Old Forge Bourbon Barrel Quad

I dropped in to check out the new Federal Taphouse in Harrisburg and I ordered a glass of Old Forge Bourbon Barrel Quad. The beer pours a dark brown color with a frothy tan colored head. The aroma consists of vanilla, coconut, raisin, fig, caramel, Belgian yeast, and grass. The taste is sweet and smooth with raisin, fig, caramel, and Belgian yeast on the front end. Spice, light vanilla, and coconut from the bourbon come out in the finish surprisingly with no alcohol burn. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. I really enjoyed the vanilla and coconut notes from the bourbon that were imparted on this quad, and I would drink this again if I saw it on tap.

Troegs Scratch 87- Bourbon Barrel Troegenator

I stopped in to the Troegs tasting room eagerly to get a glass of Scratch 87- Bourbon Barrel Troegenator. For those that don’t know, Troegenator is one of my favorite beers and definitely a go-to beer for me. Therefore, barrel aging this beer was the best idea I’ve heard. The beer pours a dark caramel color with a fizzy and bubbly cream colored head that recedes quickly. The, aroma consists of caramel, raisin, coconut, vanilla, and a hint of bourbon. The taste is smooth with caramel on the front end. A wonderful toasted coconut accent arrives accompanied with vanilla. Oak hints carry raisin to the back of the throat and it finishes with alcohol and pepper spice. The alcohol content is 11.5% ABV. Oh my, my, my was this beer amazing. The bourbon plays so well with the doppelbock since the biting alcohol flavor pierces the sweet body. The oak added a great character and the toasted coconut was most memorable.

Crooked Stave Bourbon Barrel Sentience Wild Quadrupel

I ordered a bottle of Crooked Stave Bourbon Barrel Sentience Wild Quadrupel with my Cellar Reserve membership. The beer pours a dark brown color with almost no head. There are a few off-white colored bubbles, but that is about it. The aroma consists of bourbon, cherry, raisin, fig, and oak. The taste is lightly sour and puckering on the front end with some cherry and raspberry flavors. A sweet vanilla and bourbon flavor kicks in strongly with dry bourbon finish. Some fig and raisin peeks through, and then an oak after taste lingers for a while. The alcohol content is 11.5% ABV. The bourbon barrel aging of this beer is phenomenal and adds a touch of sweetness and plenty of dryness to an already tart and sour beer. It all comes together so well because the beer has such a strong backbone.

Crooked Stave Bourbon Barrel Nightmare on Brett Street

I stopped in to the Crooked Stave barrel room to sample some beers and check out the reserve club that I am a part of. The first beer I tried was the Bourbon Barrel Nightmare on Brett Street. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan colored head. The aroma consists of chocolate, toasted malts, vinegar, cherry, and oak. The taste is lightly tart but built strongly with chocolate, licorice, and toasted malts. Some bourbon and vanilla flavors come out before the dry oaky finish. The alcohol content is not available online but I would estimate it to be about 7.5% ABV. This soured baltic porter was more than enjoyable and I wouldn't hesitate to order another glass or bottle if I had the chance.

Foothills Bourbon Barrel Aged People's Porter

I picked up a bottle of Foothills Bourbon Barrel Aged People's Porter from the brewery in Winston-Salem, NC, and opened it to share with friends. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan colored head. The aroma consists of vanilla, bourbon, oak, chocolate, and coffee. The taste is dry and full of bourbon, oak, coffee, dark chocolate. The finish brings out a light vanilla sweetness and a recurrence of bourbon. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. A wonderfully aged beer with plenty of body, flavor, and a solid base. I did pick up a second bottle to see how age will treat this beer, and I assume it will do it no harm.

Boulder Bourbon Barrel Bad Moon Risin

Another beer I ordered at Al’s of Hampden was Boulder Bourbon Barrel Bad Moon Risin, a black ale. The pours a black color with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of bourbon, oak, chocolate, cherry, and vanilla. The taste is cherry and vanilla up front with chocolate and black licorice soon to follow. Bourbon and an oak finish finish out the beer and the alcohol burn lingers for a while. The alcohol content is 12.0% ABV. I was floored at how good this beer was and how well the bourbon intertwines with the licorice and chocolate flavors. If you see this beer, it is a must order.

