Tag Archives: barrel aged

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, Old Ale, USA

Hair of the Dog Adam from the Wood

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Brewery: Hair of the Dog Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12.4%
Style: Old Ale
Other Notes: 2015 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Made with organic pilsner and a variety of speciality grains along with Northwest hop flowers. This beer has been aged in Kentucky rye barrels for at least 3 years. It has mild carbonation with notes of leather, walnuts and chocolate. It also has complexity and wisdom only achieved with time.

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

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, 2015 vintage, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with pretty much no head and only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Dark malt, chocolate, roast, caramel, oak, whiskey, with light notes of vanilla and dark fruit, plum, prunes.
Taste: Moderately sweet, dark malt, roasty, caramel, chocolate, oak, whiskey, light vanilla, dark fruit, grape, plum, prunes, some nutty notes, boozy, with light peppery spice.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Despite it being both sweet and boozy (usually not my thing), it was still an enjoyable sipper.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Burning Sky Brewery, England, Farmhouse Saison

Burning Sky Saison Anniversaire 2020

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Brewery: Burning Sky Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Farmhouse Saison
Other Notes: Adjunct – Pink peppercorn, grains of paradise and caraway seeds

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Brewed just once a year, Anniversaire is a celebration of everything we at Burning Sky love about saisons. Lightly spiced in the boil, this special edition beer was fermented and aged entirely in French Chardonnay barriques using our house saison and a blend of wild yeast strains.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.1
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, bottled on 21st September 2020, and with a best before date of 21st September 2030. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice slightly hazy golden colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention while leaving lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, vinous, grape, white wine, lemon zest, straw, with light floral notes.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, funky, floral, lemon zest, white wine vinous, woody, lightly floral, and a slightly spicy peppery finish.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good balance of sour, funk and citrus fruit. The Chardonnay barrel was a little light overall, and I think if it was stronger, it would have been very interesting. Still a very easy drinking beer, that was especially good on a hot summer, but rainy day.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Burning Sky Brewery, England, Wild Ale

Burning Sky Elderberry Monolith

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Brewery: Burning Sky Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 9.7%
Style: American Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our wild black beer spent 18 months in oak before being aged for a further 6 months on local elderberries. The result is reminiscent of a deep, earthy Burgundy.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled on 15th February 2021, and with a best before date of 15th February 2031. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice deep dark purple colour with a two finger purple head that had good retention and left some lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, dark berries, raisin, earthy, oak, woody.
Taste: Lightly sour and tart, dark berries, blackberry, blackcurrant, raisin, earthy, woody, oak, a touch of chocolate, with red wine vinous notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I’m not sure what elderberries tastes like, but there’s lots of good dark berry flavours here. There’s a good balance of fruit, dark malt, earthy, woody and vinous that gives it good complexity, and the ABV is also well hidden, such that you don’t notice it at all.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Hong Kong, Wild Ale, Yardley Brothers Brewing

Yardley Brothers Frederiksdal Cherry Sour Ale

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Brewery: Yardley Brothers Brewing
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 7%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2020 Limited release. Aged in French oak Beaujolais barrels. Collaboration with Frederiksdal Kirsebærvin and Good Beer Project

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A collaboration with world-renowned cherry wine producer Frederiksdal, this sour ale was aged in a French oak Beaujolais barrel for 12 months and blended with Stevnsbær cherries.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.16
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml bottle, 2020 vintage, bottle 454 of 500. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice ruby red colour with a two finger pink head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Slightly tart, cherry, oak, with notes of vanilla, almond and maybe red wine.
Taste: Moderately sour, cherry, red berries, red wine, oak, with light notes of cinnamon.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Looks great with some nice flavours. Don’t know much about Beaujolais, so not sure if it’s just the way Beaujolais barrels are, but more and stronger barrel character with some funk would have added some interesting complexities to the beer.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Quadrupel, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers

De Struise Sint Amatus

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 11%
Style: Belgian Quadrupel
Other Notes: 2013 vintage. 23 IBUs. Bourbon barrel aged quad

Brewer Description: (from website) Saint Amatus is the Woodford Reserve bourbon barrel matured version of Pannepeut. Dark quadrupel (Trappist style).

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

Intro: A 330ml bottle, 2013 vintage, bottled on 21st June 2016. Poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: A hazy dark brown colour with no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Malty, dark fruit, plum, prunes, raisin, with notes of caramel and bourbon.
Taste: Sweet malt, moderately sweet, dark fruit, prunes, raisin, caramel, toffee, bourbon, boozy.
Mouthfeel: Sticky, medium to full bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable sipper. I preferred this original, over the cask strength version just a bit more.