Front taste is bourbon, bittersweet chocolate, walnut. Plum taste and wood expression stands tall in time. Aftertaste is ground coffee, rich chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, mild herbal hops, sweet forward with a dry finish. Medium-full body. Mouthfeel is warm-hot, boozy, thick, clingy, carby, astringent on the back end.
This is an extraordinary beer, a big BBA that is an exemplary example of its category. The flavor profile is complex, with huge swaths of chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and bourbon, supported throughout by high notes of dark fruit, oak, sweet pastry, and herbal hops. Readers of this blog know that I am a huge fan of BBA brews, and this is a solid, steadfast example of the brilliance that can come from a barrel. Strongly recommended.
From the brewery:
"Imperial porter with coffee and vanilla flavors aged in High West bourbon and rye barrels... We partnered with our friends at High West® Distillery to create a barrel-aged version of Ballast Point Victory at Sea, our award-winning Imperial Porter with cold-steeped coffee and vanilla. From a blend of Ballast Point Victory at Sea aged in High West’s own bourbon & rye whiskey oak casks, new layers of complexity emerge with notes of soft caramel and smoky oak over a dark chocolate and roasted almond body. High West crafts delicious and distinctive whiskeys to honor the American West, making it the perfect pairing with our signature San Diego-born porter."
[source: ballastpoint.com]
0 comments: