Brick Kiln - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Jackie O's Brewpub

 

2023-04-22
375ml bottle served in a big snifter. Label says it's 2022 vintage, 12.4% abv. @Ozzylizard sent it to me in NBS BIF #17. Probably a bit too cold at the moment, but it'll warm while I'm writing and drinking.

Pours surprisingly dark. Almost a porter color, slightly translucent around the edges, very little head and very little carbonation. Smell is boozy, some charred oak, some root beer barrel candy, chocolate and nuts.

Taste is boozy (but not painfully so), again a bit of that root beer barrel candy, molasses and dates, not getting any char here. Maybe a bit of a cola flavor.

Mouthfeel is medium (lighter than I expected), a little sticky, kind of still. Overall, it's a very good barleywine.

 

Slight reddish tinge on the pour, but deep brown / black in the glass. Minimal head, no lacing but some nice legs. Aroma is wonderful. Molasses, caramel, toffee etc. create a very rich aroma that burst from the glass. Some fig & vanilla notes round things out.

Taste is similar to the nose, but the barrel makes an appearance here and I didn't get it on the nose. The effect of that barrel is to create more depth than I got on the nose. I still get the molasses sweetness, but the barrel adds just enough oomph to give this a little bite. Nice alcohol warming, but I don't actually taste the alcohol on the tongue.

Overall, this is an excellent beer and a great way to start the last weekend of the year.

 

I've been wanting to try this English barleywine ever since I saw it on Jackie O's website. I almost ordered, but I didn't because I didn't want to pay the shipping charges. Well, guess what turned up at my favorite stout store in Canton, Ohio? There it was sitting on the shelf, $12. Poured out into a goblet, dark mahogany color with light colored fizz that disappeared after about 30 seconds. Nothing was left floating on the surface except a few bubbles rising up from the bottom. Now that smell, oh my god, that smell, it is a-ma-zing. Deep and rich, smooth and luscious, caramel and butterscotch and hard candy, maybe like a Werther's. A slight peppery burn from the bourbon mingles with it. And a sip, oh man, the first words out of my mouth are "now THAT's fuckin good". Taste follows the nose with that caramel and butterscotch, add in a little toffee and raisin to enhance the mix. The bourbon adds a nice finish to the swallow, just a slight amount of heat and flavor. THIS is what an english barleywine should taste like, There's not a single thing wrong with this. Nothing is overpowering, everything is balanced, sweet, pleasant on the palate. Mouthfeel reveals fairly low carbonation, and a little on the thick syrupy side. Overall I'm impressed, and I think I found my newest favorite barleywine. Jackie O's really knows how to brew beer right!

 

 

2020 bottling.

The cocoa, bitter bakers chocolate notes are unique here and do a wonderful job of keeping the sweetness in check. They aren't all that potent but they meld well with the raisin, leather, vanilla, and bourbon. There is a bit of a vinous note as well. The carbonation is quite light and the body thick and sticky. Good stuff.

Pours dark brown with a ruddy hue. Half finger of dark khaki head with decent retention given the ABV. It eventually settles into a soupy crown. Spotty lacing.

Caramel, vanilla, leather and raisin in the aroma.

The taste follows the nose fairly closely with nice leather complemented by the caramel and vanilla. The raisin is lighter here, or maybe boxed out by the addition of some light red wine character. I might be getting a little mint and even cut grass in there, too. Light hop bitterness and warming alcohol round out the finish.

Medium bodied with soft carbonation.

A nicely made barleywine that hits all the expected notes and one or two unexpected ones. Not as over the top as some contemporary examples. Particularly good for the price.

 

 

 

 

 

Dark chestnut color. Forget about head…crisps into nothing in a second flat. Nose is caramel with some oak and some bourbon. Flavor follows the nose all the way. Bourbon is very prominent, followed by wood, caramel, some leather. It’s boozy fire, probably more suited for my Glencairn glass…I’ll probably try that with the rest of the bottle. 13.3% sticks its finger in your eye. Nose in glass brings out some floral notes with the woodiness. Mouthfeel is full, slightly brisk, with a fair amount of lingering sweetness, more root beer than chocolate if that makes sense.

 

 

Sampling a 2018 cellar temp bottle poured into my snifter. The beer is part of a trade with @Artizen, thank you!
Beer pours a rich deep mahogany color with a creamy beige head of a bout 1 cm. This foam fades to a sturdy edge layer and some wispy foam streaks on the surface.
Aroma is sweet and malty and very robust as soon as the beer enters my glass. I get loads of toffee, brown sugar, raisin and fig , this mixes with some bourbon and a bit of booziness. I dont get any hop presence on the nose.
I taste this beer over the course of about 90 minutes and it definitely changes in depth as it warms.
The beer has a robust feel to it with big body and fairly syrupy texture. The carbonation is mild and soft and this beer coats with each mouthful.
Flavor is toffee, brown sugar and bourbon up front. This profile moves to some dark fruit with fig and raisin dominant and then I get some black peppery booze, although here I dont get any warming in my pallet or on the swallow. The booze is hidden very well. As the beer warms I get much more brown sugar and a dark cocoa powder and bakers chocolate which I didnt expect. I also get some tobacco notes on the finish, these were not present on nose or when the beer was cooler.
This is a very fine example of an english barleywine, and the BBA only did it up better. I wish I had another bottle and know to ask for one if Im in Ohio or buy one where I see it. well worth the drink!

