The K13
Voodoo Brewery

sposter4 from Pennsylvania

4.58/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

8 oz draft pour in a snifter. Deep amber color with a half inch head that dies down. Nose is easily the best part of the beer with carmrl,malt and bourbon popping. Taste is similar l. This beer still has some heat even with age. Good heat though. Maybe the best barley wine I've tasted. This is a must drink for barley wine lovers.

Apr 16, 2016

corby112 from Pennsylvania

4.26/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours a dark chocolate brown color with subtle purplish hues and dark mahogany edges. Half finger light beige head that quickly settles into a thin, lasting ring. Spotty lacing left behind.

Very inviting aroma with excellent barrel character that's nicely integrated into the leathery malts and vinous fruits of the base beer. Some softly charred oak, spicy spirit(with actuall pappy character), toasted coconut and silky vanilla bean. Underneath, there's a nice balance of vinous fruit and softly smoked leathery/tobacco-like malts. Hints of caramel drizzled raisin, date and fig along with toffee, tobacco and musty leather. Smells amazing!

Viscous full body with prominent barrel flavors nicely integrated into the Barleywine notes of the base. Dry toasted oak but not too powerful or acrid. Heavy dose of sweet, spicy spirit that actually has complex whiskey character. Great fiery heat but not harsh or overly boozy with cinnamon and toasted coconut on the exhale. The vinous fruit and malt sweetness isn't as stong as in the aroma but is still there with caramel, raisin, fig and molasses. Subtle leathery tobacco but the earthy Barleywine flavors are slightly overpowered by all the spirit. Another solid entry in this series from Voodoo.

Dec 18, 2015

mdfb79 from New York

4.4/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

From 03/14/15 notes. Big thanks to BeerLawyer85 for sharing this; thanks Ross. 22 oz. bottle into a taster glass.

Pours a murky medium brown color with a few bubbles and no real head. Lots of sweet dark fruits, figs, delicious sweet bourbon, toasted malts, toffee, and caramel malts. Super smooth and very good. Well worth it.

Mar 16, 2015

GreesyFizeek from New York

4.85/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

On tap at Voodoo Homestead in Homestead, PA. Got two pours of this one.

Pours a moderately dark amber, with a spotty quarter inch head, and a little bit of lacing.

Smells richly of deep malt and bourbon- the bourbon is huge on this one. I can't really tell that it's Pappy, because I'm not well-versed in it, but I do know that the bourbon smells nice. I also get aromas of vanilla, coconut, caramel, toffee, and tobacco.

This is a wonderful barrel-aged barleywine. I've heard reports that it's falling off a bit at this point. Those reports seem to be exaggerated, or they're just about the bottles at this point. There's a big amount of sweet malt and grain up front, some honey, molasses, brown sugar, toffee, and some leafy tobacco bitterness near the end.

This is pretty thick bodied, with a syrupy, and very full mouthfeel, along with a lower level of carbonation.

One of the best barleywines ever. A really impressive achievement.

Feb 01, 2015

PHBoiler from Illinois

4.34/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A bit of a thin and wispy burnt caramel color in the glass with a bit of carb. The smell is powerfully boozy with all the typical hits of a strong bourbon. Mouthfeel is a bit thin at this ABV and the finish is hot despite the age. Caramel, toffee, vanilla, and coconut finish are the flavors I get. The beer is a vehicle for the barrel in this case, and I think that's just fine. Very complex and interesting beer for the bourbon drinker.

Jan 26, 2015

mrn1ceguy from Illinois

4.66/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This was a fantastic BA barleywine. So much taste going on while still being amazingly balanced and enjoyable. I would love for this beer to make another return.

Jan 26, 2015

dar482 from New York

5/5  rDev +9.4%

One of the best beers I've ever had. The hype on Voodoo's barrel program is real.

The beer pours a medium dark copper brown.

The beer has caramel, vanilla, oak, candied sweetness, and toffee in the front. The middle has this medium minus American barleywine hop profile of herbal and woody. Something I rarely like, but in this, it is a perfect match. Then a huge pop of enjoyable bourbon the back. This sweet and mellow, yet slightly alcoholic. Instead of ethanol, it's a high quality bourbon (Pappy in this case) that is rich and succulent.

