Black Gold Imperial Stout - Bourbon Barrel Aged (Brewmaster Reserve) - Full Sail Brewery & Tasting Room & Pub

HimerMan

New Jersey

3.85/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I feel this beer should really be cellar aged for 6-12 months prior to drinking; but still an excellent beer.

Pour was dark brown/black with a nice head and strong aroma of vanilla and alcohol, with a bit of chocolate.

Taste - a bit sharp on the alcohol (as again, in time this will fade) but very sweet and creamy at the same time. Flavor lingers for a bit, without the taste of agressive hops in the background.

Overall I think the ratings will go up for this once time allows the flavors to mature a bit. I really believe this is an excellent beer.

Definitely worth a chance if you can find it now.

Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2006 11:39:08 | More by HimerMan

RoyalT

Ohio

4/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance – This came out a very dark, almost black stout with wonderful ruby highlights around the edges. The head was moderate and beautifully browned.

Smell – Oh, this is bourbon at its finest. We always have a couple good bottles of bourbon around the house, so when I popped the top on this we passed it around with a few bottles from Bourbon County, Kentucky. They really did hit the mark here.

The rest of the beer was just as pleasant. The malts were very dark but the sweetish whisky and sugars balanced things out nicely.

Taste – The malts were bigger at the taste. They were very crisp. The bourbon was smooth and satisfying. There was also most definitely a light sense of coconut.

Mouthfeel – This is medium-bodied and had a light stingy feel from the high ABV.

Drinkability – If you enjoy bourbon you’ll really like this RIP. If you don’t, get over it and buy a bottle anyway.

Comments – Thanks to skyhand for not only strongly recommending this purchase but for talking me into cellaring this for six months before drinking. Dead right on both counts.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2006 01:10:42 | More by RoyalT

bodybyadam

Washington

4.03/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

If you want to try this one grab it while you can. I bought this from my local establishment, who had this in his cellar for about 6-8 months. This one he only allows his customers to purchase one. Not one at a time, but you're limited to buy ONE. So many people want to stock up on this "Character".
So the lavish label is somewhat appealing. Served into my typical goblet I immediately notice the dark pitch color pours smooth with a ¾’ head. I’m already anticipating its raved about taste, since I warmed my palette with a mild commercial stout. The Imperial has a nose of malty molasses, which threw me because its label reads of aging in oak bourbon casks. Well hang on at this point because the “amusement park ride” has just started.

My first taste after sniffing, and noticing the malty molasses, and I should have expected this, was a strong bourbon flavor. The later tastes started to throw in more flavors. The aftertaste was a caramel smoky stout that had reminded me of a smoked porter favorite of mine, but with very distinct differences. The mouth feel is the best part of this drink for its awakening of your senses.

One thing to remember is that the 10.5% ABV is there and if you don’t like the taste or smell of bourbon then this might not be the drink for you. This one is right at the top of my stout list and though it may not be for everyone, I know I’ll at least have one waiting for me.

Elbows Up,
Adam

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2006 20:42:09 | More by bodybyadam

mentor

Colorado

4.3/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Scores reflect my first review of the beer. Scores for my second review (an aged bottle) are noted in the text of that review.

Review from 04-19-2006
I can not tell you how happy I was to find this in a local store the other day. I bought every bottle in the store and am reviewing one bottle now so I will have a standard of comparison.

Pours a thin layer of dark brown head over a pitch liquid. Smells coffee during the pour. To the nose, it's potent dark oak (not raw like Oaked Yeti). Dark smokey grains with a sweet and a touch of alcohol. Gentle mix of roast and coffee. Tastes very oaky with a wet sweet chocolate and a nice toffee aftertaste. Vanilla is mild and comes across like a 'French Donut' (haven't had one in years and wonder if they all taste like the ones at that particular store in my hometown). Overall, nice. IMO, toffee is a very important 'rounding' flavor in styles that can be a bit stark. A bit of acrid, perhaps from the oak barrels or perhaps from the alcohol sting. Honestly, I was expecting much more out of this beer. At the present time, it's all about the oak. Medium body, but it clings to the tongue. Medium carbonation, which was a bit more than I was expecting. The acidic character of this beer gets hard to handle near the bottom of the bottle. I'm glad I tried it, but more glad that I have four bottles in my cellar to age and taste over the years.

Review from 04-09-2013
Wow, has this bottle really been sitting in my cellar for 7 years? Last one I have, let's see how it has held up.

