Category Archives: 5 – Excellent (must buy)

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery, Stout - Imperial, USA

Jackie O’s Bourbon Barrel Oro Negro

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Brewery: Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Stout brewed with walnuts, conditioned on spices & aged in bourbon barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Oro Negro spawned from our unwavering compulsion to experiment. Infusing imperial stouts with spices, fruits, and wood has been a staple at our bottle releases since 2009. Oro Negro is the culmination of note-taking and listening to our patrons. Our cherished Oil of Aphrodite was aged in bourbon barrels and infused with cacao nibs, vanilla beans, habaneros, and cinnamon sticks. A refined stout filled with rich character and a touch of heat.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.47
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 12.7 fl. oz. bottle, 2016 vintage, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a thin beige head that disappeared almost immediately while leaving some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Mexican hot chocolate, light roast, chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, cinnamon, chili and wood, with maybe even some light nuttiness.
Taste: Bourbon, roasted malt, chocolate, cocoa, cinnamon, chili, raisin, coconut, vanilla, almond and oak, while a touch herbal.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, moderate to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Good balance between the barrel, booze and spices. It drinks smooth and is a great sipper. However, I do think that I prefer the unbarreled aged version just that little bit more. Still a must buy though.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery, Stout - Imperial, USA

Jackie O’s Oro Negro

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Brewery: Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 10%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Stout brewed with walnuts & conditioned on spices

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Oro Negro spawned from our unwavering compulsion to experiment. Infusing imperial stouts with spices, fruits, and wood has been a staple at our bottle releases since 2009. Oro Negro is the culmination of note-taking and listening to our patrons. Our cherished Oil of Aphrodite is infused with cacao nibs, vanilla beans, oak staves, habaneros, and cinnamon sticks. A refined stout filled with rich character and a touch of heat.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.53
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 12.7 fl. oz. bottle, 2017 vintage, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin brown head that dissipated quickly while leaving some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Carrot cake, chocolate, cocoa, light roast, cinnamon, vanilla, toffee, and a nice light chili kick. It’s like liquid dessert.
Taste: Roasted malts, chocolate, cacao, cinnamon, carrot cake, raisins, vanilla, light nuttiness and a good moderately strong spicy chili kick on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Body may be a little lighter than I’d prefer, but everything else seems to work really well. Aroma was especially perfect with great cake and dessert like smells. Taste was also nice as the sweetness was balanced by the chili spice. Everything just went well together.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Founders Brewing Company, Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy, USA

Founders Dirty Bastard

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Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 8.5%
Style: Scottish Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
Other Notes: 50 IBUs. Scotch Style Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) So good it’s almost wrong. Dark ruby in color and brewed with seven varieties of imported malts. Complex in finish, with hints of smoke and peat. Paired with a malty richness and a right hook of hop power to give it the bad attitude that a beer named Dirty Bastard has to live up to. Ain’t for the wee lads.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.51
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, bottled on 4th October 2018. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A clear amber copper orange colour with a one finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly but left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Fruity, sweet artificial cherry, cotton candy, plum, prunes, light roast, chocolate and caramel.
Taste: Roasted malts, lightly sweet, caramel, burnt sugar, smoke, light peat with a light lasting bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Wow, this was much better than expected and I enjoyed this even more than Backwoods Bastard, especially the aroma which impressed me.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Founders Brewing Company, Stout - Imperial, USA

Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)

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Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12.3%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Barrel Aged Series. 2018 release. Ale brewed with chocolate and coffee aged in oak bourbon barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) What we’ve got here is an Imperial Stout brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates, then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year to make sure wonderful bourbon undertones come through in the finish. Makes your taste buds squeal with delight.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.58
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, bottled on 13th March 2018. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown to black in colour with a half finger mocha brown head that dissipated fairly quickly, but left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, coffee, chocolate, bourbon, oak and a light caramel.
Taste: Roasted malts, lots of rich dark chocolate, coffee, bourbon, oak, vanilla, light bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Aroma wasn’t as rich as the taste, but the taste was outstanding with the strong rich and smooth chocolate flavours. The coffee, bourbon and oak balanced it out very nicely, and it was just a great sipper for a cool winter (or air conditioned) night.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Omnipollo, Stout - Imperial, Sweden

Omnipollo Gimbagagompa Coffee Vanilla Granola

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Brewery: Omnipollo
Country: Sweden
ABV: 11%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewed by Omnipollo at Brouwerij De Molen (Netherlands)

Brewer Description: (from website) When Karl asked his four year old son what we should name our next beer, he said Gimbagagompa. And there You have it. Coffee Vanilla Granola Imperial Stout. All part of a nutritious breakfast.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.59
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 1st February 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown to black in colour with a thin half finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate, granola, vanilla, nuttiness.
Taste: Bittersweet, roasty malts, chocolate, granola, coffee, vanilla, caramel with a hint of raisin and some spices.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: I love granola, so this is right up my alley, especially the aroma which I thought was near perfect. Meanwhile, the taste has a good balance between bitter and sweet, plus the nice granola, coffee and vanilla flavours.