Bourbon Barrel-Aged Laika Stout
Straight To Ale

Bourbon Barrel-Aged Laika StoutBourbon Barrel-Aged Laika Stout
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From:
Straight To Ale
 
Alabama, United States
Style:
Russian Imperial Stout
ABV:
11.7%
Score:
95
Avg:
4.28 | pDev: 9.35%
Reviews:
37
Ratings:
181
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 06, 2020
Added:
Oct 13, 2013
Wants:
  60
Gots:
  44
No description / notes.
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Rated: 4 by jvgoor3786 from Arkansas

Feb 06, 2020
 
Rated: 4.27 by MJSFS from Florida

Jan 25, 2020
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

2.63/5  rDev -38.6%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
Currently #3 in the Top Alabama Beers list.

CAN: 12 fl oz. Pull-tab. Cost was $3.59 USD at a beer store in New Orleans.

"Bourbon Barel Aged Russian Imperial Stout."

APPEARANCE: Great for the style. Long-lasting dark tan head sticks around 8+ minutes. Body is an opaque black.

AROMA: I get oak and barrel sugars but no bourbon-y toasted oak, coconut, or vanilla/vanillin. Quite chocolatey, evocative of Hershey's chocolate syrup without the butyric acid. Should be roastier...barely seems roasty at all. I'm also not finding the burnt sugars/charred malt aromatics I'd expect in a great Russian imperial stout.

Suggests a sweeter RIS with a barrel character that isn't dazzling.

TASTE: A bit metallic, unfortunately. Maybe I got a bad can? Hershey's chocolate, chocolate malts, dark malt sweetness, barrel sugars. The bourbon barrel is not all that present, and I don't find anything richly evocative of bourbon (oak, vanilla, coconut, spice, heat) - just barrel sugar sweetness. On the sweeter side for an RIS, lacking the roasty burnt bitterness you'd find in a great expression of the style.

It's balanced enough in that it's not a cloying chore to drink, but it just doesn't bring the complexity and richness needed in this style.

TEXTURE: Full-bodied, thick, smooth, wet, unrefreshing.

OVERALL: Maybe I got a can that's been sitting for way too long, but the metallic off-flavour coupled with the absence of barrel presence and the lacklustre base beer make this a big disappointment for a beer on a top of state list. It's definitely drinkable - and if this is really 11.7% ABV as listed (it isn't specified on the can) then its drinkability is easily its strongest attribute - but with Victory's Storm King widely available across the country and North Coast's Old Rasputin running a scant $7.99 plus tax for a 4 pack here in New Orleans, I can't see who'd recommend this.

I'll have to try it again on-draught to make sure my can wasn't a fluke, but I really don't see the appeal here. Maybe Straight To Ale just released a bad batch? There's a serious QC issue based on what I'm drinking...

C- / BELOW AVERAGE
Sep 10, 2019
 
Rated: 4.19 by Duncian from Pennsylvania

Aug 05, 2019
 
Rated: 4.83 by KensWorld from Florida

Nov 19, 2018
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Reviewed by tbryan5 from Louisiana

2.36/5  rDev -44.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
Wow... whatever batch I got was undrinkable. Drain pour. I think that the first batches of this were great. But this in the can was borderline god awful... tasted very oxidized with no barrel character and very astringent. Sucks that I’m stuck with three more out of the 4-pack. Not really sure why straight to ale released this.... don’t waste your money on a 4-pack.
Nov 11, 2018
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Reviewed by WickedBeer from Alabama

3.58/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
On draft for a tap takeover, Loosa Brews, Tuscaloosa AL.

Kegged October 4, 2017.

Pours pretty viscous, deep, dark, nearly black. Cold pour, almost no head to speak of. A thin ring of tan foam sits around the perimeter of the glass.

The nose on this is sweet and slightly boozy, with some dark fruits coming through to compliment a cherry dark chocolate aroma. Some very subtle hints of vanilla and espresso come through, along with an off sour smell.

Definitely something a little off here. It’s not bad, but there’s some souring for sure. Bitter, dark roast coffee comes through initially, but right behind it follows up an off tartness, like cherries. Again, it’s not bad but it just tastes like Stone’s locoveza, or a stout aged in Red Wine barrels and definitely not Bourbon barrels. A shame, honestly.