Thin layer of dark brown head (like dark brown sugar) head over a pitch liquid that has dark brown edgings when held to light. The carbonation isn't quite soda-poppy, but it settles out pretty sharply. Chocolate and boozey toffee yummy aroma waft up from the glass as it sits on the table. To the nose, rich dark roast coffee, vanilla, scorched sugar, anise, non-sweetened baker's chocolate, and cinnamon. Oak is mild and comes across as very raw. Decent clean alcohol sting. Tastes acrid and scorched with overly cleansing alcohol and drying astringency in the finish. Uhhffff, not what the smell led me to expect. Under all that is an overly strong oak, coffee roast, dry dark chocolate, and moderate grassy hop bitter. Very stingy in the mouth from carbonation and alcohol sting. The aftertaste has a strong noble hop flavor and a very dark roast coffee character. Md in the mouth with some dextrinous character. . Not worth the $3.99 I paid for it and definitely an aging failure. Appearance: 3.5 Smell: 3.5 Taste: 2 Mouthfeel: 3 Overall: 2.5.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2006 05:23:46 | More by mentor

Beaver13

Colorado

3.93/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle. Pours an opaque dark brown with a very thin tan head that quickly dissipates to a thin collar.

The aroma is strong alcohol, some figs and creamy chocolate and a little bit of a sour tang. As t warms oakey vanilla dominates.

The flavor is strong bitter alcohol initially and a little bit of sour fruits. Some smoother chocolate malts and coffee and oakey vanilla and cherries come out later. The mouthfeel is smooth full and creamy.

Overall, a bit too much harsh alcohol for me (I'm not a big liquor fan), but it is pretty complex and interesting. It gets better the more I drink of it - smooth and well balanced.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2006 06:18:02 | More by Beaver13

ColoradoBobs

Colorado

4.63/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22ounce bomber, from Liquor Max, Loveland, CO. Recommended by Nick, 'cause he knows I love malt.

Served at 50 degrees. Vigorous pour produces a huge creamy light brown head, like meringue, over a black black red body that is almost completely opaque -- a tiny bit of light comes through around the edges when you hold it directly in front of a light bulb. Lots of thick sticky lacing. Chocolate, vanilla bean, malted milk balls, cherry cheesecake on the nose, with a light backnote of piney hops.

Oh my gosh, this is like chocolate bourbon-balls! Wow. So much creamy and thickly toasted malty vanilla bourbony sweetness. Extreme malt darkness. Great alcohol warmth. It gets better with each sip. This is really enormously huge!

The mouthfeel is like a melted dark chocolate malt. Perfectly soft carbonation. Great depth.

The 10.5% is completely masked in the flavor, but it is certainly there. Is this a good as Yeti? Maybe.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2006 01:45:22 | More by ColoradoBobs

kolbe

Washington

4.83/5  rDev +21.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Sweet jesus.

I picked up a bottle of this along with a whole bunch of other stouts one day when I was feeling in the mood. I am not sure why I do that, as there is no way I will make it through 6 bombers of motor oil stout before I want to try something else, but alas...

I got around to popping this open the other day. Wow.

The aroma: incredible. Vanilla, oak, all that. Smells like something I'd like to spray around my house.

The pour: awesome. Black as night, little bit of a head to it, but not for long. Carbonation is perfect.

The taste: what! This is insane. This beer is delicious, and I couldn't slow myself down despite wanting to keep drinking it forever. It's like some sort of physically improbable coincidence whereby a tastebud's most ridiculous fantasies have been converted into a sludge that made its way into my goblet.

I mark down your drinkability, Black Gold, because I ought not want to drink you so fast.

I have actually had trouble concentrating for the last few days because I've been thinking about this beer. I just got a couple more bottles from the store today and I think their supply is getting low. Better to have loved and lost... but I hope Full Sail keeps this one coming around year after year, and I hope it turns out at least this well next year.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2006 05:59:36 | More by kolbe

Oxymoron

Colorado

2.93/5  rDev -26.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

What color is black gold? Pours a back color with red and dark brown hues around the edges of the glass. There is a somewhat wispy appearance and the foam has a brown and sometimes reddish color. The retention was limited as was the lacing but did last through the whole tasting.

The smell is sweet with more of a fruit or more specific sugar plum aroma. A mix of malt and sweetness. Overall the smell is well represented. There is a phenolic edge to the beer as well giving notice to the bourbon essence.

The taste is similar. At first there is a roasted coffee malt taste, but quickly the sweet plums shows with an overly sweet taste. I would have liked more malt but the bourbon side really is noticeable. The beer finishes with a sharp phenolic taste that deters from the overall flaovr. It seems to become more pronounced as the beer warms.

The body is close to full then say a mid body feel. Carbonation is light but acceptable. Usually I like to have a fruity plum or raisin taste in my Imperial Stouts, but this one with the phenolic lip and lack of malt really is not good.

