Against the Grain / De Molen Bo & Luke

Orange Wax (or Reddish orange). Originally an Against the Grain Brewery and Brouwerij De Molen collaboration beer. For the first incarnation, De Molen head brewer Menno Oliver hopped in a muscle car and drove straight through from the Netherlands to Louisville, KY (that’s USA folks) to brew this bourbon inspired ale, and we liked it so much, we decided to do it again. We took the ingredients in bourbon whiskey (Barley, Rye, Corn) and then smoked them with cherry wood and brewed a huge imperial stout with them. Then to top it off we aged it in Pappy VanWinkle Bourbon Barrels. The resulting beer is rich, smokey and complex, with a bourbon character of caramel, vanilla and spice. Bottle has orange reddish orange) wax top. Only the first version was aged in Pappy barrels. For further information see - http://www.ratebeer.com/forums/bo-luke-initial-release-vs-later-bottles_256787.htm

356 reviews

Louisville, United States

Community reviews

4.0 650mL bottle from Carwyn Cellars 13%abv can't find date stamp Dark tan head holds atop a pitch black body. Lots of bourbon on the aroma - oaken char, burnt butter, dried fruit, smoke emerges with warmth, woody, campfire, almost peaty. It's full, thick, oily mouthfeel, the oak & smoked malt really cuts through though, drying things out, as with the booze that's not shy. Best describe this as quite savoury overall - earthy smoke, campfire, charred oak, bitter cocoa, lots of raisin and dried fig and prune, black coffee,. Finish is quite big, holds on, some warmth but there's a fair sweetness here, and oaken tannin. A formidable beast; a delicious one - think it would do with more bottle time - hard to know without a bottle date!?

4.0 765ml bottle Orange was bottle. Pours nearly pitch black in color with a mahogany hue at the edges and capped by a small tan layer of foam that settles quickly to a thin film. The aroma shows notes of dark chocolate, rye spice, smoked meat, molasses, and smooth bourbon soaked oak over a dark roasted malt base. The flavor follows suit with notes of dark chocolate, molasses, smoked malt, and rye spice to go with the dark roasted malts and a smooth bourbon character with notes of vanilla laden oak. There is a nice spice on the back end to go with some roasty bitterness as well with little signs of alcohol. Full bodied and smooth with soft carbonation that leads to a dark chocolate, bourbon, smoke, woody vanilla, and lingering rye spice on the finish. Not overly smokey like I was anticipating, but very smooth and well integrated. This has held up really well for however olds this bottle is. Good stuff.

2.6 Keg @ Northern Monk Refectory, Leeds. Black in colour and mostly alcohol only in aroma and taste. There's toasted and roasted malts in its aftertaste.

3.9 On tap at Dive 106. Pours slightly translucent black with a cream head and excellent lacing. Bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, plum, dark chocolate, sweet vanilla, toast, earthy coffee grounds. Decent body. Good.

3.0 Jet black pour with an off-white head. Aroma and flavour is chocolate, cocoa and smoke.

3.9 75 cl fles. 86 IBU. Donkerbruin bier met rode gloed. Geur: gerookt, grill chips, turf, licht zoet, vanille. Smaak: rook van smeulend hout, zoet, karamel, vanille, wat koffie, klein zuurtje met wat bitters als een aspirine, wat alcoholisch. Matige koolzuurprikkel. Afdronk: licht zoet, licht bitter, wat tannine.

4.0 Bottle from City Beer SF. Black color, beige head. Bitter taste with roasted malts, bourbon, smoke, chocolate, nuts, licorice and dark fruits. Bitter finish with roasted malts, bourbon, smoke, chocolate, nuts, licorice, coffee and a bit of dark fruits. Excellent imperial stout.

4.1 Pours black with two finger, dark tan head. Aroma is cocoa, smoke and bourbon. Taste is chocolate and caramel, moving to smoke, wood and light coffee. Finish is smoke and bourbon. An outstanding stout.

3.9 Bottle (thanks Brandon). Pours black with brownish head. Aroma is massive bourbon, vanilla, oak, smoke, ham, roast. Flavor is sweet and bitter, vanilla, roast, smoke, smoked sausages, malt, bourbon, chocolate. Finish is vanilla with warming booze and long chocolate bitter. Some booze, but not too bad for the ABV. Overall: very good, bit too sweet maybe.

