Who doesn’t love ice cream beer? You heard that right ice cream beer! I say it like it’s a thing, but I guess this is the only ice cream flavored beer I’ve had. Well maybe that’s not true either I’ve had fruit popsicle flavored beer, but come on popsicles are ice creams red headed step child. No offense to any red heads reading this I actually like you. Enough of my rambling I’ll get on to the review.
Bourbon Barrel Aged Neapolitan Stout is a magnificent beer. The base stout is killer on its own so when you put it into barrels it becomes something else entirely.
The appearance is black like my soul or if you what a real reference it’s like motor oil. It’s slightly thinner than that though. There’s a half in tan head that was pretty think at first, but I’ll admit I poured this one like a rookie. There were multiple sips to keep this one from overflowing the glass.
The aroma is rich and inviting. In the non BBA version I also pick up a hint of sweetness that’s a mixture of all the flavors. In the BBA version I get a little heat from the barrel aging process and that cuts the sweetness considerably. I can kind of start to get the chocolate and vanilla as individual aromas as well.
The taste is were this beer stands out. On the first sip you get a whisky/bourbon then chocolate. Then vanilla hits you are and it fades into a sweet strawberry finish. There is literally three flavor zones in this beer. It’s a hard switch between them which is with magic or a testament to how good the brewers are. I hope to god they protect the recipe under lock and key because I would steal it in a heart beat.
I touched on the mouthfeel in the appearance. This is a little thin for a big stout. I would like a little more chew and silk as I drink it. There is a feeling that they watered it down a bit to make more bottles. I can’t confirm this, but it’s a little off and this is my only complaint about this beer.
I love this beer, but I would prefer to just keep drinking the non BBA version. This bottle has a higher cost and higher alcohol content which makes it more of a special occasion kind of beer. In my world that means a Monday beer!