Better than King Henry for me.

Sep 02, 2014

stakem from Pennsylvania

4.11/5  rDev -10.1%

What a guy that tommyguz is for generously splitting this bottle with me. I got to try a small taste of this on tap at the release but was far too gone to form an opinion. Many thanks again my friend for sharing this rare and highly hyped beer with me.

Bomber poured into a pair of matching barrel room collection snifters. The brew appears a mahogany brown with a thin tan cap that holds around the perimeter. Not a bad looking brew. Considering the alcohol level, im not surprised by the minimal retention but a swirl revives a finger.

The smell includes sweet notes of toasted sugary malt that impart a similarity to toffee and caramel. Some raw neutral oakiness almost earthen and musty is also felt in the nose along with plenty of booze. As it warms up, there is a little hint of marshmallow fluff aspect.

The taste has a raw oaked aspect upfront almost earthen and musty then it transitions to alcohol aspects that are raisony with a slight malty touch of toffee. The longer this brew resides in my mouth, the more the focus stays on fruity booziness. There is a mild oxidation and earthy/neutral hop bitterness to the finish.

This is a medium bodied brew with a low level of carbonation which works for this style. It is boozy and awesome in it's depth of character. Unfortuntately, the barrel character in this leans more towards neutral and woody/raw with lots of focus on the actual wood, not spirit or other nuance that barrel aging can sometimes produce. It also does not scream PVW with depth of vanilla and cinnamon bourbon spice like black magick that was aged in PVW does. I can understand the hate I see in some reviews and could understand that if you unloaded a dozen awesome beers in a trade to land a taste of this. However, getting to try this as a surprise really made the experience what it is. Tommy, thank you again!

Aug 29, 2014

jeonseh from Indiana

4.46/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

S - Boozy, alcohol, pappy, butterscotch, caramel, figgy pudding

T - Caramel, brown sugar, slightly hoppy, butterscotch, pappy presence, slight dark malt

M - Light body yet slightly sticky. Slightly burn from the oak presence to it

O - Really good barleywine that is loaded with caramel and brown sugar. Pappy is there but not as much as I would hope

Jul 12, 2014

orangesol from Pennsylvania

4.42/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Served on-tap at Perch Pub during the Voodoo/Perennial event during Philly Beer Week.

A - Pours murky deep brown with a small film of white head, quickly dissipating down to nothing at all, leaving no lace at all on the glass.

S - Smells of brown sugar, smooth bourbon, toffee, caramel, oak, chocolate and toasted nutty grain. You can tell its going to be a little sweet but the ever present smooth bourbon really does an amazing job smoothing it all out.

T - Starts off with a large sugary sweet kick - mainly the toffee, brown sugar, caramel and chocolate - slowly being joined by the oak, toasted nuts and dark fruits. Finish is still sweet with some dryness from the booze, lingering long after the finish.

M - Medium body with moderate to low carbonation. Smooth, sweet feel is pretty amazing considering how much is going on with this one. As it warms the booze gets a little strong.

O - One of the better BA barleywines I have had. The flavors all work amazingly well together and despite the size it is pretty easy to consume. Worth the long lines but I still wouldn't give up all of my beer for it like some people have been doing.

Jun 04, 2014

Rifugium from North Dakota

3.44/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Perch Pub.
Had this side by side with Apple Brandy Papi and Tenacious Wee. I'm pretty confused as to the apparent hype over this particular beer. Frankly this was probably one of the "worst" beers I've had from Voodoo. Yes, I'm aware this was Pappy aged...unfortunately Pappy does not = instant awesomeness.

Muddy reddish-cedar color, with a few stray bubbles on top, but otherwise no real head to speak of; no lacing. Aroma was decent, lots of wet oak, bourbony notes, grains, burnt caramel. Sort of lacking that full, rich malty nose that I prefer in big barleywines, and also seemingly inching towards oxidation. Oak was the main player in the taste as well, a very woody beer, and not so sweet, secondary flavors of burnt caramel, nutshells, mineral, phenol, hints of vanilla and marshmallow. Medium body, not very smooth and kind of thinned out and chalky. This was decent overall, but nothing to go nuts over. The Papi and Tenacious were much better.

