4.44/5 rDev +2.1% look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5 12/20/2019 16 ouncer poured into a DFH tulip. Deep dark brown body topped with a brown fluffy head that stuck around for a while. Smell has the barrel and bourbon up front with a deep malty underpinning. Taste reflects the smell but with some chocolate tinges and other hard to put your finger on flavors. As is typical of a big stout it gets better as it warms up, but it still tastes "young" as in these flavors need time to merge into something bigger than the sum of the parts. Mouthfeel is very appropriate for a big stout. This already is an impressive stout but I look forward to revisiting this with some age on it.

4.59/5 rDev +6.5% look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5 Saw this at the local grocery store back in December or so and just automatically picked up a single, like I do all Jackie O's releases of this type, and stuck it in my cellar fridge for the right time, like tonight. Poured into a DFH tulip, it had a small head over an inky dark brown body. Smell was full of chocolate malty aromas with a bit of vanilla; didn't really detect that much coffee. Not much barrel in the aroma or taste. Taste was nicely complex in a way I've become conditioned to expect. Mouthfeel was perfect. This is why I just automatically buy Jackie O's big imperial stout releases; they've achieved a level of trust that an occasional miscue won't diminish.

This was left over from last year (it wasn't a one off so I'll be getting this year's version shortly) and I'm not sure if aging has helped or hurt it. There's still the maple sweetness in both the smell and taste. Maybe it's a bit more balanced but maybe not. Either way it tastes great. There's a bitterness to it but pure maple syrup has that in it so maybe it's a manifestation of that

This was a pleasant surprise. Not that big a Brew Kettle fan but this is very good. Had a sample before picking up a four pack. Just the right balance between sweetness and not detracting from the malt taste. I hope this isn't a one off.

Hadn't really intended to age this and at slightly less than 9 months this probably doesn't qualify but someone told me in the past that anything over six months is fair game so here goes. Nothing that made this attractive when it first arrived has diminished. Had this after a barrel aged Narwhal stout and everything about the Underground Mountain Brown was still prominent from the abundent head to the aroma and taste. I doubt that sitting on this longer would improve it but that's why we experiment. But I'm happy with my results.

I was really feeling paranoid about not finding this anywhere around me. Finally I located it by phone quite a way away and was internally weighing the wisdom of traveling so far and then found it when I took Teddy, my avatar, to a dog park and made an excursion, give or take a mile or two or TEN, and found it (is that what Founders *really* means?). Anyway it's still unseasonably hot around here so I was thinking of maybe a nice Oxbow farmhouse ale until I said to myself "just do it after all the horseshit you've been through". So here we are! 8/8/2019 12 oz bottle poured in a DFH tulip. Nice inch tan head over a dark brown body that never quite dissipated. Smell is very coffee forward with a nice booze barrel tinge. Taste was the big surprise because with all the flavors in the smell it's remarkably light (after all it is a brown ale) for the last Saturday of the summer while still packing a flavor heft. Mouthfeel is zesty and refreshing. A friend of mine told me he combined this with Founders Breakfast Stout which makes 100% sense. All my bitching has been rewarded. This is at least as good as expected.

4.44/5 rDev +2.1% look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5 12/20/2019 16 ouncer poured into a DFH tulip. Deep dark brown body topped with a brown fluffy head that stuck around for a while. Smell has the barrel and bourbon up front with a deep malty underpinning. Taste reflects the smell but with some chocolate tinges and other hard to put your finger on flavors. As is typical of a big stout it gets better as it warms up, but it still tastes "young" as in these flavors need time to merge into something bigger than the sum of the parts. Mouthfeel is very appropriate for a big stout. This already is an impressive stout but I look forward to revisiting this with some age on it.

4.19/5 rDev +0.7% look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 Saw a four pack of this a while back, maybe in mid November, and snagged it. Took a couple bottles over to a buddy's place for beer tasting and music enjoyment and, although my attention was divided, remember enjoying this a great deal. So now I get to really analyze it. Normal sized tan head over a dark brown body. Smells like a muted oatmeal cookie. Can definitely detect the spices, and as it warms up it the aromas increase. But the taste is where everything comes together. Rich spicy raisiny brown sugary oatmeal taste over a solid malty stout body with the alcohol completely hidden. Nicely thick mouthfeel. When I bought this I thought it sounded gimmicky but it really delivers as a flavored stout. I don't think aging can improve this because nothing seems out of balance so I'll finish this off shortly.

Was noticing the number of people claiming this doesn't age well, looked in my cellar fridge and thought "shit, I'd better get on this". Poured into a DFH tulip, the carbonation is still quite present with a fluffy dark tan head of an inch on top of a dark brown body. The barrel is still present in the smell along with some chocolate and malts. It's the taste where this suffers. The coffee is almost gone and the rest just doesn't have enough bite to it. This isn't surprising since my experience in aging stouts has been that it balances flavors or an alcohol burn that predominate in a newly bottled version.

This is the second half of a vertical starting with a 2019 which was, quite frankly, a disappointment. It tasted like a slightly better Breakfast Stout with next to no barrel presence. This had slightly less carbonation but was far from flat. The coffee smell and taste was reduced but still present but, wow, the barrel presence was back and left no doubt that I'm drinking something barrel aged in bourbon barrels. This was the opposite of what I expected, which is why we do these tests.

Another 2017 in an Abbey long stemmed tulip. I think this is very balanced now and am thinking of gradually finishing the 2017s between now and late spring 2019 to ward off any off tastes or the barrel tastes disappearing and it becoming something less pleasing than it currently is.

