Tag Archives: ba

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Council Brewing Co., USA, Wild Ale

Council Broken Wand Boysenberry

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Brewery: Council Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 6.7%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: American Dark Sour Ale oak foeder aged with boysenberries. Brewery closed in December 2018

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The giant, wind up Owl, guardian of the Magic Factory and conjurer of darkness and truth, comes bearing the Broken Wand, which has turned this ominous beer into darkness. This foeder aged sour beer with scrumptious boysenberries is the result of carefully selected microbes from our Deadlock barrel program that worked their magic in this beer. This dark concoction has intense flavors and aromas of, dark berries, chocolate, vanilla, and soft oak tannins.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.31
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy dark dark purple red colour with a two finger pink head that had decent retention, and eventually settling to a nice replenishing thin layer, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Mixed berries, jammy, blueberry, blackberry, oak.
Taste: Sour, tart, blueberry, blackberry, lightly vinous, oak, and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I actually don’t know what boysenberry tastes like, but I’m getting a nice mix of blueberry and blackberry. The barrel aging also imparts some nice oak and vanilla notes.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Epic Brewing Company, Stout - Imperial, USA

Epic Quadruple Barrel Big Bad Baptist

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Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.9%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2018 Rare Release. Imperial Stout aged in whiskey & rum barrels with roasted cacao nibs, almond flavor, barrel-aged coffee beans, barrel-aged coconut & barrel-aged almond

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We’ve taken barrel aging to a whole new level by aging shaved coconut, almonds, and Blue Copper’s Colombian coffee beans in whiskey barrels, while our Imperial Stout ages separately in both rum and whiskey barrels. Then our brewers hand-blend each batch creating the most complex and outrageous version of Big Bad Baptist we have ever made.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.35
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, 2018 release, release #9. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with an almost one finger brown head that had decent retention, eventually dissipated to a thin layer and left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Coffee, chocolate, cocoa nibs, brown sugar, vanilla, whiskey, rum, oak, light roast and a hint of toasted coconut.
Taste: Moderate sweetness, rich chocolate, coffee, brown sugar, cocoa nibs, nuttiness, almond, coconut, whiskey, rum, oak, with hints of dark fruit.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable, but not quite as good as the original BBB or the Triple Barrel BBB.

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

Epic Triple Barrel Big Bad Baptist

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Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.4%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2017 Rare Release. Imperial Stout aged in whiskey & rum barrels with cacao nibs, barrel-aged coffee beans, and barrel-aged coconut added. Malts – Muntons Maris Otter Malt, Briess 2-Row Brewers Malt, Crystal Muntons, Weyermann Light Munich Malt I, 2-Row Chocolate, Malt 2-Row Black Malt and Roasted Barley. Hops – Nugget, Chinook and Cascade. Spices – Barrel Aged Coffee, Barrel Aged Coconut, and Cacao Nibs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Three’s not a crowd in this limited edition Triple Barrel Big Bad Baptist. We aged coconut and Blue Copper’s Colombian coffee beans in fresh whiskey barrels, while our Imperial Stout aged separately in both rum and whiskey barrels. The trio was then hand-blended, creating our most over-the-top version of Big Bad Baptist yet. Best enjoyed slowly, three sips at a time.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.57
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, release #6, bottled on 15th November 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with an almost one finger dark beige head that had decent retention and eventually settled to a thin layer and left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, coffee, cacao nibs, chocolate, toasted coconut, vanilla, oak, with hints of whiskey and Malibu.
Taste: Toasted coconut, Malibu, rum, whiskey, light sweetness, chocolate, coffee, light bitterness, with hints of roasted malt and a touch of booze.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied and soft carbonation.
Overall: Loved the aroma and great easy drinking flavours. Body was a little light, but other than that, everything was just so good, especially the coconut.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Epic Brewing Company, Stout - Imperial, USA

Epic Big Bad Baptista

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Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2017 Rare Release. Imperial Stout with Mexican coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla & cinnamon flavor added and 100% aged in whiskey barrels. Malts – Ultra Premium Maris Otter, Briess 2-Row Brewers Malts, Muntons Crystal, Weyermann Light Munich Malt I, 2-Row Chocolate Malt, 2-Row Black Malt and Roasted Barley. Hops – Nugget, Chinook and Cascade. Spices – Cinnamon, Vanilla, Blue Copper Mexican Coffee and Solstace Cacao Nibs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Inspired by the spicy and bold flavors of a Café de Olla we added Vanilla and Cinnamon along with Mexican Coffee beans and cacao nibs to our 100% Barrel-aged Big Bad Baptist. The result is luxurious, complex, and the perfect after-dinner companion on chilly evenings.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.13
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, release #8, bottled on 9th November 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown in colour with a thin dark tanned head that had decent retention while leaving some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, coffee, almond, cinnamon, oak, with hints of chocolate and whiskey.
Taste: Roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, oak, moderate sweetness, whiskey, cinnamon and very light chili spice.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, moderate to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice and enjoyable. A good sipper, although spice could be stronger.

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.