Trip In The Woods: Narwhal (Bourbon Barrel-Aged With Red & Black Currants)
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Dark brown with a slight red hue, minimal head. Nose with slight fruit note, some chocolate. Taste currant fruit forward, taking over. Body is a bit above average, low carbonation. No sign of bourbon or barrel.

Draft at the Taphouse. Nice looking pour, small but tight creamy head. Aroma goes too much towards the sweet side, taste follows. Currants dominate, masking any real stout characteristics. Still good, but high on the sugary scale. Alcohol sneaks up on you.

 

Look - black and thick looking with a nice tan head and fantastic lacing
Smell - sweet dark fruit roasty malt and woody
Taste - black cherry, tart and sweet with a slight woody
Feel - medium full body with a slight cream carb
Overall - interesting take on a BBA stout with the current

a lot of currant over stout. very good. no off flavour.

750ml bottle. Corked and caged. No dating found.
Black colored body. Good one finger light tan head upon pouring but this readily recedes to a partial cap. Leaves some short ringlets of lacing.
Aroma is woody bourbon barrel, sweet berry fruit, chocolate and dark roasted malt.
Taste has a certain tanginess from the currants. Big on chocolate and little on coconut. Oak and bourbon from the barrel.
Medium mouth feel. Low carbonation.
This reminds me of a weird red win concoction with cocoa mixed in. Easy enough to drink but not what is expected from a barrel aged stout. Has a dry finish.

Poured from a bottle -dark as night with short khaki head leaving a small ring of bubbly lacing. Nose is roasty and slightly tart with hints of barrel. Taste follows with more tartness ,reminds me a bit of Flanders style ales. Quite tasty but probably not what I expected for a BBA stout.

Tasted in a Rastal Teku from a 1 pint 9.4 fl oz bottle on November 29, 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

 

750ml cork and cage bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours a deep brown color with a one-finger creamy khaki colored head that has decent retention before settling into a ring around the glass

S- jammy and berry-like aroma on up front with the currants certainly popping through. Undertones of chocolate and char, as well as grape juice, stewed cherries and a hint of vanilla. Having trouble picking up the barrel note

T- slightly tart up front, with the currants popping through and adding a sugary preserves flavor. Mid-palate brings out some chocolate notes, along with charred malt. The finish continues with the tartness of the currant, adding a vinous-like quality. Lingers of more currant, chocolate and vanilla. Again, having trouble finding the barrel

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a creamy mouthfeel that continues into a slightly tart finish

O- the currant addition make this a totally different beer. I wasn't expecting the tartness, but it make for a different but enjoyable beer

 

Drank at two years old. The fruit presence and impact from the barrel aging was underwhelming. Still a good beer.

750ml bottle poured into a snifter.

A: Black in color with a tight beige head that retains at a quarter inch. Delicate, broken rings of lacing.

S: Deep vein of bakers chocolate. Thoroughly roasty. Vinous tart currant and raisin. Bourbon ball candy. Ribbon of caramel. Sweet and stiff bourbon and oak.

T: Deep chocolate and roast. Bakers and bitter dark chocolates. Deep roastiness. Currants hit the palate in a big way, bringing a lot of red berry fruit and a some smacking tartness. To the uninitiated, it may even seem like an infection. Currant flavors develop further, evoking raisin and darker fruit flavors and growing more vinous. Barrel flavors rule things from the mid palate on, with a surge of bourbon, sweet caramel, and toasty oak. These barrel flavors are the last remaining taste sensations on the finish.

M: Thick in feel, weighty. Chewy but creamy-smooth. Decadent like a melted chocolate. Fine and gentle carbonation supports with a soothing scrub. Unfortunately a big astringency too, thanks to the fruit.

O: This beer lives and dies by the currant addition. There is some welcome vinous complexity, but the tartness of the fruit also distracts. In the end, it did distract enough to take away from the overall enjoyment.