Alltech's Lexinton Brewing and Distilling Company Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale

My coworker gave me a bottle of Alltech’s Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale to try. The beer pours an amber color with a bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of bourbon, oak, caramel, vanilla, and alcohol. The taste is sweet and smooth with a caramel body providing the base. There is a bourbon accent that takes over the beer with a vanilla sweetness and an oak dryness. A hint of alcohol tickles the tongue. The alcohol content is 8.19% ABV. The bourbon flavors were nice in this beer, but the body did not just stack up to the strength of it. I can’t say I was a huge fan or would seek it out again, but if I saw it I would drink it.

Duclaw Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Chocolate Rye Porter eXile Series X-1

I picked up a bottle of Duclaw Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Chocolate Rye Porter eXile Series X-1 from State Line Liquors in Elkton, MD to share with friends. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of chocolate, vanilla, rye, oak, bourbon, and cherry, all leading to the conclusion that it smells like heaven. The taste is dark chocolate, vanilla, sweet bourbon, and a light rye spice. It has a silky smooth mouth feel and a dry oak and cherry finish. The alcohol content is 7.7% ABV. I absolutely loved this beer along with everyone else that tried it at my house. I will be seeking this beer out again, especially for the $7.50 price tag. The blend of flavors played together really well from the sweetness to the spiciness and finishing with the oak accents.

Duclaw Retribution

Another beer I picked up from State Line Liquors in Elkton Maryland to share with friends was Duclaw Retribution, a Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. The beer pours a black color with a thin filmy beige head. The aroma consists of chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, cherry, alcohol, and toasted malts. The taste is very balanced with chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, oak, and cherry. There is a light alcohol bite in the background on the finish. The alcohol content is 10.5% ABV. Retribution had a wonderful blend and mix of flavors that danced on the tongue and made this beer drinker very happy. I would absolutely buy this beer again and again.

Sierra Nevada Knock on Wood Bourbon Imperial Stout

While at Varga Bar in Philadelphia, I ordered a glass of Sierra Nevada Knock on Wood Bourbon Imperial Stout. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head that leaves a thin bubble lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of chocolate, lots of vanilla, oak, chili peppers, and toasted malts. The taste is full of dark chocolate and a large amount of vanilla. This beer isn’t sweet, but nice, smooth, and lightly bitter. On the finish, a light bit of heat comes from the chili peppers, but it doesn’t linger very long. The alcohol content is 9.2% ABV. This was an excellent beer with a bold chocolate flavor that was nicely balanced with chili peppers, all while hiding the alcohol content rather well.

Yards Bourbon Barrel Aged Old Bart Barley Wine

I ordered a glass of Yards Bourbon Barrel Aged Old Bart Barley Wine at Varga Bar in Philadelphia. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, raisin, bourbon, and vanilla. The taste is sweet and smooth despite the bourbon alcohol bite to it. There is raisin, caramel, fig, vanilla, and oak flavors all mixed together, providing a wonderful blend. The alcohol content is 10.3% ABV. I was quite impressed with the barrel aged barley wine, as the beer stands tall against the bourbon, but adds a great accent to it.

Central Waters Peruvian Morning

I went to Varga Bar for the first time in Philly for brunch and I ordered a glass of Central Waters Peruvian Morning, a bourbon barrel aged coffee stout. The beer pours a black color with a very thin and bubbly tan colored head. The aroma consists of strong coffee, bourbon, cherry, vanilla, toasted malts, and oak. Basically, it’s how I would like to start my morning off every day. The taste is strong and chocolaty at first with a wonderful vanilla and cherry accent to it. An alcohol bite from the bourbon hits the tongue, and the beer finishes with some toasted malt flavor and lingering oak. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. This had a wonderful strong base of coffee and chocolate, but the vanilla and cherry flavors from the bourbon really popped in this beer and made it simply fantastic.

Brewworks Black Friday

On a recent visit to the Brewworks in Bethlehem, I ordered a glass of Black Friday, a bourbon barrel aged Scotch Ale. The pours a black color with a thin bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of caramel, toasted malts, bourbon, vanilla, cherry, and grass. The taste is bold and sweet with caramel and toasted malts but very well balanced by the bourbon alcohol bite. Vanilla, oak, and cherry come out on the finish while bubbles tickle the tongue. The alcohol content is 8.4% ABV. I was more than impressed with this beer, and it had a nice sweet start but allowed the bourbon to balance and shine at the same time.

