Barrel Reserve New Era Barleywine
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery
- From:
- Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery
- United States
- Style:
- English Barleywine
- ABV:
- 10.3%
- Score:
- +8 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 4.12 | pDev: 2.91%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 1
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Oct 15, 2014
- Added:
- Jan 07, 2011
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
English-style Barleywine aged in a used Labrot & Graham whiskey barrel.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa
4.25/5 rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
4.25/5 rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Marvelously murky apple cider brown with intimations of gold near the margins. The pour produced almost no foam, just a thin necklace of delicate bubbles around the outer edge of the upper surface and a gauzy film on top that quickly dissipated. No lace.
Bourbon whiskey was instantly identified in the nose. Thankfully, it didn't overwhelm the base beer, which is the key to barrel-aged ales. Caramel malt and fruit were secondary aromas (after the liquor, of course).
It turns out that Barrel Reserve New Era Barleywine is different than non-Barrel Reserve New Era Barleywine... but is just as delicious. As in the nose, there was a wonderful and complementary combination of the two major elements. No heat (just warmth) and no fusels were positives.
Specifics included English toffee pudding, sticky dates, candied cherries, leather, burnt sugar, vanilla and a splash of Calvados (apple brandy). Sweetness was moderate and bitterness was minimal. This well-crafted offering was a cinch to drink, partly due to...
... a mouthfeel that posed no obstacles to rapid consumption (not recommended due to the double-digit ABV). Barrel-aging often takes a bite out of the body, as was the case here. The carbonation was extremely subdued, which took some of the original beer's creaminess away.
West Des Moines Rock Bottom Barrel Reserve New Era Barleywine is tremendous big beer that kicks off the new year in style. Should auld acquaintance be forgot... and should old ABV laws be forgotten as well. Cheers to the new era and to the glass of New Era that met its glorious fate earlier today.
Jan 07, 2011Bourbon whiskey was instantly identified in the nose. Thankfully, it didn't overwhelm the base beer, which is the key to barrel-aged ales. Caramel malt and fruit were secondary aromas (after the liquor, of course).
It turns out that Barrel Reserve New Era Barleywine is different than non-Barrel Reserve New Era Barleywine... but is just as delicious. As in the nose, there was a wonderful and complementary combination of the two major elements. No heat (just warmth) and no fusels were positives.
Specifics included English toffee pudding, sticky dates, candied cherries, leather, burnt sugar, vanilla and a splash of Calvados (apple brandy). Sweetness was moderate and bitterness was minimal. This well-crafted offering was a cinch to drink, partly due to...
... a mouthfeel that posed no obstacles to rapid consumption (not recommended due to the double-digit ABV). Barrel-aging often takes a bite out of the body, as was the case here. The carbonation was extremely subdued, which took some of the original beer's creaminess away.
West Des Moines Rock Bottom Barrel Reserve New Era Barleywine is tremendous big beer that kicks off the new year in style. Should auld acquaintance be forgot... and should old ABV laws be forgotten as well. Cheers to the new era and to the glass of New Era that met its glorious fate earlier today.
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