So why did they name the beer after two color (ie why not red blue imp stout, or purple green imp stout?).

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2006 17:49:20 | More by Oxymoron

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.97/5  rDev +24.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Pours mahogany/black witha 3 fingers+ mocha colored head. Very good lacing and head retention

Smell: Oaky, vanilla, & bourbon notes

Taste: Bourbon notes, vanilla, slight nutiness, slight grainy bitterness witha dry fruitty finish.

MF: Rich & creamy woth perfect carbonation levels

Super drinkable for the strength. I love this style & this easily one of the best I've tried. Enjoy

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2006 05:52:00 | More by russpowell

Tupperwolf

Washington

2.45/5  rDev -38.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

This came highly recommended from the bearded fellow at Bottleworks, and it made its way into the last five beers from my trip down there - When you buy around 30-50 beers at a time and make them your stash for a month, you save the beers you're looking forward to the most for last.

The bottle is extremely handsome, with a black label and gold pinstriping, and is capped with a gold foill topper. It looks imposing and classy all at once, like a bodyguard in a tuxedo.

Black as the universe with a frothy, chunky three-finger dark brown head that attacks the walls of the glass and refuses to let go. It leaves delicate repeating patterns of lacing down the glass, and never fades thinner than a complete brown covering over the inky depths.

Smell... Okay, this is definitely bourbon barrel aged. It absolutely has to be. (Okay, yeah, the label says it is, but without reading that, it's still obvious). Sticking my nose in the glass, I'm overpowered by bourbon - that incredibly alcoholic roastiness that singes my sinuses and reminds me of the old days, before I began drinking beer exclusively. I hate to say it, but this loses major points because there's nothing to the smell except whiskey.

And... unfortunately... much of the flavor is whiskey, as well. I wonder if they even drained the bourbon barrels before they added the beer? It has all the characteristics of bourbon, even the unpleasant burn that follows its progress all the way down. The flavor is a little more rounded out than the smell, adding to the bourbon with slight lemon peel characteristics and a creamy aftertaste. Any hop bitterings or roasted maltiness is overpowered by the alcohol.

Mouthfeel: fluffy and creamy in the mouth - painful on the way down.

Final thoughts - I imagine this would be a better brew if it had been aged somewhere else. Leave the bourbon barrels for someone else.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2006 09:46:09 | More by Tupperwolf

Reidrover

Oregon

4.4/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Nice presentation on this one,love the black and gold label.
Very nice looking ale dark dark mahogany almost black with a loveklly bubbly brown head.
Aroma is nice and very "oaky", hints of dark fruits.Also picking up aromas akin to Ovaltine for some reason..whatever its very pleasing.
Taste is semi sweet and woody to begin, dark fruits . especially raisins, then the bourbon comes in loud and clear..it is slightly warming and comforting. Very nice almost like having a good quality whisky in a stout..slight over ripe banana and vanilla notes .
Great mouthfeel very thick and coating but not cloying in anyway..nice long warming after glow in the throat and chest.
I would like to say I could drink a bunch of these..but to be honest one is enough..it satisfies..a great beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2006 20:33:41 | More by Reidrover

Crosling

Colorado

4.45/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

MMMM. This was good. I have no idea how such a shitty Imperial Stout like Black Gold could turn into this Bourbon Countyesque, rich and decadent, deliciously awesome Imperial Stout. I like Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stouts that absord a ton of oak, like this, which exudes flavors of chocolate, fudge cake, icing, tiramisu, cocunut, vanilla, nutmeg, toasted wood and just a subtle hint of bourbon, but it’s in the backround, not hot at all. Also light hints of fruits, like banana, plums and black currants.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2006 05:38:44 | More by Crosling

TheBungyo

Washington

3.38/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

Seeing as how I'm not much of a hard alcohol drinker, I may not be the best person to review this beer. Don't get me wrong, I love stouts, moreso, imperial stouts. When it comes to bourbon though, that certainly isn't my forte.
This beer does not mess around. Before its even entirely poured the smell of bourbon wafts into the air. Though I don't really care for bourbon, this does smell pretty good. But wheres the stout aroma? Where's the coffee, or chocolate or molasses? As it stands, I'm nearly overpowered by the smell of the bourbon and vanilla. It smells good, but if I could smell more of what I think of as a stout, this would've rated higher than the 4 I gave it.
The taste is dominated by the vanilla and bourbon flavor ... with very little of what I think of as a stout.
Moutfeel is just better than average. I considered keeping a couple of these on hand to let them age, but I've rethought that. I guess we'll see.
One is definitely enough.
In spite of that, I gotta give Full Sail a hearty pat on the back for being adventurous. That kinda bravery is what makes being a beer fanatic exciting.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2006 02:13:26 | More by TheBungyo