Greal Lakes Barrel Aged Blackout Stout

In a beer trade with Cleveland Food and Brews, I received a bottle of Great Lakes Barrel Aged Blackout Stout. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, toasted malts, and alcohol. The taste is bold and chocolaty with lots of bourbon and vanilla. Some cherry flavor peeks through and the beer finishes with alcohol, oak, and toasted malts, yielding a dry mouth feel. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. This was one of the better barrel aged beers that I have ever tried, and I would say drinking it is heavenly. It is very boozy, but the base beer is strong enough to withstand the extra punch.

Victory Otto in Oak

I picked up a bottle of Victory Otto in Oak from Al’s of Hampden, the bourbon barrel aged version of Otto.  The beer pours a dark amber color with a frothy beige colored head. The aroma consists of smoke, bourbon, vanilla, oak, caramel, and campfire. The taste is smoky and meaty with a bit of caramel accent. The bourbon warms up the finish with hints of vanilla, but the beer lacks a little in body. The alcohol content is 8.1% ABV. This was a nicely smoked beer with plenty of bourbon and vanilla accents. For the most part I liked it, although I thought the body was a little lacking.

Smuttynose Ry(e)an Ale

My friend Casey picked me up a bottle of Smuttynose Ry(e)an Ale, which was brewed exclusively for Julio’s Liquors. The beer pours a dark caramel color with a frothy beige-colored head that leaves a hint of lacing on the glass. The aroma is caramel, rye, sweet bourbon, vanilla, pepper, and cherry. The taste is sweet at first with lots of caramel and toffee before it bitters with rye quickly. A sweep of dry bourbon takes over the tongue, leaving some honey, vanilla, and cherry lingering on the tongue. A hint of flowers remains in the after taste, which was quite enjoyable. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. The beer was put together extremely well and it did not let down in the flavor offering throughout the tasting experience. It was bold and peppery with a smooth and delicious bourbon flavor.

Karl Strauss 23rd Anniversary Old Ale

 received a bottle of Karl Strauss 23rd Anniversary Old Ale from my friend Rich in San Diego in a beer trade. The beer pours a caramel color with a with a frothy beige colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, oak, vanilla, bourbon, raisin, and fig. The taste is smooth at first before a strong bourbon bite kick in on the tongue. It is built upon caramel, fig, and raisin, but the vanilla, oak, and bourbon really shine. It had a little more carbonation than I expected from an Old Ale, but I think it still worked really well with the beer. The alcohol content is 12.2% ABV. I liked the mix of flavors in this beer and the strong presence of bourbon, and it did not take over the flavors in the beer.

Iron Hill Bourbon Vanilla Tripel

I got to try a glass of Iron Hill Bourbon Vanilla Tripel at Belgium Comes to West Chester. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head that leaves a lacing on the glass. The aroma is grassy with a hint of vanilla, but it is a very faint aroma. The taste is dry up front with grass but has a lot of banana. A big vanilla sweetness takes over the beer, and sadly is taste like extract rather than vanilla beans. Some bourbon comes out in the finish and warms the back of the throat with pepper bites, but it is not significant. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. I set my expectations high with this beer, and was somewhat let down, as the vanilla tasted like extract and the bourbon wasn’t as pronounced as I would have liked.

Mikkeller From Via To Barrel Aged Bourbon

I picked up a bottle of Mikkeller From Via To Barrel Aged Bourbon from Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a black color with an extremely lofty and frothy tan head that takes a while to fade. The aroma consists of bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, toasted malts, and caramel. The taste is smooth and chocolaty with a nice bourbon accent that isn’t too biting and adds a good vanilla flavor to it. Some caramel and toasted malts come out in the finish with a nice dryness. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. This was quite a well done bourbon barrel aged beer that wasn’t too overdone. The baltic porter base still has a large presence in this glass, and was not impaired by the bourbon flavors.

Hair of the Dog Bourbon Fred From the Wood

Another beer I had sent to me from Doug Hanson was Hair of the Dog Bourbon Fred From the Wood. The beer pours a caramel color with almost no head, only a few bubbles making it out of the glass. The aroma consists heavily of bourbon, wood, caramel, candi sugar, and vanilla. The taste is bold with bourbon, sweet bourbon, coming out on the front end. Cherry, caramel, vanilla, and raisin all blending very well together. The finish has a slight oak dryness, but the caramel lingers behind. The alcohol content is 12.0% ABV. If you ever wanted to taste a beer that really balances bourbon with the body of the beer, the Bourbon Fred From the Wood is absolutely that beer. While it is very bourbon forward, it is not too biting and really brings out the sweet vanilla flavor of bourbon.