Tag Archives: oak barrel aged

4 - Good (buy), Against The Grain Brewery x Brouwerij De Molen, Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, USA

Against The Grain x De Molen Bo & Luke

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Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery x Brouwerij De Molen
Country: USA
ABV: 13%
Style: American Imperial Stout

Brewer Description: (from bottle) It beats all you ever saw! This barrel-aged ale uses the staple ingredients barley, rye and corn, plus cherry wood smoked malt to create a huge imperial stout. To top it all off, we barrel age the beer for three Kentucky months! The result is a rich and complex Imperial Smoked Stout with hints of caramel, vanilla and spice.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.25
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: An orange pinkish waxed 750ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a thin tanned head that dissipated quickly and left nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Bourbon, chocolate, black coffee, light roast, oak, smoky, charred wood, caramel, vanilla, dried dark fruit, raisins, and prunes.
Taste: Roasty, sweet, bourbon, charred oak, light smoke, caramel, vanilla, with hints of rye spiciness and dried dark fruit.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: A very nice warming Imperial Stout for a cool night. The smoked malts added a nice touch and balanced the bourbon sweetness.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij ‘t Verzet, Flanders Oud Bruin

Verzet Oud Bruin Vineyard

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Brewery: Brouwerij ‘t Verzet
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: Harvest 2015

Brewer Description: (from neck tag in Dutch) Oud Bruin Vineyard ontstaat door zoete, witte wijndruiven toe te voegen aan bier dat reeds één jaar rijpte op eiken vaten. Op een zonnige bergflank in Turkije laten geduldige landbouwers de kleine druifjes rijpen tot ze bol staan van de suiker. De vruchten worden geplukt, via een karavaan nomaden te Anzegem afgeleverd en aan het bier toegevoegd. De wilde gisten uit het bier transformeren de suikers uit de druiven naar fruitige aroma’s zoals mirabel, groene appel en kruisbes. Hints van witte wijn schemeren door in het aroma. Misschien kan deze fles sommige wijnsnobs overtuigen dat ook bier complex kan zijn en een plaats verdiend in de gastronomie.

(translated from Dutch to English) Oud Bruin Vineyard is created by adding sweet, white wine grapes to beer that has matured in oak barrels for one year. On a sunny mountain side in Turkey, patient farmers let the small grapes ripen until they are full of sugar. The fruits are picked, delivered via a caravan of nomads to Anzegem and added to the beer. The wild yeasts from the beer transform the sugars from the grapes into fruity aromas such as mirabelle, green apple and gooseberry. Hints of white wine shine through in the aroma. Perhaps this bottle can convince some wine snobs that beer can also be complex and deserve a place in gastronomy.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.83
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A near impossible to pull out cork (like all Verzet corks) and caged 750ml bottle, harvest 2015, and with a best before date of April 2026. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear amber colour with a one finger off white head that had decent retention and left some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sour, vinous, grapes, apple juice, light funk and vinegar.
Taste: Sour, tart, vinous, oak, funk, grape skin, white wine vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice easy drinking with a good amount of vinous notes to balance the funk and vinegar.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Garage Project, New Zealand, Wild Ale

Garage Project Oh What A Lovely Day Let’s Go Out And Pick Some… Hop Bine

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Brewery: Garage Project
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 6.8%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Foraged flowers, spontaneous ferment no.5

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The latest release in our ongoing series of foraged flower ferments. For this brew, freshly harvested whole bines were plunged into a light golden base wort creating a spontaneous fermentation using only the wild yeast present on the hops. The beer was then allowed to age and develop for a year in oak barrels before being infused with another dose of fresh hops from the next harvest. The result of this brewery outing is a complex yet clean citrus like sour, bursting with a delightful fresh hop aroma.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.09
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled on 23rd May 2019. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden straw colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Sour, tart, light funk, lychee, apricot, and white grapes.
Taste: Sour, tart, white grape, apricot, citrus notes, leafy, and a touch of vinegar.
Mouthfeel: A touch acidic, light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Although maybe slightly on the acidic side, the nose and taste were enjoyable.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Quadrupel, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., USA

Firestone Walker Stickee Monkee

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Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 12.5%
Style: Belgian Quadrupel
Other Notes: 26 IBUs. Malts – 2 Row, Munich, Carmel, Torrified Wheat, Belgian Candi Sugar, Brown Sugar and Roast Barley. Hops – Styrian Golding

Brewer Description: (from 2017 vintage box) Since founding our brewery in 1996, we have specialized in the rare art of fermenting beer in oak barrels. In the Fall of 2006, we embarked on a program to barrel age a series of vintage strong ales that would later be used as components of a blended beer. That blend would become our first Anniversary Ale, “10”. After the release of “10”, we released limited amounts of the component beers on draft only. Many of these beers gained a cult following that craft beer fans raved about and begged for us to put in bottle. Stickee Monkee was one of these beers. We present the 2017 vintage of Stickee Monkee, a barrel-aged Quad. It has been said that the only constant is change and the same is true for barrel-aged beers. Cut from a similar recipe, this barrel-aged Quad evolves and shows a different face each year; a result of time spent aging in the barrel. Turbinado brown sugar from Mexico adds wonderful flavors that are reminiscent of Belgian candi sugar. It has a full body and lush texture with barrel expression all over; toasted oak, coconut, leather and rich cigar tobacco. This Central Coast Quad is a one-of-a-kind sipping beer build to last and will reward careful aging for years to come.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.22
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, 2017 vintage. Poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: A cloudy murky dark brown colour with a thin beige head that dissipated quickly, but left some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet dark malt, toffee, caramel, dark fruit, plum, prunes, raisin, bourbon, oak, vanilla, and a splash of coconut.
Taste: Moderately sweet, caramel, toffee, dark fruit, raisin, dates, prunes, brown sugar, oak, vanilla, coconut, with hints of bourbon, booze and cocoa on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: At times it felt a little on the sweet side, but the aroma and flavours are complex and enjoyable, and as a sipper, it was good.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Against The Grain Brewery, Barleywine - English, Beer Reviews, USA

Against The Grain London Balling

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Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 12.5%
Style: English Barleywine

Brewer Description: (from can) Balls Deep! Big, ballsym barmy and barrel aged. London balling is not typical. It’s a skirmish of flavor. The barrel imparts oak and vanilla, mixed with the caramel sweetness from a malt bill with brick, that’ll knock your bloody bollocks around. Hey bloke?… fancy that, and you’ll be gobsmacked.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.72
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 1 pint can, with no clear canned on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A rusty orange brown colour with some floating sediment and a thin beige head that dissipated fairly quickly, but left some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet malt, caramel, toffee, oak, vanilla, and grapefruit hard candy.
Taste: Sweet, sweet malt, caramel, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, dried dark fruit, raisin, dates, brown sugar, slightly bitter and a touch boozy.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Not my favourite English Barleywine as sweet and boozy doesn’t really work for me. It’s ok to sip, but a whole 1 pint can, took me a good while to finish.