Mole: 6.0 – The chocolate and chipotle add a good aspect to this otherwise basic, but well-done bourbon barrel aged beer. It does taste a bit like Mexican hot cocoa so if you’re into that – kudos.
Price Average: $11
Website: http://jacksabbybrewing.com/
Yodeler: 4.0 – This is a clusterfuck of a beer. It’s a barleywine style, it’s aged in Laphroiag casks, and is bottled with that Brettanomyces. But what is it like to drink? It is just as much if not somehow more of a clusterfuck. Let me put this in the oddest, and yet truest way we can – we detect notes of beef jerky. No seriously at certain times this beer tastes like beef jerky. There’s a tartness aspect going on from the brett, that jerky likely from the cask lingers melding with the fruitier tastes, and above all it’s just a high octane noise factory. Let this be a test case, and referral for when we call beers out as not being complex and that’s bad – this is the other side of that curve. This is too complex and it ruins what could be the ‘beer’.
Price Average: $11
Website: http://www.strangerootsbeer.com/
Barrel Aged Maple Scotch Ale: 6.5 – Now let’s get something clear – if you entered into this beer not expecting sweetness from being a barrel aged beer w/ maple and are turned off by that – you did this to you. That being said it does add some unique bits to a scotch ale, and isn’t cloyingly sugar. It’s not a very successful barrel age, but by virtue of being drinkable (although it heavy) is wonderful.
Price Average: $21
Website: https://sierranevada.com/
Barrel-Aged Framinghammer: 2.5 – Sorry but this is just too mellow and sweet to be enjoyed. Jack’s Abby is known for hops but you wouldn’t think so here. It’s not pure sugar like some other barrel aged beers – but damn.
Google Shop Average: Barrel-Aged Framinghammer $8
Website: http://jacksabbybrewing.com/
Prelude: 5.0 – Even Shipyard is not immune to a bourbon barrel aged beer mellowing out whatever taste was there to the point where you no longer enjoy the beer. This is simply mild and lacks any sort of gravitas, which considering this was a Shipyard big beer – I really wanted that.
Google Shop Average: Prelude $15
Website: http://www.shipyard.com/
Anderson Valley Bourbon Barrel Stout: 4.0 – This again suffers from the classic problem that many beers fall into with barrel aging, in that you don’t really get a nice woody flavor, but a more mellow sweet flavor that overall is really not what you want from the beer. Some have gotten aged beers in bourbon barrels right, but it’s far and few between.
Google Shop Average: Anderson Valley Bourbon Barrel Stout $9
Website: https://avbc.com/
Allagash Bourbon Barrel Black: 8.5 – Continuing this week with amazing beers we get Allagash’s Bourbon Barrel Black which is their Black but aged in Bourbon Barrels. Now when we toured the Allagash brewery they mentioned they were doing this, and our thought was what sexual favours would be the best suited to get us a barrel. But alas we waited, and boy was it worth it. This beer is dark, and unlike other barrel aged beers, it gets it fucken right.
Google Shop Average: Allagash Bourbon Barrel Black $19
Website: http://www.allagash.com/
Hello Traveler! Welcome to the peaceful Booze Reviews about Firestone. Now we’ve recently been suffering from an onset of evil bandits. BUT fear not humble mercenary – for this week we have a beer that’s celebrating it’s 15th anniversary. Our only regret is that this beer was clearly made for the skags.