Jun 04, 2014

inkdemention from Nevada

2.25/5  rDev -50.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

The look of the beer is total barrel appreance. No head or retention at all. The smell is of rotten wood and mildew like no other . The taste follows the smells for sure. I'm pretty sure most Ba's are blown away by the hype train. Mouthfeel is thin to medium with a gross funk to it. Not enjoyable . Ugh. Happy to try it ? Ill pass next time !!

Jun 04, 2014

clayrock81 from Florida

4.03/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured a brown body with one finger head and minor lace. Aroma has dark fruits and sweet malts with a sugary edge. The beer is smooth, fuller bodied, a little boozy but the alcohol works for beer, not against. Again a sugary sweetness to caramel and toffee, possibly molasses or something thick, dark fruits as I am getting figs and raisins and there is a breadiness to this beer that makes it filling. An easy to drink yet highly potent brandywine that hits the spot.

May 09, 2014

glazeman from Pennsylvania

3.71/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 3.75

Murky light brown with a slight orange hue. Small off white head.

Caramel and toffee with a little bit of bourbon on the nose

Taste is OK but I was expecting more. Some caramel bourbon and a little bit of maple but lacking in richness.

Moutfeel is on point. Perfect carbonation viscosity and nice aftertaste.

Overall good but underwhelming. Definitely not deserving of the low bottle count and pappy hype it gets. On tap at house of 100 beers.

May 03, 2014

Alieniloquium from Florida

3.89/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

650 mL bottle poured into a snifter. Bottle #139.

Appearance - Murky reddish brown. Small khaki head. Thin collar.

Smell - Ah, this smells great. Oxidized a little. Oaky. Bourbon. Reminiscent of Bourbon Barrel 4D in that kinda "wet sock" barrel aroma. As bad as that sounds, it smells awesome.

Taste - Nowhere near as good, but tasty. Bourbon is sharp and boozy. Caramel. Very oaky. Not tremendously sweet, which I think makes it suffer. Bitter.

Mouthfeel - Bitter and sharp booziness. I seldom say a beer should be sweeter, but this needs some caramel and sweetness.

Overall - A very promising beer that doesn't quite deliver. I'd rather just smell it.

Feb 18, 2014

cpetrone84 from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pour is dark cherry brown, strong haze with a tight bubbly tan head. Nose is large, strong roasted wood notes and bourbon. Lots of chocolate notes with some brown sugar and a touch of berry sweetness. Taste follows suit, tons of roasted wood and clean bourbon notes. Cooked brown sugar and some malt depth, darks fruits in back, dry finish with a full body and assertive carb.

Feb 05, 2014

Sean9689 from Illinois

3.6/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Bottle acquired via trade here on BA and opened with some of the guys.

Pours dark brown in color, cream-colored head, wisps on top. Nose is booze, oak, some caramel sweetness, toffee. Flavor is pretty boozy, astringent oak, burnt sugars, light caramel sweetness...perhaps a bit too hot and too much barrel right now. Medium body, thin for the style, oak & booze finish.

Overall, definitely falls victim to hype. While I thought it was a decent barleywine, the Pelican Mother of all Storms 2008, Old Nuptial, Arctic Devil 2005, and Flossmoor BA Hi-Fi B1 were all better BA barley wines than this one (#barleywineshowdown). I definitely wouldn't go crazy giving up a bunch for this beer and the "cost" of this beer far exceeds the "value". Give me Goose Bourbon County Barleywine all day/every day over this beer at far less cost.

Feb 03, 2014

lunarbrew from Wisconsin

4.91/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Bottle generously gifted by FleetwoodMatt and shared by Stevedore. You guys are both awesome BAs and a pleasure to know!

Appearance is dark amber - brown and has little head to speak of. A soft lacing sits on the beer. It pours medium bodied and looks quite appetizing.

