Bourbon Barrel Stout (Clay Street Series) - Bluegrass Brewing Co. - East St. Matthew's

patpbr

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours Dark but with no head. The smell is Coffee. Taste is vanilla, dark chocolate and caramel. A little sweet and some fruit. Bourbon and woody barrel taste as name implies. The alcohol lingers on the tongue. Creamy and has a full body. However the body needs more depth before I rank it higher.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2012 03:18:02 | More by patpbr

NoetheMatt

Kentucky

3/5  rDev -8.5%

05-20-2013 19:51:06 | More by NoetheMatt

PlayitAgain

New York

3.75/5  rDev +14.3%

05-20-2013 03:09:20 | More by PlayitAgain

jakeox

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +14.3%

05-19-2013 02:05:42 | More by jakeox

drgonzo2k2

California

3.5/5  rDev +6.7%

05-18-2013 15:17:55 | More by drgonzo2k2

khargro2

Georgia

3.25/5  rDev -0.9%

05-17-2013 02:40:57 | More by khargro2

facundoCNB

New Jersey

4.24/5  rDev +29.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

a thick black pour with a slight bit of head which quickly dissipated. smells of delicious sweet chocolate, hint of vanilla and bourbon, molasses. the bourbon smells really subtle, which is honestly relieving for a change. OOH YEAH! a delicious coffee/chocolate flavor blast up front followed by a nice mellow vanilla bourbon bite. a really nicely done stout, i honestly cannot for the life of me understand the average rating.. this is one of my favorites so far. nice bitter dark chocolate flavor lingers for most of the drink and every gassy burp brings up hints of vanilla. really loving this one. medium in bod with moderate carbonation.. light for a heavy bourbon barrel stout, but honestly nice for a change. a very nice easy drinking stout mellow on the bourbon, but it's still very noticeable. really like this one a lot.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2013 02:02:53 | More by facundoCNB

jkball01

Kentucky

3.5/5  rDev +6.7%

05-13-2013 16:01:18 | More by jkball01

bigclydeoliver

Ohio

3/5  rDev -8.5%

05-09-2013 01:28:27 | More by bigclydeoliver

BeerPunk1312

New York

4.75/5  rDev +44.8%

04-29-2013 18:48:10 | More by BeerPunk1312

barczar

Kentucky

3.59/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Pours an opaque brown/black with a foamy half inch tan head that dissipates fairly quickly.

Roast malt, chocolate, coffee, and oak form the initial aroma. There's a bit of nuttiness and hints of dark fruit, adding complexity. Vanilla and bourbon surface as it warms.

Flavor is fairly roast dominant initially, fading to chocolate mid palate, and coffee bitterness at the finish. It's a touch acrid. Oak underlies the profile, with bourbon being just a subtle note. Vanilla is present, but not overwhelming. There's a bit of nuttiness and toast, as well.

Body is a tad watery, with low carbonation and moderate alcohol warmth.

Lacks in bourbon character. Good notes of chocolate, but may be a little overly sweet.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2013 23:39:39 | More by barczar

kylehay2004

Florida

3.25/5  rDev -0.9%

04-21-2013 20:34:56 | More by kylehay2004

kjkinsey

Texas

4/5  rDev +22%

04-01-2013 23:25:51 | More by kjkinsey

Hobo

Kentucky

4/5  rDev +22%

03-24-2013 17:15:39 | More by Hobo

Oxymoron

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev +14.3%

03-22-2013 03:19:00 | More by Oxymoron

Dave_Treat

Virginia

4/5  rDev +22%

03-16-2013 23:25:56 | More by Dave_Treat

tzolandz

Virginia

3/5  rDev -8.5%

03-03-2013 13:37:22 | More by tzolandz

Treyliff

West Virginia

3.66/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

A- poured into a snifter. Vigorous pour gives a pitch black appearance with a small, fizzy tan head that reduces quickly and eventually completely dissapears leaving no lace.

S- melted Hershey bar, tobacco, and charred wood. Just a hint of woodsy bourbon at the end.

T- chocolate continues on the palate with notes of day old coffee. Chocolate and roasted malts give a bit of charred character, finishes dry with just a hint of bourbon. Can't really pick up any of the oaky barrel flavors. I actually get a bit of cola on the back end.

M- low carbonation with medium body, somewhat slick mouthfeel with with light-carbonated foamy finish. Mouthfeel felt a little thin overall.

O- my grading is based on what it is, a stout, although the ABV may suggest otherwise. I was looking for more bourbon flavors but its still a pretty tasty stout nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2013 02:05:52 | More by Treyliff

kojevergas

California

3.58/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 fl oz brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap acquired at Ramirez Liquor in Los Angeles and served into a New Belgium stem-goblet in me gaff in Los Feliz. Expectations are low given its current ratings. I'm starting to see this brewery as one that needlessly bourbon barrel ages everything whilst lacking the finesse to pull it off. Reviewed live.

Bottled November 2012.

I do think it's intriguing that this is currently labelled simply an American Stout and yet it's barrel aged. Not sure what to make of that. I naturally assumed it'd be an imperial stout.

