A Flowery Song

Background: Founders’ strong Scotch Ale is called “Dirty Bastard”; the bottle only gives us “ale aged in oak bourbon barrels” as the description, but I think it’s a fair assumption that the base beer is Dirty Bastard.

Nose: Fresh corn bourbon and vanilla oak.

Taste: Sugared oak. The caramelisation from the wee heavy plays nicely with the sweet bourbon flavours from the barrel, but the extra alcohol really thins out the body. Somewhat fruity.

Overall: I like barrel-aged beers, I really do. Unfortunately, I find that the bourbon barrels most commonly used have a tendency to overwhelm even the most robust base beer, giving them a distressing sameness. This is good beer, but it’s not great and it’s very bourbon.

Background: The first entry in Avery’s Barrel-Aged Series, this sour ale was fermented with two strains of Brettanomyces then aged in Zinfandel barrels for six months. Bottled 10 February 2009.

Nose: Very rich and complex, with earthy barnyard funk and a deep red fruitiness. Cherry, raspberry, pear, and clove influences.

Taste: Very dry, lots of tannic oak influence. Rounded, silky mouthfeel. Notable vinuous red wine influence, with blackcurrant and cherries. Dark malty background with some saddle leather from the brett accompanying.

Overall: An excellent start to what I hope will be a long and fruitful series of beers. Pack in lots of flavour, while remaining somewhat approachable for less seasoned sour beer drinkers.

Background: Barrel-aged stout from New Holland.

Nose: Coffee, dark and white chocolates, and a bit of booze.

Taste: Rich toasted oak, molasses, slight funky sourness, dusty cocoa, and raisins.

Overall: Wonderfully complex and drinkable, deep layers of flavour drawing you into the alcoholic depths.

Background: I’m a bit confused about this beer. The front label claims it was matured in sake casks, but the back label says the oak casks were used for “shocyu”, then goes on to say “shocyu is distilled sake”. On balance, I’m going with the assumption that the casks were from komejōchū (rice shōchū), which is a distilled drink with an initial fermentation very similar to sake. Careful on opening the bottle; I was incautious and ended up having to clean some carpet and my photography setup when it immediately foamed up.

Nose: Floral oranges, accompanied by plums, almonds, and water chestnut, with some very Belgian spicy phenols.

Taste: Silky fermented rice and woody oak flavours from the cask aging, sweet caramel malt, some funky leather notes (maybe a hint of Brettanomyces). Dry, slightly tannic finish.

Overall: Very unique, very tasty. Lots of complex flavours in a very drinkable package.

Background: Purported to be the first in a line of barrel aged beers from the brewery, this bottle-conditioned Arbor Brewing product is a blend of a young Belgian-style ale with a three-year-old barrel-aged sour ale.

Nose: Indistinct dark dried fruit, strawberry esters.

Taste: Malty and earthy, with overtones of orange and light spicy phenols. Very, very light lactic sourness, and a light barnyard leather funk to remind us that our friend Brettanomyces came along for the ride.

Overall: If you happen to have two of the 240 bottles of this, I’d recommend cellaring one for another year or so to let the wee bugs do their work. It’s decent now, but some age should give it more complexity.

The Mission: “You’ve got three weeks, is what I’m saying: go find a smoked beer.” Direct and to the point.

Probably the most well-known example of a smoked beer is the German rauchbier, where a portion of the malt used is dried over a beechwood fire. The other widely available smoked malt is peated malt, while various craft brewers have smoked their own malt over anything from apple wood to alder wood (okay, so that’s not all that far).

A less traditional method, while not something I’ve heard of being used, would be to directly smoke the beer itself.

The second beer I’ll be covering is an example of second-hand smoke. I’m sure everyone’s heard of barrel-aged beer, but how many of you have considered that it introduces two possible sources for a smoky flavour? First, whisky barrels are usually charred before use, which can carry over into any beer aged in them. Second, what if the barrel came from a heavily peat-smoked whisky like Bruichladdich or Lagavulin? Even a less smoky whisky such as Highland Park introduces some smoke character.
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Background: The big brother of the Special 16 Reserve, this is bottle 7071, bottled in September 2007.

Nose: Heather and honey, a hint of smoke.

Taste: Sweet smoked game meat first, with hints of vanilla and tar. Dry, oaky finish.

Overall: Another excellent beer from Harviestoun, though a bit pricy at $15 for a 12 oz. bottle; were I independently wealthy (and if the only place I’ve seen this beer hadn’t closed down) it would be nice to do a horizontal tasting with the other versions.

Background: From Harviestoun, Ola Dubh (or 'Black Oil') is a series of special bottlings of their Old Engine Oil; each one is aged in selected casks which previously held Highland Park's single malt Scotch whisky (12, 16, and 30 years old). Bottle Number 9918, bottled in September 2007.

Appearance: Dark black fading to brown at the very edge, creamy tan head.

Nose: Vanilla, caramel, smoke, a hint of iodine and peat accompanied by a smooth fruitiness.

Taste: Sweet and nutty, light oak influence. Peat smoke and heather, a hint of dry cocoa.

Overall: Oh, that's nice. Mmm. Ooh, yeah.

…

I'll be in my bunk.

Background: Seasonal release from Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois. Aged in ex-bourbon barrels.

Appearance: Pours with a slight viscosity and minimal head. Dense black with orange highlights.

Nose: Molasses and bourbon, with a slight chocolate influence.

Taste: Sweet treacle, toffee, bitter cocoa, hints of coffee. Bourbon influence shows up as slightly vegetal, mild vanilla notes from the oak, and also some nuttiness in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Heavy and tongue-coating, carbonation on the light side of medium.

Overall: Decent strong stout, but lacks a certain depth of flavour and relies overly much on being big without the concomitant commitment to balance that's required. On the sweet side, and at 13% ABV this is definitely one to sip.

Background: Golden ale brewed in the Bière de Garde tradition from barley and wheat. Made by the folks at Jolly Pumpkin in Dexter for the Leelanau Brewing Company.

Appearance: Whoa, this one's a gusher. Cracked it open and a torrent of foam inundated the table. Vigorous carbonation in the pour makes it difficult to serve. Pours an extremely hazy lemon yellow with a towering white head.

Nose: Cellar funk and citric fruit.

Taste: Acidic apple and lemon fruit up front, followed by a gentle earthy funkiness and some mild oak influence. The acid is balanced by a mild caramel malt sweetness. Slight hop influence on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Creamy medium-full body, bubbly carbonation.

Overall: Excellent beer, but I can't help but feel that it's quite overcarbonated. Regardless, the complexity and balance are very good.