Tag Archives: barrel aged

Mills x Little Earth Project Mire

Brewery: Mills Brewing x Little Earth Project
Country: England
ABV: 7%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Mills Brewing make beer with minimal modern intervention, relying on local wild yeast cultures and the influence of nature to ferment. Little Earth Project is a small and unique brewery in the Suffolk countryside using a variety of sustainable practices to brew small batch, predominantly oak aged wild and sour beers

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Mire was brewed in August 2019 with LEP’s homegrown malt. It fermented for sixteen months in cider barrels with both brewer’s house cultures. The resulting beer was dry-hopped with whole leaf Goldings before seven months maturation in bottle.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.21
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in December 2020, with a best before date of December 2025. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear dark orange copper colour with a big three finger white head that had good retention, while eventually settling to a nice fluffy cap, and leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Musty, dusty, funk, apple, pear, orange zest, with a splash of leather and peat.
Taste: Sweet and sour, apple, orange zest, orange sherbet, oak, leather, peat.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Definitely interesting because I wasn’t expecting the peat and nothing on the bottle indicated that there would be peat, although in retrospect, maybe the name ‘Mire’ was a hint. Looking for other info, it turns out the peat was from a cider barrel that previously held Laphroaig. In any case, the amount of peat was good and not overpowering, and complemented all the other flavours.

De Struise Black Damnation XXIV – Octopussy

Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Bottle 1275/2000, 2012 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A massive stout from Flanders aged in Octomore barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.3
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml bottle, number 1275/2000, 2012 vintage, bottled on 23rd March 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin half finger brown head that dissipated fairly quickly, but left some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, peat, leather, whisky, chocolate, leaning sweet from the dry dark fruit, prunes, raisin.
Taste: Light to medium sweetness, whisky, peat, roasted malts, chocolate, candied prunes, brown sugar.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Generally, Octomore is among my preferred whiskeys, and it showed up nicely in the aroma. In the flavour, the peat was not coming through as strongly as compared to the aroma, although I’m not entirely sure if it’s because of aging as I did not take notes when I tried it in 2018 and 2020. It’s still an enjoyable sipper and among my favourite Black Damnations along with Coffee Club and Hollow.

Founders Velvet Rush

Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.1%
Style: Brown Ale – Imperial
Other Notes: Barrel aged series. 2021 release

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Borrowing elements from both high-end craft cocktails and moody jazz clubs, Velvet Rush takes the bourbon barrel-aged brown ale up an octave with free-flowing notes of coffee, chocolate and vanilla extract. Milk sugar aides in weaving together this complex tapestry of flavors to create a unique sipping experience that really ties the room together.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.86
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, bottled on 5th August 2021, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A clear dark brown colour with an almost one finger beige head that had decent retention and left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, brown sugar, chocolate, vanilla, milk, caramel, roasty, coffee bean, espresso, oak, with light bourbon notes.
Taste: Moderate to high sweetness with slight bitter notes, caramel, brown sugar, chocolate, vanilla, coffee, bourbon.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Excellent aroma as the bourbon crept through as it warmed. The flavours were a bit sweet for me though, and didn’t make it as easy to drink as I would have liked.

Oxbow Barrel Aged Farmhouse Pale Ale

Brewery: Oxbow Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Farmhouse Saison
Other Notes: Barrel-aged farmhouse ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Barrel Aged Farmhouse Pale Ale is an American-hopped mixed-fermentation saison aged in American and French oak barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 500ml bottle, bottled on 7th June 2021, and poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice hazy golden straw yellow colour with a two finger white head that had good retention while leaving nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy, lemon, lemon zest, lime, oak, dusty, vanilla, brett, light funk.
Taste: Light sour, lemon, lemon zest, lime, peach, with light oak and funk.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable, refreshing, and really easy to drink.

Oxbow First Fruits

Brewery: Oxbow Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Barrel-aged farmhouse ale with fruit. Production time: 12 months

Brewer Description: (from bottle) First Fruits is a mixed-fermentation farmhouse ale aged on cherries, raspberries, and strawberries.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.9
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 500ml bottle, bottled on 1st July 2021, poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy strawberry pinkish red colour with a very thin light pinkish head that dissipated quickly, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Jammy, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, oak, tart, an acetone and vinegar zing, with light funky notes.
Taste: Light sweetness, sour, tart, sharp, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, fruit vinegar, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Sharp, medium bodied, with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice fruitiness in the aroma and flavour, but the acidity was just a bit too sharp to be easily enjoyed.