Tag Archives: barrel aged

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Goose Island Beer Co., Stout - Imperial, USA

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout

Tuesday, 2 February 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Goose Island Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 14.3%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2015 vintage. Stout aged in bourbon barrels.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Intense aromas of charred oak, vanilla, caramel & smoke.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.95
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.9

Intro: A 1 pint .9 fl oz (500ml) bottle with a bottled on date of 22nd October 2015, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Poured an extremely dark dark brown colour with a reddish hue on the sides. Dark tanned head was very thin and did not last long and there was some thin spotty lacing.
Aroma: Rich rich aromas full of bourbon, oak, caramel, salted chocolate and vanilla.
Taste: Much like the aromas it was full of bourbon, oak, caramel, salted chocolate and vanilla. Stunning, heavenly goodness.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied, thick motor oil like richness. Low carbonation. Nice light burn as it goes down.
Overall: Wow, this was amazing… a brilliant sipper. Even drinking it 3 months in, aromas, taste and feel were already wonderful. It should develop more complexity with a year or two of aging, which is what I’m going to do with the rest of my bottles.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Pale Ale, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers

De Struise Tsjeeses Reserva Port Barrel Aged

Saturday, 26 December 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 10%
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
Other Notes: 2013 Vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Belgian X-Mas Ale.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.32
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle of 2013 vintage, bottled on July 2014 with a best before date of 15th August 2019 and poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy dark orange bronze colour with a fluffy two finger light tanned head with good retention that leaves nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and fruity plum, apple, grape, fig and red wine with hints of caramel and vanilla.
Taste: Sweet apples, orange, port, grapes with oak woody notes and caramel malts.
Mouthfeel: Very rich, medium bodied with medium but strong prickly carbonation.
Overall: I wish I had the original non barrel aged version of this to compare to. However, this Port BA version is very good. Even at 10% the alcohol is well hidden and being Port BA I was a bit worried that it would be too sweet but its actually at a good level. A great barrel aged Belgian Strong Pale Ale that I would get again next year!

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Cigar City Brewing, USA

Cigar City Jai Alai White Oak Aged

Wednesday, 23 December 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Cigar City Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 7.5%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 70 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from can) This is an American oak aged version of Jai Alai. The oak adds smoothing notes of vanilla and slight hints of dill to the aroma and flavour profile. The finish is elegantly dry due to the light tannin notes from oak aging and though still loaded with hop flavour, hop bitterness is more restrained.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.19
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 12 fl oz can with a canned on date of 17th November 2015 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden orange colour with a two finger white head with lots of stringy lacing.
Aroma: Tropical mango, pineapple and peach with some citrus grapefruit followed by hints of vanilla and dill.
Taste: Strong vanilla and oak upfront with mango and peach supporting and hints of grapefruit.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: I have not tried the original base IPA yet as I haven’t been able to get my hands on any. However, although this is not the first barrel aged IPA that I’ve tried, I haven’t tasted any beer like this one before. The tropical fruit taste mixed with vanilla was interesting and a refreshing change.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Lambic - Fruit, Mikkeller ApS

Mikkeller SpontanCherryFrederiksdal BA Malaga Wine

Thursday, 16 July 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 8.2%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij

Brewer Description: (from Mikkeller webshop) With cherries from the award winning Frederiksdal plantation (situated on the island of Lolland in the very south of Denmark) we proudly present the perfect combination of berries and sour ale;. Spontancherry, barrelaged on Malaga wine barrels. With countless notes of flavor and mouthfeel sensations ranging high and low on multiple scales, this is as delicate as it comes.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.51
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 21st August 2022 and poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a clear deep ruby colour with a one finger pinkish (like beetroot) head that dissipated quickly into an extremely thing layer with nice lacing.
Aroma: Mainly tart cherry, dark berries and almond.
Taste: Taste is similar to the aroma with tart cherry and dark berries dominating while the finish becomes even more sour and gives rise to citrus pomelo.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light to medium carbonation.
Overall: I loved it. The tart cherries and the sourness were balanced and is just another must buy beer for me.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Epic Brewing Company, Stout - Imperial, USA

Epic Big Bad Baptist

Tuesday, 14 July 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.4%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Malt – Maris Otter Malt, 2-Row Brewer Malt, Crystal, Light Munich Malt T1, 2-Row chocolate malt, 2-row black malt, roasted barley. Spices – Caffe Ibis and Cocoa Nibs.

Brewer Description: (from website) One Big Bad Imperial Stout with Cocoa nibs and Coffee beans. Each season’s release uses a different dark roasted coffee.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.56
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 22oz bomber from release batch #46 with a brew date of 24th September 2013 and a packaged date of 8th December 2014 and poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: The beer poured an opaque black colour with a one finger brown head that dissipated fairly quickly leaving a thin whispy layer and spotty lacing.
Aroma: Strong aromas of chocolate mixed in with coffee, caramel and vanilla. There is also a hint of whisky alcohol aroma.
Taste: Taste is much like the aroma. Chocolate and espresso coffee dominate followed by hints of slightly burnt caramel and vanilla. There is also some roasted malts and oakiness but not a lot of whisky even though its aged in whiskey barrels.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied, light carbonation, smooth.
Overall: I’m a sucker for coffee, whisky and beer (my three favourite drinks). Now put together into a single drink, although the whisky is not so prominent here, this brew is fantastic. It’s right up there with Founders Breakfast Stout and Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break. Another must buy beer to add to my list.

words of another dreamy traveller