt, dark fruit, raisin, vanilla, wood, and sweet alcohol. It had a heavy feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this was a very good brew. The aroma on this one was really quite nice and very complex. All of the right components for the style were present in this one. The barrel really did a nice number on this brew as the regular version was quite good, but this turned that up to 11. The flavor was very well balanced and inviting making it quite easy to drink despite the high ABV. This could definitely get you in A LOT of trouble if not careful. An absolute must try if you are a fan of beer. Really glad I finally got the chance to try this one myself! Thanks again Rillo!

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2012 02:08:03 | More by thagr81us

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4.47/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle shared by Thorpe429. Thanks Mike.

The beer is near black with a thin, beige cap. The aroma offers bourbon and roast, followed by alcohol, vanilla, oak, chocolate. Great flavor, with prominent bourbon throughout. Additional tastes of vanilla and chocolates. Moderately low carbonation, with a smooth, buttery feel. A bit of heat in the finish, but 14% abv feels pretty nice. Overall, very enjoyable. A top notch barrel-aged imperial stout.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2012 21:01:15 | More by Huhzubendah

largadeer

California

4.47/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Growler shared by Adam and Anna. Thanks!

Oily, viscous black with a small dark brown cap.

The aroma is great - rich dark malts backed by strong but well integrated bourbon barrel. Milk chocolate, fudge, caramel, slight mustiness from the barrel and a hint of tar from the dark malt. Some noticeable alcohol, but no harshness.

Flavors of dark chocolate fudge and scorched malt frolic alongside caramel and vanilla. The body is huge and oily with a low level of carbonation. Tarry, burnt malt lends some balance to an otherwise sweet finish. The lingering sweetness reminds me of Jack Daniels. Alcohol is surprisingly reigned-in, I'd never guess this was 14%.

Plead the 5th is already a great beer, and this is even better. Impressive stuff.

Serving type: growler

11-03-2010 19:35:43 | More by largadeer

gford217

Georgia

4.38/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle from my favorite MI trader.

Pours pitch black, just like the regular 5th with a small mocha head that recedes slowly to a thin collar with a little lacing.

Aroma is very sweet with lots of vanilla and dark chocolate with a solid bourbon presence. There are some roasted malts in the nose but it's definitely sweet with some molasses coming through, maybe hints of smoke and leather. Gorgeous nose.

Taste is thick and chocolaty with heavily roasted black malts and licorice anchoring the backbone. The vanilla is still there but more subtle than the nose and the wood from the barrel is more prominent in the finish.

The mouthfeel is wonderful, fullish and creamy, with the perfect amount of carbonation, just sticking to the palate after each sip.

The nose is more complex than the nose with the sweetness mixing with the barrel perfectly. The taste isn't quite as nice but it's still excellent. This is a nice example of what barrels can add to a beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2012 05:24:50 | More by gford217

jrallen34

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to Eric who brought this to our tasting, poured into my Narke glass. Normally, I don't review a beer twice, but the difference of on tap vs bottle justifies it as if its an almost entirely different beer...Black pour with a light tan head, not there for long, ok lacing, but low on carbonation overall...The aroma is totally different, slightly weird. Its all creamy peanut butter with chocolate, actually its really awesome, but has me perplexed as on tap it was tons of vanilla and bourbon. A tad too rich for me, but its good...The taste gets us back on track, more oak, chocolate and bourbon come through, still missing the vanilla though. Finish is bitter, adds to keep the experience interesting. The alcohol is hidden well, creamy from start to finish.

This was good, but not as good as tap where I was blown away. Worth trying for sure, but get it on tap.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2010 00:09:40 | More by jrallen34

TurdFurgison

Ohio

4.58/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I had this on tap at the Dark Horse 4elf party. Glad it was on tap as there were very few (VERY few) bottles for sale.

It was served in a plastic cup (boo...), a 10oz pour (sort of boo...), but was delicious (hooray). This was dark, black dark, very opaque with a thin but still existent ring of foam.

It smells like a big beer, which of course it is, without smelling like alcohol. Strong malty aromas, sweet and roasty, with some dark fruits and a well integrated bourbon. Since having this glass I've had many bourbon aged stouts over the holidays, and I can say that the nose on this one is right up there.

Very very tasty, the bourbon is not overbearing, it really complements instead of contrasting the roasty stout base. Cocoa, raisins, vanilla, bourbon, this is just excellent. No burn in the aftertaste, just lingering sweet bourbon flavors. It feels big and heavy, everything about it says this is a major beer, and you have to be careful or you're gonna get buzzed.