The smell is enormous. Definitely reminiscent of KH, except more barrel forward and boozy. Obviously this is missing the third-use factor, but in all honestly it captures most of the same notes as KH. It's really impressive in that regard. I smell vanilla, toffee, some alcohol, caramel, and a bold sweetness left by the residual sugar. Most notably, this smells more like raw bourbon than any BA beer I've come across. The K13 has absorbed some very nuanced flavors and displays them nicely.

The taste is phenomenal. I have not come across a better ba barleywine. At this point, designations like American and English seem lost. The beer is so barrel-forward that hops are playing a very subtle yet masterful role. Any specific hop flavor from the drinker's standpoint, however, is almost undetectable. The flavor, as in the smell, is akin to pappy served neat. The bourbon character is in your face and complex. Vanilla, toffee, some booze, etc... The backend sticks with you on the beer because the oak is so potent that it leaves a tannic, drying effect on your palate (much like whiskey). Overall The K13 is quite sweet, which balances the complexity and oaked finish.

The mouthfeel is low carb, medium-full bodied, and has a tannic dryness which I mentioned. It's perfectly suited to the style.

Overall, this gets sky high approval. I'm bumping KH's rating--one of my few 5s--because simply put, this is better.

Jan 31, 2014

4DAloveofSTOUT from Illinois

4.71/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Huge thanks to Stevedore for opening up this whale!

bottle #193.

poured into snifter glass.

Appearance: medium brown bodied beer small cap settling down to absolutely no head.

Smell: Sweet malty goodness and insane pappy barrel notes! Aromas of caramel, toffee, vanilla, brown sugar, tannic oak and an earthy smokiness.

Taste: Stunning balance between the maltiness of the beer and those pappy barrels! Tastes just like it smells! Boatloads of caramel, toffee, bourbon, and brown sugar. Slight char and smokiness in the middle of the beer. Hints of chocolates and coconut. Vanilla and oakiness at the back end of the beer. The oak barrel in this beer really dries out the flavor profile in the finish of the beer; in a really good way. SO complex, so balanced, and so many layers to this beer!

Mouthfeel: high end of medium bodied; almost a full bodied beer with low carbonation. This beer is so redicously smooth! Mouthcoating beer. Very decant and rich in the best possible way without becoming over the top sweet. I could have easily sipped my way through an entire bomber of this beer over the course of a 2-4 hour time period.

Overall: So, this beer is easily the best barrel aged American Barleywine that I have ever drank. Not much comes close. Voodoo is really doing some out of this world things with barrel aging. This beer really showcases those pappy barrels in a near flawless manner. This is a very memorable beer, I must have more of this beer someday! Voodoo...Please rebrew this epic beer! I wanted the snifter that I was sipping this beer from to be a bottomless pour and never end!

Jan 27, 2014

homebrew311 from Illinois

4.59/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a slight cloudy goldish amber with heavy visual weight and almost no head. The nose is insane: tons of barrel with caramel, char, light chocolate, toffee, and burnt sugar. The taste takes all of the intense aromas and melds them in to a nice drinkable brew. Caramel and vanilla dominate the palate with highlights of sugar and barrel char. Everything comes together nicely. The mouthfeel is heavy and lightly carbonated. Overall, this beer is amazing!!

Jan 25, 2014

Stevedore from Oregon

4.71/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Bottle #193. Thanks to FleetwoodMatt for generously sending me this one. Poured into a snifter today, 1/24/2014. As soon as I cracked the wax (but not the cap!!) I could smell the beer. And it smelled fantastic.

App- pours a silky smooth dark brown mahogany body. Looks so brown and clear. But not outstanding in any way.

Smell- so much caramel, toffee, vanilla, brown sugar, molasses, marshmallows. All of these are here in full force yet so easy to pick out. Some oak on the backend.

Flavour- just quite a bit less than how it smells. But so complex and well integrated. Toffee, caramel, chocolate, vanilla, molasses. Such a delicious and complex beer that is finished really well by a dry oak flavour.

Mouthfeel- thick bodied, creamy, goes down so well without much heat that belies the 13% ABV. Incredible drinking beer. Can find no fault with this.