Had another of the 2017. Poured into a DFH tulip I think the head was slightly smaller than when fresh. The barrel and booze smell is still prominent but is slightly more balanced in the taste along with the chocolate and malts. Still a very rewarding experience in the waning days of August. Still three left to consume and compare

Having a 2017 after a year (time flies when you drink excellent beer) and the chocolate flavor has faded slightly but the barrel taste and alcohol burn are still present along with the coffee. This probably isn't a long term item to cellar but there's no urgency to consume the remaining four.

Still pretty hot but smooth. I'm hoping that aging mutes the alcohol burn and brings out more of the chocolate and other flavors. But if it doesn't this is still very good.

4.33/5 rDev +3.6% look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 Poured a pint bottle into a DFH tulip. Fluffy dark tan head over a dark brown body. Smell is a complex blend of chocolate flavors with even a tinge of vanilla in there. Taste echoes the smell but with a dark chocolate bitterness at the end that predominates. Absolutely no taste of alcohol. Mouthfeel is just fine for the style. Even though I prefer bigger imperial stouts to this, for the style this is very good.

MHuge fluffy head which produces the most abundant lacing I think I've seen over a dark brown body through which no light seems to pass. Quintessential RIS smell of malts and dark chocolate. Taste is very rich and creamy as the hop bitterness has faded into maybe a dark chocolate aftertaste that lingers on the palate in a pleasant way. Mouthfeel is very rich. This is a superb RIS in terms of the alcohol staying understated while still making itself felt. Catherine the Great would surely approve.

Still has plenty of carbonation producing a prodigious fluffy head. Smell is very malty with a hint of chocolate. Taste is creamy and rich with the before mentioned chocolate. Body is very rich and full. This has aged very nicely. Glad I still have one left.

Carbonation is still undiminished. The smell is rich chocolate malts. Taste still has a hop presence but things are very creamy under the slight bitterness with a very rich flavor. Mouthfeel is very full. I might let the other two rest and see what happens.

1/25/2018 12 ounce bottle on 1/18/2020. Large tan head over a dark brown body. Rich chocolate infused malty smell. Taste is much creamier and mellow with the hop bite lessened from fresh with complex dark fruit flavors making their presence known. Not boozy per se but you know you're drinking something with heft, the type of brew that Catherine the Great wanted transported large distances for her enjoyment on the long Russian nights.

3.91/5 rDev -6% look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75 16 ounce can into a DFH tulip. Bought summer 2019. 9.5%. Stored at 50 degrees. Poured a dark mahogany red color under a fluffy light tan head which left abundant lacing as it dissipated. Smell was underwhelming with cherries being predominant before and after it warmed up with a hint of barrel. Taste was better as some of the trademark quad flavors emerged under the cherries and barrel but the taste was thinner than expected given what I recall of the base beer's flavor (granted my palate may have changed a lot). Mouthfeel was fine for this style. This was slightly disappointing. Ommegang was my first favorite craft brewery and I bought this with high hopes that weren't realized. The Double Barrel Dubbel, bought at the same time, was more enjoyable. Maybe this is better fresh.

Found another one of these. Age hasn't diminished the carbonation because the head, if anything, was larger and lasted longer than on 8/4/2019. Smell and taste are similar except I can't detect the cocnut that I previously noticed in both. Plus, counterintuitively, it seems to have gained more alcohol heat with aging. And the mouthfeel seems to be thicker. This was in no way a bad experience but I don't think aging did anything positive for this. Probably fresher is slightly better.

4.18/5 rDev -0.7% look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 Poured a 2/6/2019 16 ouncer into a DFH tulip. Nice rich blackish brown body with a small tan head that dissipated quickly except around the edges and above the etched fish in the center of the bottom. Smell at first was hot boozy vanilla but after it warmed up started detecting coconut and brown sugar. Taste was remarkably smooth for 13% with no risk of coughing jags. Again mostly tasted vanilla initially but upon warming the coconut became apparent on the back end. Mouthfeel was full without being thick. Nice imperial stout; I hope I can find another for cooler weather.

Having the fifth of a sixer that cellaringt hasn't hurt, at least to me. The funny thing is I don't even like pecans much but this tastes fine.

4.47/5 rDev -0.7% look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5 Picked this up at the brewery in September while on vacation and stored @ 50 degrees. Bottled on 9/4/19 in 375 ml bottle poured into a DFH tulip. Slight foamy tan head which faded rapidly into a ring over a dark inky body. Could smell the boozy sweetness as soon as I popped the cap. Brown sugar, dark fruit, molasses and rye whisky aromas. Can't really detect the stout presence in the smell or taste; definitely more of an old ale/barleywine feel. Taste is superb with the smell components plus a leather presence. Mouthfeel is suitably chewy with still a slight carbonation lightness. I'm really glad I picked this up. I'm not sure what further aging would have accomplished because this tastes wonderfully balanced with no hop presence to fade.

Although this is over a year past the recommended date this is still going strong. Still a vibrant Belgian strong ale smell and taste with no sign of oxidation or off smells or tastes. Alcohol is still very understated which is why I'm sitting in front of the Christmas tree enjoying this with no desire to go anywhere.

I'm not sure how much this has improved in the last six months but it tastes very good tonight. Everything is balanced with rich malty Belgian strong ale tastes and smells. I'll have the last one of this four pack over the holiday season.

This has aged nicely over the ten months since I first tried it. The malt and dark fruit smells and tastes seem to be deeper and richer than before with an alcohol presence you recognize but it's not out of balance. This is a very good Belgian strong dark ale that could get even better with more time.