This is especially good considering that you can't taste the alcohol in such a strong beer, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Serving type: on-tap

01-02-2011 16:56:11 | More by TurdFurgison

DefenCorps

Oregon

4.47/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap, the 2009 vintage, 12ish%

Black with a dark brown head that has surprisingly poor retention or lacing, given the base beer. Still, this does look great, and has nice legs. The nose reminds me of dark lord. Big licorice and molasses mildly soy like even, with a big barrel character. Beautiful vanilla and oak with some tannins. Plenty of dark chocolate and dark caramel. Great nose, I almost want to give it a 5

The palate opens with a big boozy heat and plenty of bourbon working well with the chocolate and licorice. Plenty of malt and licorice bitterness as well. Thick chewy and boozy, this beer is sweet and hot on the finish with nice chocolate and vanilla. This is one of those few beers where the heat is well-incorporated in the flavor profile, mostly thanks to the huge body .Not as much soy on the palate, as the nose might suggest. A little overcarbonated, though, but that's personal preference. Letting it warm up and flatten out reveals how awesome this beer is.

Serving type: on-tap

06-12-2011 13:03:14 | More by DefenCorps

FosterJM

California

4.43/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

1000th Review on BA
Bottle to Snifter
12 oz

2011
Thanks to the man himself MrHirschybar for sharing one with me at the end of the night.

App- A good bit of a dark coffee pour into my woodshop snifter. A liquid of molten chocolate brown with some dark brown/amber edges. A small 1/2”-1” head forms a bit of dark brown color and falls very quickly to a nice small ring of bubbles. .

Smell- I opened the base version about a month ago and that thing was Hot. This was more mellow with more of the bourbon coming out and layering it all together. A little let vanilla than on the base version and less granular but that was to be expected.

Taste- When I first took a sip of this it was more like a candy bar than most stouts I would have guessed it would be. This had a good caramel sweetness with some fresh poured bourbon. On a second sip, smooth chocolatey goodness comes in waves. On the final sips and it's warmed in my hands a little bit the roast flavors come out. A very well done bourbon treatment.

Mouth- A thick bodied medium and bordering on full bodied for me. This also was aptly carbonated and retained a lot of the bourbon and chocolate from the profile.

Drink- I loved the fact this came in a 12 oz bottle. I am a big guy but sometimes I just want one little beer for the day with immense flavor and appeal. This beer was smooth, bold and well layered. I will come back to this one many times.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2011 20:39:07 | More by FosterJM

AgentZero

Illinois

4.58/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

As I jumped onto the train for an hour after work for nothing more than to travel to some unknown bar on the southside of Chicago, only to blow 6 hours out of my day and tick a beer, I remembered the words of NickD: "We will not go quietly into the night! We will not go thirsty without a fight! We're going to tick on! That beer is going to survive to be ticked!" And to those own who were suprised at my travel to taste this rarity I replied: A true ticker is not dissuaded by something as trivial as distance, time, or common sense.

Found on tap at Maple Tree Inn, who knew?

A - Not much more you can ask from the beer than this. Forboding in it's blackness, the mocha head slowly bubbled up, and rose to over two fingers in length. Thick and viscous, this beer left some surprisingly fine lacing on the sides as it slide down the glass. Truly a masterpiece in terms of look.

S - Huge chocolate on the nose with some hidden dark fruits as you become acustom to the smell. The barrel aging brings out a lot of sweet vanilla, which melds nicely with the cocoa. Bourbon is present, but nicely muted, doesn't smell hot at all.

T - This is quite chocolaty, it is the first thing you notice about the beer. The bourbon plays a strong role, but the cocoa keeps it from tasting hot at all and allows you to enjoy the bits of oak and very present vanilla in this beer. As you continue the drink there is a nice bittering sense of espresso on the end which helps to balance the flavor out. I was disappointed, as this bittering espresso grew fainter the more of this I drank, and I was left with more and more of the chocolate. It still tasted great, but lost a lot of its complexity as it warmed up somehow.

M - Very chewy, but managed to be quite thin on the end. Obviously a full bodied brew. Soft carbonation.

D - This is a beer that can kill you. At 14% it drinks like about something at 8%. I drank this quite easily and found myself having to concentrate hard on putting one foot in front of the other. A great beer that I would love to have again.

Serving type: on-tap

10-17-2010 04:34:42 | More by AgentZero

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.63/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle from the first release of that format, courtesy of warnerry, into a NEBCO 668 glass. Enjoyed alongside regular Plead the 5th and BCBS.

A: Looks identical to the regular: pitch black body, thin brown head. Solid.

S: Wow. This is amazing. Huge bourbon, coffee, vanilla, chocolate, and major coconut. Big, rich, and complex. BA RIS perfection.

T: Follows the nose initially, with enormous barrel presence providing generous bourbon, vanilla, and coconut. Roasty coffee and dark chocolate behind. The only downside is a significantly boozy finish. Wonderful.

M: Thick, creamy, and moderately carbonated. Terrific.

O: This was an absolute winner - a huge step up over the non-BA version, and a clear superior to the overly-syrupy (in comparison) BCBS. The coffee and bourbon worked beautifully together, and I'm simply enjoying the hell out of it. Thanks Ryan!

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2012 02:18:54 | More by woosterbill