3.2 On tap at brewery in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, while visiting there. Pours very dark brown with mahogany highlights, no zero head and lacing. Aroma: balsamic vinegar, Fisherman's Friend cough drops, licorice, moldy bread, penicillin. Flavor: all of the above with molasses, coffee, chocolate, some bourbon-barrel charred wood. Mouthfeel: medium- to full-bodied, slick finish.

3.8 On tap at St Augustine’s in Vancouver. A black beer with a smoke and whiskey nose. The smoke is predominant on the palate, with a trace of whiskey slightly in the background. 3.8

4.2 Draught at Ginger Man Boston, 2/6/18. Light clarity to this ricola cough drop-colored body. Tan head fades to ring steadily. Salted fish?? Yep, this smells like salty sardines. Smoke, heavy salted fish, black pepper and light char. Wow, it's strange but kind of awesome....Definitely unique and interesting. No alcohol, fudge, heavy caramel/heavy roast or any of the usual suspects. In the mouth it's great! Strong attenuation, no syrup or fudge and just smokey as all get out. Amazing notes of dry, peppered beef jerky and long, salted toffee (dry) on the finish. Malty texture is quite supple with engaging, low carbonation and no booze or heat. No hop character, low residual sugar, no syrup, low roast. How an Imperial Stout should be.

3.6 Bottle at Mikes 50th Birthday party Dark brown with a small beige head, light lacing Dark malts, Peat and leather Dark malts, smokey, ashy and chocolate Nice

4.0 Part of a flight at the Beer Market. Aroma of vanilla, rye, roasted malts, and peat.

3.8 Tap at Ginger Man, Boston. Colour is dark brown with small white head. Aromas and flavors: Chocolate, smoke, bourbon and roasted malts. Gentle barreled and smoked. Great

3.9 Draft at U-Bahn. Pitch black pour. Drifting brown head. Solid bourbon barrel stout. Big but not overpowering. ABV well hidden. Notes of cocoa, smoke, espresso, liquorice, leather, and prunes. Fantastic!

4.1 Draft at HopCat GR - pours a super dark brown . Slight smoked malt aroma . Rich bourbon and smoke on the finish . Tasty .

4.4 Great aroma. I'm getting the smoke, heavy bourbon barrel/oak, dark fruit, vanilla and cocoa. Complex. Appearance is flat black with a tan head. Smoky bourbon barrel flavor with plenty of booze. Sweetness shows up in the aftertaste. Palate could be thicker. This was great. I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

3.8 Takie sobie. Ciało średniawe, alko wyłazi. Beczka nawet wyczuwalna na w miare dobrym poziomie, lekko wędzone, po ogrzaniu alko wyłazi i to bardzo. Generalnie średniak w swojej klasie.

