Iron Furnace
Jackie O's Brewpub

Iron Furnace from Jackie O’s, 12.7 oz bottle. Received from brewery 05/04/23. Reviewed 13/04/23 (Review 3073). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Printed on the label “2022”. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 57.0 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 59.9 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Medium Amber (SRM 12), clear.
Body – Brown (SRM 30), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, shows a translucent ruby at the edges.
Head – Small (Maximum six mm, aggressive center pour), wheat, low density and fizzy, quickly gone leaving a complete 1 – 2 mm ring of tiny bubbles.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.25 – Sweet; caramel malty, no yeast, no hops. No bourbon barrels but maybe some brown sugar. No ethanol (12.7 % ABV as marked on the label) aroma.
Flavor – 4.5 – Moderately sweet with caramel malt. Initially no hops or yeast. Distinct maple flavor. Weak bourbon barrel, mostly on the aftertaste. Moderate gastric warming. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Medium; approaching syrupy; soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 Very nice! Licking the thermometer after checking the temperature reveals a slightly sour ending before it reaches the desired temperature range. After 57 degrees F, this sourness is not detected. If I were not using a chain saw later today, I’d have another bottle!

A - Deep brown pour that's almost black in color with soapy, bubbly light caramel colored lacing. Lots of thick legs on the side of the glass.

S - Brown sugar, Bourbon, maple, and light oak char.

T - Brown sugar, maple, oak, Bourbon, light vanilla, and a delicate amount of char.

M - Thick and light syrupy that leaves a sugary residue on the lips with a slight bit of warming in the back of the throat.

O - This is really well done = recommended.

 

2023-03-12
375ml bottle served in a curvy Fremont glass. Looks like it might be 2022 vintage, no other date info that I see. Received from @blogjackets in a care package.

Pours very dark -- dark molasses in color, with almost no head on the pour, although a thin ring eventually grows. With movement, there's a little bit of noticeable carbonation, very very fine and very slow. Looks thick. Can't tell if it's clear or cloudy, it's too dark. Smell is rich dates and toffee, hint of coffee and chocolate, definite maple sweetness.

Taste is strong on the date and maple side. Sweet, but not as sweet as some of Fremont's BA barleywines, despite the added maple and brown sugar. Some raisin, a little vanilla, some oakiness. Booziness is dangerously muted for a 12.7% abv beer.

Mouthfeel is thick, heavy, but not sticky or oppressive. Satisfying. Overall, this is very good.

fobab 2021.

Bottle pour - opaque darkness with minimal khaki head leaving barely a ring of tiny bubbles. Nose is sweet with brown sugar and maple over some dark stone fruit and barrel wood. Taste follows more or less with an emphasis on sweet that lingers on the finish with a bit of warmth and alcohol creep.

Bottle says 2021. I'm drinking on 20230121. It's wicked sweet. I barely detect the maple, as in if it weren't mentioned I wouldn't notice it at all. Everything is overpowered by the brown sugar sweetness. I barely notice the barrel aging. This is the antithesis of the standard American Barleywine. Though quite a bit sweeter than the standard English Style, it is still within the range of barleywine, and I find it a welcome respite from the overhopped American style everything. Ever had a hoppy stout. I have and it's the dastardliest thing you can imagine.

Thanks to whomever sent me this 375ML bottle as I always appreciate more Jackie O’s. Someday I will bathe in it. No I won’t. What a waste that would be.

The nose is sweet, likely the reflecting pool of brown sugar, that bowls over whatever else lurks beneath. Dark brown with sparse signs of life.

Iron Furnace tumbles over a cliff into numbing sweetness. Avalanche of brown sugar obliterate everything – no b-wine, no bourbon, no syrup. Just like sticking my face into a bowl of brown sugar water.

Big disappointment. No balance or barrels or, really, any type of recognizable beer. Poor, poor beer.

I am pouring a 2020 bottle at cellar temp into my snifter.
The beer pours a dark cola brown color with almost no head, only a light surface cover of beige foam that quickly fades to the thinnest of edge layer.
Aroma is big and robust with dark malts, dark cocoa, big bourbon notes and generally boozy. I also get a good dose of brown sugar and some maple syrup too. Not really any hop character on the nose.
First sip reveals a medium body and very fine, gentle carbonation. Texture is a little sticky and I do get some coating on my palate and lips when I take each sip.
Flavor is big and malty with brown sugar and bourbon mixing with a bit of dark chocolate and here I do get some black peppery booze bite on the finish. There is also a little bit of an oxidized note in the middle, that doesnt stick around much and is overshadowed by the brown sugar. Again, no hops at this point either.
The beer drinks pretty easy and the booze is peppery but not hot or warming after the swallow.
I am glad I tried this one and could see it being sweet for some tasters, but I enjoy it. I do wonder if the maple would be more dominant in a newer batch?

How on earth is this rated so highly? Pours flat. This is flat vanilla Coca Cola mixed with maple syrup. I should’ve listened to other reviewers’ warnings on the sweetness. I’m a fan of Jackie O stouts, but this beer falls on its face. Especially at the $$$ price point.

 

From the 12.7 oz bottle in a snifter via the brewery from Jamie---Cheers!
This solid little barley wine pours a muddled blackish brown with a nice
head of khaki foam that settles to a thick ring, thin dusty layer, and sports
some light lacing. Nose of bourbon, oak, maple, vanilla, and rich brown sugar.
Flavors surpass the nose with layers of bourbon and brown sugar, toffee, dark
berry notes of blackberry, butterscotch, subtle leather, molasses, oak, and rich
vanilla. Mouth feel is full, faint carbonation, smooth, rich, slick, lightly coating,
and finishing warm and lightly dry from the booze.

Overall----another WOW brew. Enjoy in moderation!

