Bourbon Barrel-Aged Plead the 5th
Dark Horse Brewing Co. in Marshall, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Imperial Rotating|
Score
8.32
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Pitch black in color with a faint tan head that immediately identifies this beer as BIG. Aromas of dark fruits, chocolate, caramel and roast also make it even bigger. Roasted coffee and fruity chocolate notes are just the beginning of this stout's complex flavor. If this is wrong we don't want to be right.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle shared at RBBWG 2023. Black color, small off-white head. Smell and taste are malts, lightly oxidized brown malts, bitterness is okay but I miss bourbon tbh. Boozy still but not the fine bourbon that was in some of the others we tried this evening. Still alright.
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle shared at RBBWG 2023. Opaque black color, small light brown colored head. Aroma and flavor are malts, brown malts. Flavor in the aftertaste is better: more vanilla and bourbon. Okay.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Sampled 2023. Pours black, no real head. Scent is soy, beyond the 2012 in terms of oxidation, for some reason (they come from the same cellar) Taste is full, thick, more oxidation than the 2012. soy sauce, less pronounced bourbon. This seems past its prime .
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9
Bottle shared at RBBWG 2023. Opaque black color, no head. Aroma and flavor are malts, roast, umami, bourbon, soy sauce, liquorice still there but fortunately a little less than the original. The barrel aging really improves the beer. Very solid.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Sampled at 2023. Pours black, no real head. Scent is soy, full, intense, still got a woody profile. Taste is full, still quite thick and bombastic, strong woody , bourbon presence. Sure, it's aged, and shows soy, but this isn't over-the-top to me. Still way more enjoyable than the majority of (fresh) imperial stouts nowaydays.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
light medium body. Big roasted malt character . Boozy, but not massively complex. Still decent
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Multiple 2021 cans from Livonia Liquor. Pours a deep brown to black with a finger of beige head that dissipates. Bourbon, brownie and coffee aromas on the nose. More of the same on the palate with bourbon and brownie really standing out. Smooth with warming alcohol on the finish. This is probably the best BBA Plead the 5th I've had in years. Really nice batch.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
I rated my first plead the fifth BBA back in 2013, and had the 2011 vintage. Ever since, i kept some different vintages since i truly loved the beer ! Now it seems I have 2 of 2016, so don't have to break up my small vertical to try it again tonight. Early 2021 as of time of this review, so roughly 4 years old beer in the bottle before me. Always kept in my cellar, I believe I bought this reasonably fresh in Belgium ? Anyway. pours black, with a small , darkly tanned head with medium low to low stability. Scent blasts of coffee, roastyness, relatively intense, of course no thick sugarbomb we're used to these days in our pastry styles. Bourbon is relatively mild, providing some vanilla. Taste is fairly full. To the sweet side, but with a very nice roastyness. Think pure, dark chocolate and coffee, as always. A smooth grainy vanilla touch by the barrel. Medium thick body for the style, which is (again) not in today's line of 'thick' but certainly very respectable. medium low carbonation. Medium high to even high bitterness for an Imperial stout, than again this is the way stouts were earlier on. Bourbon has smoothened out. An all-in-balance beer, for sure. i'm not as blown away as I previously was. Perhaps this beer isn't ment to age 4 years, perhaps it's just my palate and what I got used to by now. Still a very nice BBA Impy though, with flawless quality.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
Bottle shared by Bursprak. Thanks buddy, you’re the man :) Pours pitch black with a big dark brown head. Aroma is pretty fruity, vanilla, dark chocolate, savory licorice. Taste is vanilla, light amount of roast, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, dark fruits, fudge, some licorice.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle. Aroma nutty, bit of bourbon, wood. Taste is similar, light, roasty, bit of coffee. Great stuff