Abita Bourbon Street Imperial Stout

Review Date 7/6/2019  By John Staradumsky

  Style: Imperial Stout   Brewery: Abita   Country: USA   State: Louisiana   $ Per OZ: $.45 (B)   ABV: 10%

Here’s an interesting story. The plot revolves around Abita Bourbon Street Imperial Stout, a beer “Aged 100% in Bourbon Barrels” according to the label. I don’t know how old my bottle is, you see, but it is at least as old as December 21^st, 2014 when I drank a draft glass at my local Taco Mac. I didn’t take notes then because I was involved in a Patriots game (it was a Sunday afternoon), but I did remark that I had a bottle at home. Worth noting, too, is that this beer was credit number 600 in my Brewniversity studies. I just hit 1336 a few days ago.

Anyway, I didn’t pop that bottle until February 11^th of 2019. So it did have some age on it. I do wish I had taken notes in 2014 so I could compare young and aged, but I did say I was enjoying it.

Abita says on their website:

Bourbon Street Stout is an Imperial Stout that is aged in small batch bourbon barrels. Our Imperial Stout is brewed with a combination of pale, caramel, chocolate and roasted malts. Oats are also added to give the beer a fuller and sweeter taste. The roasted malts give the beer its dark color as well as its intense flavor and aroma. After fermentation the beer is cold aged for 6 weeks. This is necessary for all of the flavors of the malt and hops to balance and produce a very smooth flavor. After the cold aging the beer is transferred into the bourbon barrels. It is then aged for another 8 weeks to absorb all of the flavors from the barrels. The result is a stout that brings out the roasted flavors from the malt and the warming toasted, vanilla, and bourbon flavors.

Abita Bourbon Street Imperial Stout has an alcohol content of 10% by volume and I bought my bomber bottle at Kroger for $9.99.

Abita Bourbon Street Imperial Stout pours to a jet-black color with a thick creamy tan head and a big boozy bourbon nose with hints of prune. Taking a sip, the beer is smooth and roasty with a nigh full body. It’s delightfully woody with more subtle bourbon notes and finishes warmly alcoholic and boozy with a touch of grassy hops too. My only criticism is the beer could use just a tad more body, but it is drinking very well with about 5 years of age on it.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??