BART - Rittenhouse Rye
FiftyFifty Brewing Co.

Decent brown color, ruddy to cluttered, mild beige head, thin, doesnt give any lace. Aroma is really decadent. Caramel, toffee, bourbon, vanilla, oak, without the heat.

Drinks pretty nice for a barleywine, not bitter, hides alcohol well. Everything in the mouthfeel is there that was in the aroma, even some chocolate and toffee come in.

Eclipse may get all the press and attention, but the BART series is just as good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A - Dark brown-black with a finger of frothy khaki-chocolate colored head, Fades down fairly slowly.

S - Chocolate and caramel malts, oak, Bourbon, vanilla, rye, some citrus and pine hops, dark fruits, and some booze.

T - Caramel and chocolate malts, vanilla, oak, Bourbon, spicy rye, citrus and pine hops, resiny hop bitterness, dark fruits, molasses, black licorice, coffee, and some booze.

M - Full bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth and a touch thick with a sweet and warming finish.

D - Great barrel aged strong ale. Good balance and smoothness.

A mostly dark brown appearance, a little murkey, thin tan head on the top of it, doesn't do much for lacing and whatnot.

Aroma is beautiful, rich bourbon, vanilla, oak, coconut, caramel and toffee compliment the no surprises, no frills malt addition.

The oak and bourbon seem to be the biggest contributors in terms of flavor profile. Caramel and toffee come up after that. Coconut and vanilla are simply role players, small parts in this play, as they should be. A little bit of chocolate joins the band in the mouthfeel. Well integrated, and evolves with each warming sip. Alcohol is there, but still easy to drink. Bitterness is nowhere to be found. Earthiness is all about it and the dryness. Smallest smoke addition. The rye? Can't really distinguish it from the caramel sweetness (which i guess is what distinguishes it).

 

 

 

650 ml bottle. Pours dark cola brown with a small tan head that sticks around for a while and leaves a lot of small spots of lacing on the glass. The aroma is lots of bourbon, some vanilla, coffee, caramel, light coconut, light marshmallow, and some oak. The taste is sweet with bourbon and vanilla, some chocolate, caramel, coffee, and some light coconut. The finish has a bit of coffee as well as some alcohol. Medium body. Low carbonation.

Great thanks to totoropanda, whose screen name shall surely be revealed at some point in the future, when cars & pigs fly. 22 oz. bottle with a cool dog on it, shared with my wife...been anticipating this one for a while.

Pour is a distinct lack of color, carbonation report is low. Nose is lovely, strong whiskey, vanilla, cocoa. Nice.

BART certainly lights up the pucker meter. This might be the driest beer this side of a sour that's ever hit my tonsils. Oak leaves the mouth dust-bowl dry; wonderful. The rye whiskey hits hard afterwards, leaving my palate littered with vanilla & booze & wine-like tannins. The beer underneath is hard to detect under the goodness, but it involves caramel, roast, chocolate all on the bayonet of the oak/whiskey. A bit blah cold, BART sheds it's prom dress as it warms. I could drink this every night.

I love the Eclipse line, & this beer didn't disappoint. Wicked oak, great barrel, good base - what's not to love? FiftyFifty is on my short-list of must-visit tap-rooms, & this just adds to the list of excellent beers I've had from them.

Poured into a perfect pint.

4.0 A: Clear deep amber brown color. Two finger of frothy tan head. Retention is average and about a finger sized ring of lacing is left.

3.5 S: As the norm for 50/50, the barrel aging is done quite well. Wonderful barrel aromas. Leather, some spiciness, apple, a good bit of vanilla, and melon. No evidence of any tannins. Very light booziness. Chocolate and a light roast underneath. Not much else from the base beer though

3.5 T: Like the Eclipses, this beer just seems like a venue to taste the barrel it was aged in. The barrel flavors shine, but the base sits idle. Leather, spicy, lots of vanilla, chocolate, caramel, melon, faint tannins, and oak. Plum and light roast from the base.

2.5 M: The mouthfeel is weak, which is also the norm for 50/50. Light to lighter medium body. Faint creaminess. Good moderate carbonation. I really wish they'd mash there beers above 130F.

3.5 D: Despite the weak ass mouthfeel, this is a tasty beer. I can't imagine how nuts I'd go for their barreled beers if they put some body on their beers since the barrel aging is done so well.

 

Bottle shared with mrand01.

Pouring a translucent dark dark brown color with reddish brown hues along the edges of the glass. There is a small light brown head of foam that leaves some decent lacing as it recedes.

The aromas are extremely vanilla forward initially with emerging caramel, toasted bread and oak. As it warms I get some unsweetened cocoa with a further emerging spicy rye whiskey presence.

The tastes follow the nose for the most part with solid vanilla, caramel, lightly roasted maltiness and a creamy sweetness. The spicy rye whiskey barrel oaky flavors emerge more and more as it warms and help to balance the initial vanilla and malt sweetness.

The mouthfeel is full bodied with soft, gentle carbonation. The finish is intially sweet but then the spicy rye balances and drys it out on your palate.

Overall I was very pleased with this beer. I was not expecting much but I really enjoyed the combo of spicy rye and sweet vanilla. Very drinkable for such a big barrel aged beer for sure, maybe even more so than the sought after Eclipse beers from the same brewery.

22 oz. bottle served in a Deschutes tulip. Big thanks to Kevin (khumbard) for the share.

A: Pours a murky lack color with clearer brown edges where the light hits. Thin tan head forms on the recedes quickly to a thin ring and leaves some minor splotches of lace.

S: The nose is great. Rye whiskey spice up front, some star anise, and dark fruits comprise each initial sniff. As the beer warms I get some chocolate with some roasted malt notes and some burnt sugar.

T: More oaky notes are present here and the rye whiskey takes a backseat. Toasted grains with some roasted malts comprise a lot of the flavor with some semi-sweet chocolate taking over on the finish as the beer warms.

M: Medium bodied with a little bit of stick to it. The carbonation was medium to low, but it definitely worked here and didn't deter from the drinkability.

O: The nose was unfortunately worlds ahead of the taste, but this was still a nice blended beer. I got nice vibrant qualities from each one. Would recommend.