Barrel Aged Dubhe
Uinta Brewing Company

22oz bottle. Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a small, light-brown head of foam. It smelled of bourbon, oak, vanilla, chocolate and pine. Sweet chocolate, bourbon, oak, vanilla and a piney bitterness.

Pours black with two fingers of khaki foam. Head retention is great, with great lacing left behind. Aroma is slightly bitter notes of toasted, and nutted malts mixed with herbal, and earthy malts. Barrel presence is minor. Flavor profile is toasted, and nutted malts, with an emphasis on the latter. Herbal, and earthy malts balance out the malts before a herbal, semi-dank hop finish. Charred barrel is present throughout, but becomes more apparent at the finish. Mouth feel is medium-thick, with a velvety, creamy, imperial stout feel. Overall, hearty notes of malts mixed with well apparent hops create a soothing and balanced black IPA. Bourbon is pretty minor, but present.

Served in a 12oz snifter from a 22oz bottle.

Black in color with no penetration to light. There's an inch of densely packed fluffy brown on top. A few minutes later that dissipates to a fingernail. Light lacing. The aroma is of sweet bourbon, black malt, molasses and piney hops. I initially taste the sweet bourbon but the piney hop flavor shines at the back of the palate and then the aftertaste is a blend of the sweet bourbon and piney hops. The mouth is a bit thicker and the hops prick the tongue. I think if the bourbon was dialed back just slightly I would really love this.

i have long thought this would be a great beer for a barrel, and finally my dreams are reality. this beer has a malt base like a big porter, real deep on the roast, some wonderful earthy almost charred bitterness to it, and not a of sweeter crystal malts in the middle, but it does have great body. i thought that would be right for a nice whiskey barrel, and it is, the sweet maple and vanilla notes really come out here, balancing the dark roast, bitter cocoa and coffee notes, and making it feel rich with all the wood. the hops here may be lost just a little bit to the barrel, not that it doesnt taste fresh and hoppy because it does, but this is a beer that has always been quite bitter from the hops and still is, just some of the more piney hop nuance is less obvious. i like all the body here and dont mind the booze warmth that this finishes with either. this is a style we rarely see, barrel aged black imperial ipa, but with this particular beer, i think it makes a lot of sense. unique and delicious and superb for chilly fall afternoons. i liked this a whole lot. is it being bottled too?