Cheers

 

Sweet brown sugar malty, hint of maple syrup, faint hint of dark fruits, and faint hint of bourbon barrel nose on this one! Taste follows with some sweet caramel/brown sugar notes upfront...and then a subdued barrel boozy finish. This is delicious and very enjoyable, I just wish it had more barrel character and was a tad more viscous on the palate. Good!

Everything is there but somehow this beer just doesn't exude the awesomeness that I want it to. Perhaps its the hugely sticky sweet tasting flavors that clash against the classic jackie os lack of body. Maybe this is just too sweet for me? Idk. Its not offensive but it just doesn't floor me like similar big sweet beers (royal oil, mother of all storms, etc).

Poured at fridge temp. Pours very dark brown with literally no head. Looks super smooth. The nose is full of toffee, maple, bourbon, vanilla, figs, prunes, and brown sugar. Incredible nose.

The taste is really nice, but I will say upfront that it's a bit too sweet. I get this sometimes with beers brewed with maple syrup. Borderline cloying for me. This significantly dropped my enthusiasm for this beer, but I am enjoying other aspects. Toffee, honey, maple, vanilla, malts, sweet candy, raisins.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied. The alcohol is not detectable at all. Overall, a really good barleywine despite being a bit too sweet for me.

Description: Appearance is a very dark brown, almost black, and smooth. It's shiny with no head or bubbles. The smell is oaky and sweet with bourbon, honey, syrup, chocolate and roasted notes. Taste is similar to a sweet stout as chocolate and bourbon dominate along with roasted, creamy hints. Altogether it tastes a bit like a s'more. The feel is heavy and could be mistaken for a stout with a smooth, velvety finish.

Overall: 4.5 (This beer is very good and I would definitely drink it again) All around excellence. This drinks like a stout and is a sweet, sipping beer with bold, balanced flavors.

 

 

The caramel, raisin, and chocolate all take a back seat to the strong maple sweetness. Maple isn't typically my favorite additive but in this case it's playing really well with barrel notes that bring plenty of rich whiskey as well leather and woody vanilla. The carbonation is light but the body is satisfyingly sticky. This has depth and breadth, there is a lot going on here. My sweet tooth is satisfied.

Look - really dark brown with slight rimming
Smell - bourbon and brown sugar with a slight maple
Taste - sweet brown sugar maple and bourbon with a lil vanilla in there as well
Feel - full body with a very light carb, slight creaminess
Overall - pretty tasty sweet barleywine

Had on tap. Pitch dark brown opaque body with lighter edges and a tan head. Bourbon, maple, molasses, brown sugar, barley, earth, and light caramel, everything is there equally, great just worried the taste might be sweet. My fears were assuaged in the taste however, barrel maintains the appropriate heat and wood to cut sweetness, barley helps too, brown sugar, molasses, maple, and a kiss of jackie o's house yeast meld together. Feel is classic jackie o's with how balanced it is, smooth too, with the perfect amount of warmth. The only thing holding it back is the sludgy viscosity that dulls out other textures.

 

12.7 oz bottle, 2021 bottling, served in a snifter glass.

Appearance: Very dark brown letting very little light through. What little light gets through the edges shows a bit of a dark copper color. Thin tan head, some strands and sheets of lacing which dissipate fairly quickly, which is expected at this high of an ABV.

Smell: Bourbon, a definite sweet note that is a bit like brown sugar, and a hint of vanilla as well.

Taste: Really rich flavor from start to finish. Bourbon bookends this beer at the start and finish, and in the middle is a wonderful malt sweetness, notes of brown sugar, vanilla, and a bit of roasted malt bitterness for balance. I'm not really getting the maple flavor at all, but other than this, it's a very wonderful tasting beer.

Mouthfeel: Very very smooth and creamy, with a very light carbonation. A bit sticky on the teeth, and warming at the finish.

Overall / Drinkability: A definite slow sipping and savoring beer. Very nice on a cold winter's night, and this would pair really well with a dessert. Well done barleywine, and while it's very much on the sweet side of a barleywine, it still fits that style. The alcohol is notable, but it's not an overly "hot" beer, although I know that I better stop at one with this beer. I'll have to see if they release this one again.

 

 

12.7 oz bottle, vintage 2020, poured into a snifter at 55 degrees F:
L - very dark brown with absolutely no head
S - brown sugar, maple syrup, bourbon
T - sweet, great blend of maple syrup, brown sugar, bourbon, a bit of caramel
F - thick chewy mouthfeel with minimal carbonation
O - very good, sweet but complex with a great blend of flavors

 

 

 

shipped from the brewery. 12.7 oz (331ml) bottle.
Brewed with local maple syrup and aged in bourbon barrels for 16 month.
The appearance is ruby brown with a vey thin head.
The maple syrup is very dominant but it works! Silky smooth body.
I like it!

2020 vintage. Pours black with no lacing or head. Notes of maple, raisins, brown sugar and vanilla on the nose. Taste hits the same notes along with a nice sweetness. Barrel in the background but you know its there. Nice mouthfeel, bit of dryness on the back end. Overall another solid offering from JO's.

 

 

 

 

 

 

12.7 ounce bottle, 2020 vintage, label says 11.2% ABV. Served in a Jackie O's snifter, the beer pours very dark brown with about a half inch tan head. Head retention is decent and there's a small amount of lacing. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like maple, brown sugar, vanilla, bourbon, and grainy malt. Taste is similar to the aroma, it's mostly sweet with maple, brown sugar, bourbon, caramel, vanilla, dark bread, raisin, burnt/charred malt and oaky flavors. It's sweet but has a charred/oaky hit in the finish. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's slick, smooth and easy to drink with a moderate amount of carbonation. I thought this was a pretty good barleywine, definitely worth trying if you have a chance to!