Served straight from the fridge and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

Not paired with food.

A: Pours a quarter finger pathetially thin dark khaki colour head of no real cream, okay thickness, and abysmal (~20 second) retention. Body colour is a solid nontransparent opaque black. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Standard fare for the style, with a below average head.

Sm: Bourbon is prominent, but I get little subtlety; there are no vanilla or toffee notes, for example. Dark malts. Maybe a light buried roasty character. It's simple but appealing; the bourbon in particular is intriguing. A moderate strength aroma. No yeast or alcohol is detectable.

T: Bourbon, certainly. Dark malts. Chocolate malt. The bourbon character is certainly dominant, and is more rounded here than the aroma suggested; I do get traces of vanilla and toffee. Caramel. It's decently balanced but disappointingly simple. That said, it's quite a success as a stout with bourbon notes; I don't understand its current low reviews. Sure, it lacks the complexity and subtlety needed to be great, but I don't think it's merely average. No yeast or alcohol comes through, and that's fairly impressive at 8.6%. I like it. As it warmed, I noticed a very light buried chili pepper like spiciness.

Mf: A bit too smooth and wet for a stout, but it suits the flavour profile so I won't complain too much. Carbonation is good. Slightly creamy; I'd love more of that. Good palate presence. It's not unique or special, but it really works for the beer.

Dr: I quite like this one; I think many reviewers expect the complexity of an imperial stout. The price is a huge turn-off, but if I get out to Kentucky I'd seek out more beers from this brewery. It gets better as it warms. I'd have this again at a better price. Very drinkable for the well hidden ABV. What you see is what you get; it's a bourbon-forward stout. And a pretty good one at that. It accomplishes what it sought to, and I always applaud that.

Low B

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2013 04:50:34 | More by kojevergas

Groomsy

Kentucky

3.16/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

12 oz. bottle poured into a nonic. Bottled in September 2012.

An aggressive pour on this yields about a one-finger head of tan foam that fades rather quickly. Some alcohol legs are evident in the glass, but zero lacing is left on the glass. The beer itself is a very dark brown that does not let light through in the glass.

With this being a bourbon barrel stout, I was expecting a much "bigger" nose on this. What's there is nice, if a little too mild for my expectations. The first thing I notice is the scent of dark fruits. There's a slightly smoky back to it, as well as some coffee and roasted malt. I don't pick up much "bourbon" smell; made just a hint of woodiness and vanilla smell if I concentrate really hard. What's there isn't bad, but if you're going to do a barrel aged beer, ya better go big with it.

As far as taste goes, it's mild, but balanced. A good dose of malty sweetness hits the tongue at first with flavors of smoke, dark fruit, and some dried cocoa/milk chocolate. The bourbon really comes in on the finish with some drying alcohol and some woody/vanilla character. For being as mild as it is, this beer is still well-balanced, I think. Respectable.

The body of this beer is far too thin for the style, though. However, in its defense, its crisp, medium body is a nice contrast from what one would expect for the style. The alcohol is fairly drying on the finish, and the lingering smoke/chocolate flavors are nice. I'm scoring this fairly high because it was easy to drink for this kind of beer.

Overall, not a bad beer. I was expecting something much bolder in flavor, but I can see that the barrel aging didn't take the main focus here. My biggest beef is that the base beer, the stout, was fairly standard to begin with - if we were dealing with a top-notch stout as the base beer, this could have been great.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2013 03:01:57 | More by Groomsy

mdfb79

New York

4.11/5  rDev +25.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Got this as an extra a few weeks ago but forget who sent it; thank you! 12 oz. bottle poured into my Bruery tulip. Bottles in September 2012.

a - Pours a pitch black color with two inches of dark tan head and moderate carbonation evident. Head leaves a tiny bit of lacing on the glass and the head leaves quickly.

s - Smells of sweet chocolate, roasted malts, vanilla, bourbon, oak, coconut, light coffee, toasted malts, and caramel malts. Really nice nose, a lot going on and they work well together.

t - Tastes of sweet milk chocolate, cream, vanilla, roasted malts, bitter chocolate, toasted malts, coffee, light bourbon, and oak. Much less bourbon here than the nose, but still very nice.

As it warms, up a littke bourbon comes out, which is nice.

m - Medium to full body and moderate carbonation. No real heat, and pretty nice and thick.

o - Overall I liked this one a lot; I was pleasantly surprised and liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Lots of chocolate and vanilla and some nice light bourbon, this is a good BBA stout that comes in 12 oz. bottles and isn't too heavy or high ABV. Would definitely have it again.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2013 22:29:22 | More by mdfb79

Siebel98

New Hampshire

2.75/5  rDev -16.2%

01-29-2013 02:52:13 | More by Siebel98

RedneckBeerz

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev +6.7%

01-26-2013 03:04:25 | More by RedneckBeerz

chakadrum

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +6.7%

01-24-2013 19:56:55 | More by chakadrum

Brew33

Ohio

3.25/5  rDev -0.9%

01-22-2013 21:08:08 | More by Brew33