Bourbon Barrel Imperial Coffee Stout is a coffee stout that was aged for 15 months in Woodford Reserve barrels until it rounded out at a robust 13% ABV. Fegley’s Brew Works is offering a special pre-order for 12 ounce bottles of the stout that can be picked up at either their Allentown or Bethlehem locations on April 2nd.
Fegley’s coffe stout pours to a pitch black color, not at all different from your favorite cup of Joe fresh out of your French press. The thin, chocolatey brown head quickly dissipates leaving an aroma that definitely brings a bourbon sweetness and anticipatory warmth alongside some roasted coffee bean scent.
Despite its sweeter nose it’s the coffee that leads the way with it’s rich, but not quite bitter notes coming through. As the beer begins to warm this becomes even more present with a bit of caramel and copper making their way into the fray. The finish is where some bourbon flavor does arise, but the thinner body stops it from clinging too much to your tongue and losing that strong coffee taste.
Fegley’s has in a lot of ways created a perfect storm for craft beer lovers; they’ve allowed for people to dodge the dreaded (sometimes) limited beer release line with the pre-order while also packaging the stout in small and affordable that will be perfect for aging.