4.3 Alkohol: 13% obj. Słody: Jęczmienne, żytnie, kukurydziane, wędzone drewno wiśniowe Kolor: Czarny jak smog nad Krakowem. Kompletny brak przejrzystości. Piana: Beżowa, drobno pęcherzykowata, niezbyt wysoka. Redukuje się do 2-u centymetrowej chmurki. Umiarkowane zdobienia na szkle. Zapach: W aromacie dużo nut palonych, trochę gorzkiej czekolady i kawy espresso. Solidna zbożowa baza z pikantnym żytem na czele. Od pierwszego niucha czuć także dymiony charakter trunku. Dymna wędzona w charakterze palonego na ognisku drewna, wkrótce przechodzi w torfowe klimaty. Beczka po bourbonie gdzieś w tle. Nie daje waniliowego klimatu, natomiast drewnianych niuansów tutaj nie brakuje. Smak: Słodziuchne, wyklejające usta od pierwszego kontaktu. Czuć sporą dozę karmelu, mlecznej czekolady, pralinek belgijskich i szczyptę kakao. Po przełknięciu trunku wychodzi nieco dymiony charakter piwa. Czuć delikatny torf, a czasami posmak patyka na którym wcześniej wędziła się kiełbaska. Beczka po bourbonie nie jest dominująca. Powiedziałbym nawet, że jej wpływ jest niewielki. Minimalna wanilia i trochę mokrego drewna. Po ogrzaniu wyraźnie czuć na języku wiśniowe niuanse. RIS jest pełny w smak, lepki, gęsty i zawiesisty. Tak jak napisałem na początku. Wspaniale rozpływa się w ustach i na podniebieniu. Minimalne wysycenie i nieprawdopodobne ukrycie alkoholu. Wysycenie: Niskie. Podsumowanie: Bardzo fajne piwerko. Gładziutkie, bogate, wspaniale ułożone. Brak jakiejkolwiek daty na butelce. Dostałem je z wymiany i osoba od której zdobyłem ten trunek twierdzi, że butelka ma już ze 2 lata. Czuć to już od pierwszego łyka. Alkohol jest ugładzony do granic możliwości. Piwo ma mnóstwo słodkich nut karmelu, mlecznej czekolady, pralinek belgijskich, wanilii i kawy. Najważniejszym elementem jest jednak nienachalna, dobrze pasująca do całości dymiona wędzonka. Beczka po bourbonie jest delikatna, ale doskonale pasuje do profilu. Bo & Luke według RateBeer jest w kolaboracji z De Molen. Nie ma żadnej, nawet najmniejszej wzmianki na ten temat na etykiecie. Tak czy owak piwo godne polecenia. Rewelacyjna degustacja i kupa przyjemności z tego.

4.0 Against the Grain / De Molen Bo & Luke Imperial Stout 748417 Lukt: Kaffe, bek, lakris. Utseende: Nesten sort. Skum/kullsyre: Tykt dekkende skum, mye karbo. Smak: Søtlig karamell, lakris, frukter og burbon. Hvor: Lokal tasting på Bryne. Medium: Flaske@750ml, ABV@13%, Når@29.09.2017.

3.7 Tap at St. Augustine's. Smoky bourbon nose, chocolate, bacon. Peppery and spicy flavor, sweet and smoky. Interesting stuff but I don't really like the smoky phenolic thing so much.

3.9 Dark brown, nice caramel colour. No head. Nice smoke, barbeque, pretty happy with that. Same on the palate, sweet, nice smokey barbeque sauce taste.

3.7 On tap. Pours black with little head. Aromas of smoked bacon, sweet vanilla and dusty roasted malts. Flavors of smokey wood, bourbon, dark caramel, and oily roasted malts. A little off balance as flavors aren't particularly cohesive - maybe too much smokey phenols and alcohol, but quite good.

3.9 Poured from the tap. Dark brown with minimal tan head. Dark chocolate, wood, light smoke and bourbon with mild roast malt.

4.0 On tap at St. Augustine's during 54 taps Beerthirst event. Pours a dark brown with a beige head. Aroma is coffee, some smoky fruits. Taste is wuite smokey, with bourbon and smoked fruit notes. Good one.

4.2 75cl-fles van bij Bierhalle Deconinck te Vichte. U: Zwart met een beige schuimkraag. G: Gerookt, vanille, geroosterd en chocolade. S: Zoet met een lichte moutbitterheid. Gedroogd fruit, geroosterd, vanille, chocolade en licht gerookt. M: Volmondig, lichte carbonatie en licht sticky.

3.8 Black pour with a beige head and light sticky lacing ..... aroma of smoked pear Malta, spiced rye, caramel, oak and vanilla ..... taste is of smoke, oak, vanilla, chocolate, roasted malts and spicy rye ..... has a smoked meat flavor .... finish is of dry smoked malts, vanilla, sweetness, lactose, dry oak ..... has a dry smoke with a bitter dry bite that lingers ..... decent but no world beater .... for a big beer Abv is hidden very well

4.3 Al club de tast de l’Olut. Lleuger toc fumat que combinat amb el cafè i vainilla que desprèn fa una molt bona combinació. Molt alcohol que no s’acaba de notar.

4.2 Botella compartida en Club de Cata Olut. Ahumada en nariz. Ahumada y alcoholica en aroma.