Bourbon Barrel Stout - Odell Brewing Company

Oxymoron

Colorado

4.55/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

I believe the technical name is Buffalo Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout as the barrels the used are from Buffalo bourbon whiskey casks. Sampled at Odell's, the appearance is a rich midnight black color. A frothy darker tan head with great retention and lacing throughout the tasting.

The nose is rich with malt and bourbon notes. Some really nice malt sweetness backing and noticeable chocolate and a hint of roast. A creamy almost oatmeal in aroma. The bourbon is subtle but easily detectable. Some noticeable yeasty notes that I get with all Odells beers, but in addition some alcohol notes but everything is blended nicely.

In the taste, the malt really takes over as the bourbon/cask notes are limited. To start a big malty backing comes out on par with a Imp Stout. The chocolate notes come out first but is balance then buy some roast and kettle melanodian notes. The chocolate malt flavor really lingers into the finish, but not strong in astringency. Some minor spicy notes and textures that I associate with oats. There are some nice wood notes and every once in a while a nice bourbon note really comes out but subtle mostly. Would like to have more of the wood/whiskey notes come out overall. Very clean in yeast though.

The body is on par with a Imp Stout as well. Big malt flavors with some minor alcohol heat notes. Some very nice smooth textures with only a minor astringent kick. The carbonation has a almost nitro effect which helps smooth everything out.

Overall a very tasty and savory beer. This is one of those beers you sit and enjoy for a long time.

Serving type: on-tap

10-23-2008 22:51:06 | More by Oxymoron

mkorpal

Wyoming

4.47/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sampled at Choice City Butcher and Deli in beautiful downtown Fort Collins on a perfect fall day (no wind, no clouds, 70 degrees).

Served in a standard pint glass. Beer was a very, very dark brown with only a hint of amber at the edges. A 2 finger head in a very appetizing brownish wight color. Pretty much your standard Imp. Stout look.

The smell was very nice. Lots of roasted coffee and chocolate with a good background of bourbon. My smell isn't perfect, so please don't quote me on this.

The Taste was excellent. It started out with chocolate and coffee notes with just a hint of bourbon while the beer was still cold. But after a half hour of sips, the beer really opened up with a strong taste of bourbon and hints of coffee and chocolate. I loved this gradual shift in taste. That is why I rated it so high.

Mouthfeel was decent. it had a nice body to it and was pretty smooth. It was what you would expect from a imp. stout.

Drinkability was also very good. There was pretty much no hint of alcohol in this beer, even when it was warmer (for better or worse, I would really like to know the true ABV of this beer). I could have (and would have if it wasn't for class) had another or three. Also, this beer was very nice on my wallet. The pint cost me 4 bucks. Thank you Odells and Choice city for what was a very wonderful afternoon.

Serving type: on-tap

10-14-2008 02:02:31 | More by mkorpal

Teke0611

Colorado

4.22/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

not sure if this is a new batch or left over from the small batch fest (this was my favorite that day by a big margin), but a growler of it was produced none the less through a rep from odell's. they have it on tap this week for the gabf i am told. tasted around 7-8 hours after pouring into the growler.
a - pours a medium to dark brown. decent head retention, perhaps 1/8in. light beige in color - would be nice to see it a bit darker, but that's okay. nice lacing.
s - mostly bourbon & coco on the nose. not much coffee at all, maybe some roasted malt? the nose in the growler is that of sweet. somewhat boozey. not sure what the abv is on this one?
t - where no coffee was picked up on the nose, it is present in the taste. could use more, actually. the finish lingers of bourbon and sweetness. lots of roasted malts that were picked up from the smell. very good.
m - not much body; it's a bit thin here. similar to czar i think, or perhaps a porter. no alcohol burn here. mild sugars; overall very mild. maybe they should start with an overmalted version of their imperial stout here.
d - both in the super heat of the small batch fest and now the 48 degree fall weather, superbly drinkable. as it clearly isnt over the top in abv, this one is pretty easy to have several of.

review was done at second pouring, 7-8 hours after pouring (there was a sampling done a few hours previous). surprising that this held up as well as it did, considering that it made a 40 mile trip to me, then another 5 mile trip in my truck to my house.

overall, a very good beer. it would be very interesting to see them make this into a future woodcut, but beefed up a bit on body and a little of abv.

Serving type: growler

10-07-2008 05:10:40 | More by Teke0611