Bluegrass Brewing Company: Bourbon Barrel Stout; Jefferson Reserve

Sorry about missing last night's review, I was out of town with no internet access, I'm still not sure how I survived.
Anyways, here is the brew that was scheduled for last night, and what a nice way to start the week.

B+ / 3.85
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 3.5
Bottle
Room temp

Appearance: not quiet inky black, but extremely dark, it is completely opaque and on the edges you can see some light through it which shows a murky fluid. As the brew settled into the glass I began to notice some almond colored particles floating in the mix which began to settle on the bottom leaving a thin layer of small things that looked like little globs of something. I was wondering if they were a product of aging in the barrels but between the murkiness and the particles it was clear that this was not a heavily filtered brew. The head rose to 1 ¼ fingers and was a dark almond color this gave the stout a very appealing appearance, in a few moments the head dissipated to a thin layer covering the brew, with several carbonation streams visible from the surface. The unfiltered look got me curious but it lacked a polish that I’ve come to expect from quality stouts.

Smell: The strong dark roasted malts are evident to even an amateur beer taster and very pleasant at that, they have a nice deep aroma that is pleasant. There is the hoppy spice that one would expect from a stout but it doesn’t compete with the malty richness. The aroma is made more complex with the sweetness which at first smelled like chocolates or toffee but further in began to remind me of the bourbon. As per the name I really was expecting more of a bourbon touch to the stout.

Taste: Again the rich malts rule the day with this stout accompanied by the sweetness of the caramel and toffee flavors. As with the smell there is some hoppy bitterness but nothing bold or offensive, it is quite well mannered in that regard. I did notice some woody or oak flavors that added a nice mix to the flavors. As I progressed I began to think that the sweetness I was tasting could be in part due to the bourbon barrels but again I couldn’t taste much bourbon in the brew. In all the stout has a dark rich malt flavor with sweetness backed up by the spice of the hops. If they are looking to highlight the malts then they succeeded in providing a nice well behaved full bodied flavor. There is a very mild alcohol taste but it too is tame and in line with what I’ve experienced with other stouts.

Mouthfeel: The first thing I noticed in this brew was the thick smoothness of the liquid which rolls very nicely on the tongue and feels quite pleasant for those wanting a hearty drink. The carbonation doesn’t seem to match what I saw at first at I thought I was going to have a heavily bubbled drink only to find that the fizz was well behaved. I did notice a slight chunkiness or grit as I began to finish the pint which I imagine was from the particles I saw earlier. I have to know what those are all about. The feel in the mouth is thick and creamy, and leaves the mouth with a light buttery film that clears relatively fast.

Drinkability: This is not a session beer in the least, but it is a certainly a pleasant beer that one could enjoy drinking by itself or with a meal although I would suggest a solo run rather than muttle the malty richness with other flavors. The carbonation fizz added to enhance the feel but didn’t leave me feeling bloated as this smooth brew slid down. I actually finished this beer faster than I would have liked because the flavors were just that good. This is certainly going on my repeat list for the time when I want a brew that I can just settle down with and nurse enjoying the dark richness.