12.7 oz bottle, 2015 vintage, poured into a tulip glass at 58 degrees F:
L - like black tea, dark with a head that lingered around the edges of the glass
S - that wonderful malty/boozy smell of a great BBA barleywine. Notes of caramel and toffee
T - sweet malty flavor on the nose anchored by a great bourbon backbone. Notes of fig, caramel
F - fairly thick mouthfeel with mild carbonation on the finish
O - a great boozy barleywine that has held up very nicely for 5 years. I bought the beer at Jackie O's production facility in September and it has aged at 53 degrees F in my cellar cooler for the last month. This is a complex beer that is very well balanced

Bottle says 2019. Courtesy of @jkblr. Thanks, Justin!

Look: Pours dark brown from the bottle and sits black and opaque in the glass. A pinky-finger of loosely packed beige head that disappears fairly quickly, but for a thin ring around the edge of the glass. No visible carbonation. Deep, dark and void of color.

Smell: I opened this about 20 minutes ago so it has had the chance to warm a bit. Sweet malts of dark breadiness, dark, dried fruit, including raisins and dates, milk chocolate, vanilla, toasted coconut, sticky toffee, and caramel. Nice combination of sweet malts and bourbon barrel. An excellent nose.

Taste: Oh man, this is an excellent beer. So much depth of flavor. On the tip of the tongue, a touch of alcoholic warmth with some milk chocolate and cola sweetness. Mid palate the beer opens to raisin, sweet dark bread and a lot of butterscotch. This last one seems to define the beer for me. The finish is long, and it dries out a little bit with some warmth.

Feel: Medium bodied with low carbonation. Smooth. Moderately sweet, but some great sticky sweetness on the lips. Pleasantly warming as expected and appreciated for the style.

Overall: This beer is excellent and really hits all of the notes that I want in a bourbon barrel aged English Barleywine. Deep malt flavors, nice barrel presence, sticky sweetness and warmth.

 

375 ml bottle into a snifter. 2019 edition, had 12/10/19.

Pours a fairly dark mahogany color, semi opaque, with a quarter inch quickly dissipating head and light foamy lacing. Aromas of bourbon, caramel, oak, tobacco, some figs and raisins, some toffee, light char, faint vanilla. Smells terrific. The flavor is pretty much the same- bourbon, caramel, oak, toffee, malt, vanilla as it warms, some dates and raisins, light tobacco and figs, a hint of licorice. Some alcohol warming on the finish. Smooth, a very good medium to full body, well carbonated.

Great barrels, an excellent aroma, a great example of an English Barleywine without the stone fruit. Very enjoyable and well worth a purchase, albeit with a pretty high price point.

 

 

Released 6/28/19; drank 11/14/19 @ the Yarchives.

Opaque dark brown appearance.

An even pour yielded a nice khaki head; decent lace.

Oak, caramel & mild bourbon notes in the nose.

Medium thick, sticky mouthfeel.

Caramel, oak & mild bourbon flavors; a bit thin & simple, but not a bad quaff.

 

Review 1700!!!!!!!!

A: Dark brown in color, nearly black in the glass with a ruby hue when held to the light. A small amount of tan head.

S: Brown sugar, caramel, molasses, and toasted marshmallow, wrapped in vanilla.

T: Roasty and sweet, with caramel and vanilla. Oak notes throughout. Big, toasty, and malty, smooth flavor, with a little bit of a burn. I wish the bourbon was a touch more prevalent, finish has a hint of smoke.

M: Mouthfeel is thick and a touch oily, carbonation is low. Slight cling in the finish.

O: Definitely a sweet treat of a beer, but I am digging it. Well pout together, and complex.

 

 

 

 

 

 

12.7 oz bottle (2018 vintage) poured into a becher glass at 55F, 11.8% ABV per label. The beer pours dense very dark brown with mahogany highlights. The head disappears in seconds fizzing like Coca-Cola and similar in appearance. No lacing. The aroma is vanilla and oak followed by sweet malt and bourbon. The taste is dark, but not burnt caramel, raisin, oak, vanilla and mild bourbon. This beer leans only slightly sweet, offset by moderate earthy bitterness and non-offensive alcohol presence. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with less than medium carbonation and a semi dry finish. Overall, outstanding. This tastes fantastic. All elements interact well for an excellent experience. Definitely worth a try if you enjoy British Barleywine.

Poured from a 2018 12.7 ounce bottle into a DFH tulip, it has a thick dark brown body with almost no head. Even straight out of my 50 degree beer fridge, the smell of booze and dark sweet fruit has a straight shot into my nasal cavity sensory detection dendrites. The taste likewise just bludgeons its way into my cortex. The mouthfeel is perfect and cannot be improved upon; minutes after taking a sip, if I run my tongue over the front of my incisors, I can taste it again.

This might be the perfect beer for me. There's no need to cellar this bad boy because there's nothing out of balance; it's just that everything is set to eleven. I have to find more of this to be consumed very sporadically. Just an awesome experience.

Dark brown body; nearly opaque; thin wispy head (standard for a high ABV beer). Rich, boozy aroma; charred grains with notes of black molasses, some dark, pitted fruit notes. Figs and dates blended with cocoa and baker's chocolate are the taste impressions; some bourbon notes seep through towards the finish of each sip. Heavy body; chewy and oily; subtle warmth from the alcohol.

A very delectable barrel-aged barley wine, very malty with nice depth and balance for a large beer. Roasted and charred malt flavors are at the fore with noticeable (but not obtrusive) bourbon and booze notes adding more character to the beer.