Jackie O's Cellar Cuvee 5

Another beer I received in a beer trade with the Beer Club 4 Men was Jackie O’s Cellar Cuvee 5. The beer pours a black color with a thin bubbly tan colored head. The aroma consists of chocolate, raisin, fig, caramel, toasted malts, maple syrup, and oak. The taste is smooth and sweet with lots of maple syrup on the front end. A dark chocolate bitterness balances with some fig and raisin. Oak dryness and a bourbon sweetness accompanied by dry brandy comes out in the finish. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. I thought the mixing of an amber ale and an oatmeal stout after aging in barrels provided an amazing blend and complex liquid on my palate that kept me on my toes throughout the experience.

Jackie O's Vanilla Bean Rum Barrel Dark Apparition

A beer that I was very excited that my buddy Deuane pulled out during his cellar clearing party was Jackie O’s Vanilla Bean Rum Barrel Dark Apparition. This bottle was labeled 41/225. The beer pours a black color with a thin tan bubbly head. The aroma consists of vanilla, rum, milk chocolate, and also had the smell of a packed of hot chocolate. The taste is silky smooth with a sweet chocolate flavor, vanilla, and finished up with a nice warming rum finish. The after taste is where the caramel shines through and the vanilla comes back to sweeten things up a little bit. The alcohol content is 10.5% ABV. The smoothness of this beer was top notch and made it easy drinking despite the high alcohol content. It was nice and sweet, but not too much, and the rum gave off enough warmth to make you forget life’s problems.

Jackie O's Brown Recluse

The final Jackie O’s beer that I got to try at a small bottle share event was the Brown Recluse. The beer pours a dark amber color with a thin tan head. The aroma consists of maple syrup, sour cherry, and lots of malts. The taste is sour but sweet at the same time, thanks to the maple syrup in the beer. The sourness in the beer comes thanks to sour cherry and vinegar. The finish brings out the oak flavor from the barrel aging and is quite complimentary to the maple syrup. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. The Brown Recluse stood out as one of my favorite beers of the evening, especially in the Jackie O’s lineup. I enjoyed how the maple syrup was able to be added to the beer, but this beer was nowhere near the “too sweet” side, due to its sour counter-attacker.

Jackie O's Grand Wazoo

I got to try some Jackie O’s Grand Wazoo at a small bottle share amongst some friends. The beer pours a dark brown color with a bubbly off-white head. The aroma consists heavily of vinegar, sour fruit, raisin, and a dash of sugar. The taste is a drop kick of flavor to the face that reminded me of a Fun Dip (remember those?). There are flavors of raspberry, cherry, and strawberry. The alcohol content is 11.5% ABV. Wow, what a delicious beer the Grand Wazoo was. It reminded me of childhood with the Fun Dip flavors, and brought me back to reality with the vinegar kick to the tongue.

Jackie O's Orange Oak

I was able to try a glass of Jackie O’s Orange Oak at a small bottle share even amongst friends. The beer pours an unfiltered orange color with a filmy white head. The aroma consists of sour lemon, orange, and wheat. The taste is sour right on the front end with clementine, tangerine, and orange sweetness rounding out the flavor. The orange flavors really pick up a lot of the peel flavor from the fruit, rather than the juicy core. On the finish, a little bit of pineapple peeks through with an oaky flavor on the tongue. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. The orange aspects of this beer are wonderful, and it is relatively easy to pick all of them out, as everyone drinking the beer did.

Jackie O's Cabernet Cherryman

As part of a small bottle share event, I got to try a glass of Jackie O’s Cabernet Cherryman. The beer pours a dark brown color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of cherry, vinegar, and has some chocolate hints. The taste is chocolate at first with a big sour cherry bite quickly enveloping the mouth. The finish brings on a pinch on the back of mouth, and a dark cherry flavor lingers in the after taste. I’m not sure of the alcohol content, but I would guess it to be around 6.0% ABV. I really enjoyed the sourness of this beer without it being overwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, the pinch in the back of the mouth is intense, but does not ruin the flavor of the beer, or the sweet dark cherry after taste.