Once again, I grabbed the wrong glass. I saw the words "bourbon barrel," and I assumed this was a stout. Yes, I've had ales that were aged in barrels before, but for some reason I didn't even think about those. Recently, all of the really good barrel aged beers that I've had have been stouts. It seems like they are just more suited to the process. Nevertheless, I think the beer still looks good in this glass. Come at me beer snobs. Anyway, Founders makes good beer. I want to drink this beer.
Not surprisingly, it does not produce much head. It seems like as soon as you start to age the beer, the carbonation manages to find its way through the porous wood. It's almost like it's physics. The color of the beer itself is a delightful and deep mahogany. The aroma is rich caramel malt with quite a bit of bourbon added to the mix. I am told there are fruits and/or berries in here, and I would struggle to pick them out over the bourbon.First sip is very smooth. It reminds me of when I tried and then re-tried the Innis & Gunn beers a long time ago. What I found as harsh in those beers is smooth in this beer. Is it possible the addition of orange and cherry is smoothing this out? I guess it's possible, but I don't taste them. Carbonation is light on the front of the tongue, and bourbon seems to mellow with quite a bit of wood flavor the whole way through the beer. I'm not even sure I can taste the malt in a simple sip.
Tip-in is cherries and almost imperceptible orange with no carbonation and wood just starting to show. The middle is still eminently smooth, but carbonation rushes to the roof of the mouth while bourbon and wood mixed with the more notable orange and the cherries start to run away. The finish turns dry as the wood overtakes all other flavors before a subtle yet notable cherry resurgence right before the trail off.
Bottom Line: Not in everyday beer, but pretty damn good on those days when you want it.
4.0/5