Beer.
What kind of beer?
Rum aged beer.
Is it an ale or a lager?
It's rum aged.
It says on the top label that it's oak aged.
It's aged with rum oak chips.
So, do you soak the oak in rum first?
Maybe.
This is the second Innis and Gunn from the six pack that they sent me for free. I was mean in my first review of one of their products, and they have since made things right by sending free beer. I pledge that it will not change my rating of the beers, but their customer service is noted, and the full explanation was in my review of the first beer from this pack.
The first sip is pretty good. It's malty with some floral hints, but the oak is definitely a contributing taste. I honestly haven't had enough rum to recognize the taste. If the taste is slightly citrus, then I taste a hint of it. Honestly, all these tastes are just modifying the overriding hop flavor. This is definitely an ale. Don't know why they don't put that on the label, but this is the boat we find ourselves in.
I'm not sure (but I suspect) that a Scotsman drinks in large draughts, and I know this Irishman (at least THIS Irishman) does. Time to get my drink on. Okay, I found the rum. When you drink in big gulps, that rum brings up the rear in dramatic fashion. The middle is full of oak-aged hops; and it's good. I've said many times before that I'm not a drinker of hard alcohol, and it is usually because of the taste. So, the rum finish, while it seems to compliment the mellow middle well, isn't my thing.
Much like their Original, this beer brings a very unique taste, but it's a twist that doesn't really suit my tastes well. If you like the taste of rum, this might be your thing, but it's just a bit much for me. I'm going to let it warm a bit to see if it helps or hurts.
<waits>
Nope. It's about the same. That middle is really good; this one might have gotten a 4 based on that nice oak smokiness. I wish they wouldn't have added the rum.
2.25/5