Smooth, sticky feel. A pretty high level of carb on it still, and a pretty thin mouthfeel. I’ll be impartial as I can with the rating knowing this wasn’t intended, but don’t try aging this beer for too long.
Nov 08, 2018
 
Rated: 4.18 by CoopIsLoose from Texas

Oct 24, 2018
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Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

4.52/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Appearance: Arrives the color of espresso with a thick tan head that leaves a curtain of lacing

Smell: Roasted malt, chocolate, black coffee, dark fruit and Bourbon tones

Taste: Roasty, at the outset, with the chocolate, caramel and coffee flavors embellished by walnut, coconut, raisin and a hint of smoke; through the middle, the Bourbon, oak and vanilla tones complement; nicely balanced through the finish

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with moderate carbonation

Overall: A mighty impressive BBA stout from the heart of Dixie; easily the best beer I have tasted from Alabama
Oct 20, 2018
Photo of Treyliff
Reviewed by Treyliff from West Virginia

4.35/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
22oz bottle poured into a snifter
2014 vintage

A- pours a jet black color with a one-finger creamy khaki head that reduces to a ring around the edge

S- roasted malt gives some charred notes up front, as well as dark chocolate, caramel, tobacco & black licorice, Plenty of oaky bourbon undertones that adds a vanilla and toffee element

T- dark chocolate, caramel and roast up front, notes of nutty fudge, molasses, brown sugar, tobacco and fig. Mid-palate starts to bring out the barrel and continues into the finish, adding notes of oak, vanilla & toffee on the linger

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that continues into a slightly warming finish

O- amazing how these stand up to time, the barrel is perfectly balanced with the base beer
Aug 19, 2018
Photo of BEERchitect
Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky

4.04/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Don't tell this old dog that it can't be taught new tricks. It takes its tried and true imperial roasty stature to the bourbon barrels for a flood of new flavors ranging from oak to spice to whisky and sweetness. The Straight To Ale team certainly knows how to get the most out of this 'ole mutt.

Bourbo Barrel Aged Laika pours with a deep and ominous gaze of black coffee then topped with a sandy froth of tan and sepia. Striking the nose with high roast, woods, burnt sugars and a rife campfire perfume, the scent precedes an initial sweet taste of toffee, sorghum and raisin bran muffins.

Ample carbonation gives the middle palate a lift as its sweetly malted taste tends to dry quickly and the character of roast billows into a charred medley of french press coffee, baker's chocolate, black walnut, burnt toast and a the gentle smokiness of smoldering embers. Charred fruits of dark berries and cherry simmer on the late palate while the bourbon flavors of caramel, vanilla, charred oak and grilled coconut tease the senses once more.

Full bodied but seemingly somewhat arid, the carbonation, whisky spice and herbal hop spice offers the finish a long linger of char and chickory with a deep soilish after palate of turkish coffees. A gentle prickle of heat highlights the char and piquant tannic bite with a pep of ash.
Mar 22, 2018
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Reviewed by outdoor7or24 from Georgia

4.1/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
12 oz can shared with Rob, poured into pint glass, canned on 11-13-2017.
A: pours a jet black body with a tinge of brown, milk chocolate frothy one finger foam head
S: sweet, chocolate, roasted malt, coffee
M: thick
T: pepper, bourbon burn, coffee, roasted malt, chocolate
O: really good and balanced, as it warms the burn becomes more noticeable
Feb 25, 2018
Photo of rkarimi
Rated by rkarimi from Colorado

4.13/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
1-5
Jan 06, 2018
 
Rated: 4.15 by BAsbill from California

Dec 19, 2017
 
Rated: 4.43 by jnorris404 from Alabama

Dec 08, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by atlbravsrno1 from Maine

Nov 18, 2017
Photo of hoptheology
Reviewed by hoptheology from California

4.54/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Pours a blacker than black color with a lovely, angry red to brown head of 1/2 finger that lingers (probably due to oats, nice work).

Aroma is intoxicating - chocolate chip cookies, caramel, fig, dark chocolate, whiskey, oats, molasses, and licorice. YEAH!

Flavor is explosive with tons of black licorice, plum, banana oatmeal, burnt caramel, dark chocolate, molasses, whiskey, and burnt crisp chocolate chip cookie ends. Nice toast and chocolate chip on the finish.

Feel is thick but not too thick, slightly slick, and a polite burn on the finish.

Overall, an amazing WBA RIS. I really like this, and would acquire it again if given the chance. Solid performer.
Oct 29, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by BMart from Pennsylvania

Aug 29, 2017
 
Rated: 3.79 by dfhhead25 from Pennsylvania

Aug 29, 2017
 
Rated: 4.54 by JGCraver from Alabama

Jul 29, 2017
Bourbon Barrel-Aged Laika Stout from Straight To Ale
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 181 ratings