Barrel Aged Trippel (Pappy Van Winkle Barrel) | Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

4.18/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Shiny orange pour, nice off white head, 3/5". Looks very sexy. Aroma was for once, not a hot on a PVW barrel. I know that PVW barrels are ultimate neckbeard jizz in cargo shorts kind of barrels, but in reality, damn they almost always seem hot when fresh.

Kind of a weird style to put in a barrel, but when you taste it, you get it, the belgian yeast, while strong, is now paired with something equally strong, but integrates well. You get a variety of fruit phenols from the yeast, plenty of bourbon and oak notes smoothing it out. Covers alcohol well with some of those toffee and vanilla notes.

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4/5  rDev -3.6%

5/5  rDev +20.5%

5/5  rDev +20.5%

3.64/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap at the Bistro Barrel Aged Beer Fest. This was the one that spent 25 months in Pappy Van Winkle barrels. Pours a hazy amber with a small white head that disappears quickly and leaves some light lacing on the glass. The aroma is definitely barrel dominated. Big vanilla, some bourbon, oak, underneath is a bit of apricot, and some yeast as well as a bit of alcohol. The initial taste is sweet with some oak, vanilla, and bourbon. Then a bit of apricot and yeastiness come through. The finish is clean and crisp. Medium body. Low carbonation. This wasn't bad, but I just felt like the bourbon barrel didn't meld well with the tripel characteristics.

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4.25/5  rDev +2.4%

4.33/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Beautiful orange and yellow glow from this beer, looked like a phenomenal ipa, but no. Aroma was decadent, perfect PVW aroma melded with Sierra Nevada. Good stuff and feel good they were able to get a hold of a PVW barrel.

Nice meld of both bourbon and belgian yeast in this one, both not overpowering each other, even though both are quite pungent and strong on their own. Some neat tropical aspects to it, coconut is very mild, orange blossom as well. Minimal amount of toffee and vanilla come out in the mouthfeel as well, even a slight hop twinge, but no bitterness. Doesn't weigh heavy despite the ABV.

I'm always impressed with Sierra Nevada, and they've done it again. Sadly, I doubt there is going to be much of this stuff around, I mean really, how many Pappy Van Winkle barrels are out there still these days?

Drank

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