deejaydan

Michigan

4.3/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

Pours an inky black color, moderate head, but not much of a head is expected. Aroma is slightly oaky, vanilla, bourbon. A good mix of aromas, but perhaps a touch muddled. Taste is outstanding for an imperial stout. The chocolate malt and roasted barley are cut nicely by the bourbon. It's a good mix of the conflicting flavors. I've got to say that mouthfeel is think for a Double Stout/Imperial Stout. I like them to be thicker and chewier than this, but perhaps that's partially the bourbon to blame. I'm going to hide a bottle somewhere in my cellar, per directions from Kim, and open it at a later date to see if the bourbon burn has subsided.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2006 22:51:46 | More by deejaydan

imrichbeeeatch

Oregon

4.68/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tasted at tasting room. Pours thick, tan head on top of dark, black beer. Held up to light and could see slight shades of ruby gleaming through. Personally, I like to not see through my stouts. Aroma is unmistakably bourbon. I love it! Wow! Flavor is full bourbon also. Quickly shifts to wood, then chocolate, then quickly back to bourbon. Looking deeply into the glass, I was able to find almond/amaretto flavors, as well as what I could only identify as toasted coconut. Slight alcoholic burn at the end, that's o.k. This is a nice beer. Taste's a little young, could benifit from aging for a short while (three months or so). Well done!

Serving type: on-tap

02-22-2006 05:52:54 | More by imrichbeeeatch

Iguana

Oregon

4.53/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This gem poured black with brown hues around the edges, with a almost non existent head. As I poured it I was greeted with the scents of vanilla and bourbon. Taste started out like roast coffee with a huge bourbon punch of a finish. As it warmed it got smoother and smoother. Very thick almost syrupy in texture. I would call this a sipping beer, mainly because the bourbon finish is so strong. Wish I had more of this beauty for aging but alas I only got 1 bottle. A great change of pace from Full Sail in my opinion and a truly great beer for the RIS lover and the bourbon lover alike.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2006 07:52:26 | More by Iguana

kgotcher

Colorado

3.78/5  rDev -5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Gold foil wrapped 22 oz bomber.

Opened up and poured, smell of vanilla and bourbon is very distinctive. Inky black with thin brown head that dissapates to a chocolate colored film.

Mouthfeel is slick, alchoholic warming with a salty and slightly sour aftertaste. Taste is nutty, vanilla and burbon but hiding much of the typical stout flavors of cocoa and coffee. Drinks more like an actual bourbon than a beer, a slow sipper.

Overall a very strong brew and a bit on the salty side, maybe needs some time to mellow out, not really my style although I did like Rasputin Imperial Stout, this one is almost too complicated and difficult to compare to anything else. I have a few bottles so will give this one another go in a year or so. I would still say give it a try, if just to try something different.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2006 05:05:47 | More by kgotcher

mattmaples

Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Now this is one BIG brew. It pouts thick and inky black. The aroma is big vanilla and substantial bourbon. The flavor is roasty, coffee and licorice with bourbon, vanilla and oak. This is a stupendous stout with a big wood component. It is a massive heady brew now and should mellow and age well over the next 3 to 5 years.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2006 00:30:16 | More by mattmaples

freed

Oregon

4.03/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Brewmaster's reserve 2005, nice packaging, unlike their recent changes. Pours a regal, dense black with a mousse brown foam cap. Decent lacing on the glass.

The aroma is stellar. Chocolates, coffee, and toast. Ironically, it seems that the aroma became less distinctive as it warmed.

The taste was initially a bit rough. Fully warmed it smoothed out a bit but the astringent black scorched malt flavor rounded out nicely with a slightly coffee bitter flavor. There is just a bit of that chocolate flavor, though is more apparent in the aroma.

The body is really smooth, and there is no indication that this beer is an imperial. The creamy delivery is kind of a surprise for a standard bottle, but really makes for a nice treat.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2005 23:12:32 | More by freed

HiroProtagonist

Maryland

4/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Full Sail Black Gold Stout was served up at the brewery tasting room in Hood River. The beer was black as expected, with a thick and creamy head, and matching creamy lacing. It had a pleasant mildly roasted sweetish coffee nose, with little else coming through. The flavor was also quite pleasant, with a roasty mildly sweet coffee malt base, licorice notes, and a light and dry bitter finish. Tasty and smooth, but not thick or overpowering, this is a great session stout that one could enjoy all night.

Serving type: on-tap

02-17-2004 05:45:22 | More by HiroProtagonist