Category Archives: Stout – Imperial

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.

4 - Good (buy), 8 Wired Brewing Co., Beer Reviews, New Zealand, Stout - Imperial

8 Wired iStout Affogato Imperial Stout

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Brewery: 8 Wired Brewing Co.
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 10%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewed with lactose, coffee & vanilla

Brewer Description: (from can) The “i” might be in lower case, but beware – this is a capital beer. Brimming with luscious roasted coffee and chocolate malt flavors drizzled over a scoop of velvety ice cream. iStout Affogato is balanced by a brisk bitterness and bold hoppy freshness, remixed by the addition of lactose, coffee, and vanilla in the brew. As with all our beers, this beer is a very modern interpretation of this classic style.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.22
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 440ml can with a best before date of 7th November 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a just over one finger tanned head that had decent retention while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Coffee, roasted malts, cacao nibs, chocolate, vanilla and a touch earthy.
Taste: Bittersweet, roasted malts, coffee, chocolate and hints of vanilla and earthiness.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Good sipper with nice bittersweet coffee and chocolate flavours.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Omnipollo, Stout - Imperial, Sweden

Omnipollo AON Bourbon Bacon Burger

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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) Brewed with 50 kg of actual bacon. This imperial stout hits the perfect spot between, salty, smoky and sweet. Not suitable for vegetarians. Amazing for everyone else.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.6
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 10th July 2018, and with a best before date of 10th July 2023. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a half finger mocha brown head that dissipated fairly quickly but left some tiny spotty lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate, fudge, nuttiness (maybe pecan), smoky, tar, slight peat even, and caramel.
Taste: Moderate sweetness, chocolate, roasted malts, smoky, smoked ham, charred wood. Finish was a little weird chemical / plastic-y.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Chocolate and roastiness was nice, the smokiness was ok, but somehow the mix brought out a chemical / plastic-y finish, which was not the end of the world, but enough to make me think that perhaps once is enough.

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.