Overall- King Henry killer despite being an American. It does what the King does but better.

Jan 25, 2014

Jeffo from Netherlands

4.29/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 1.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Bottle from claaark13. Cheers man! More proof that you know what I like better than I do.

From a bomber into a snifter
#096
Bottled 13 September 2013
American Barleywine aged in Pappy van Winkle barrels

APPEARANCE: Pours a three finger, looser looking, foamy and fizzy, light off-white head that fizzes down like coke. Fizzy, foamy and bubbly head with horrible retention. Ugly looking. Body is mahogany brown in color with higher levels of carbonation all over the place. Terrible head and far too carbonated for the style. A slight ring remains for a while but looks flat by the end. Generally very unattractive.

SMELL: Really big nose with lots of barrel on it. Bourbon, oak, coconut and milk chocolate on the nose. Caramel and toffee with lots of brown sugar under the oak and chocolate. Very nice, bold and complex, and the base barelywine meshes well with the bourbon barrels. Enticing and generally fantastic.

TASTE: Lots of barrel again here, with bourbon, oak, caramel and toffee sweetness up front. Big flavors at the swallow with alcohol and barrel flavors, leading into a bold, persistent and delicious finish of oak, brown sugars, some milk chocolate, coconut and bourbon soaked raisins. Alcohol lingers as well. The flavors are fantastic but still a touch too hot for top marks.

PALATE: Medium body and quite light on the palate. Creamy enough, goes down okay with a big burn and finishes slightly mouth-coating. Lots of heat lingers. Too light with a big scratch and burn at the swallow. Very hot too. Needs to be heavier and thicker.

OVERALL: This is excellent. The look sucks and the feel could definitely be better, but the barrel is lovely and the base barleywine shows some wonderful characteristics as well. It's a little hot right now, but that's a minor complaint. Definitely something I'd love to drink again. Thanks again for the beers claaark13. A real treat.

Jan 17, 2014

UCLABrewN84 from California

4.42/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Wowcoolman for sharing this one at jmgrub's tasting.

Bottled 9/13/13. Bottle # 051.

Pours a murky orange-brown with a foamy khaki head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. No lacing on the drink down. Smell is of malt, brown sugar, caramel, toffee, bourbon, and wood aromas. Taste is much the same with brown sugar, toffee, and bourbon flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of woody bitterness and an alcohol kick on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good beer with a fantastic bourbon presence all around.

Jan 06, 2014

IrishColonial from Texas

4.65/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Many thanks to Shilt for sharing this bottle!

A: rich toffee brown, uniform cloudiness, slight creamy head along sides of glass

S: Best part of the beer. Vanilla, caramel, toffee, lots of Pappy bourbon barrel. A tinge of heat but pretty perfect.

T: Follows the smell very well-lots of vanilla, butterscotch, caramel. Pappy taste tingles the tongue throughout, especially on the tail end. The hotness is the only slight on the taste. It will likely mellow in a few months but then the Pappy taste will likely fade as well, which would be sad. Really awesome.

M: rich creamy goodness. It is a bit thin, more like a bourbon mouthfeel than a barleywine mouthfeel. However, this is the only drawback which is not much of a drawback at all.

O: Right up there w King Henry and BA Church on a Hill. I think it is below those but only slightly. Voodoo is doing great things, keep up the good work.

Dec 14, 2013

siege06nd from Virginia

4.54/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

The Mayor of Richmond goes to Washington. And he brings the pain. Thanks, Sam!

A. Pours a chestnut brown with a finger of khaki head. Big oily legs and thick lacing on the glass.

S. Cherry, fig, dates, raisins, vanilla, fudge. Beautiful bouquet. A lot of complexity and strong barrel notes.

T. Lots of vanilla, some chocolate notes, stone fruit, caramel. Bourbon is very much present and even a little dominant right now.

M. A little hot right now. But there is an amazing blend and balance on the other flavors.

O. A great barrel aged barleywine. Pappy barrels really are magical. Very well done and grateful to Shilt for sharing this.

Dec 14, 2013