Bourbon Barrel Bock
Hopworks Brewery

Got a growler fill of this the previous night at HUB (after some great Imperial Red in-house..)

Bourbon Barrel Bock poured a warm amber red with a large head and long-lasting lacing; all in all quite a beautiful brew. The bourbon barrel aging comes across quite evident in the smell, completely boozy, with some supporting roles of honeyed citrus fruit. The taste is likewise dominated by the taste of bourbon, though towards the end of the taste a rush of sweet malts comes in, and a final snap of lemon. The mouthfeel on this one is pretty close to perfect, perhaps only a tad over-carbonated. While I feel a bit of a stronger taste profile would have been fitting so the bourbon aging would have done less dominating and more harmonizing, all in all I think this is a very fine brew by a great brewery, and a welcome sipper. I can't imagine drinking more than one of these per sitting, though, as there is a bit too much acidic richness for this to be an easy drinker.

On tap at HUB, 8.17.2010, $5.25 chalice during happy hour. 16 OG, 25 IBU, 6.9% ABV.

1/2 finger white head, thin layer retained on top of body, no dissipation due to lack of presence with some lacing. Amber body some visible rising carbonation. Nose is pretty boozy, big bourbon and vanilla hit, some oak and minimal hops. Taste is pretty sweet up front, noticeable bourbon presence throughout, with a good vanilla hit which subsumes the hops. Mouthfeel is on the full side of medium, a bit sticky with good effervescence. Good drinkability, though given the booziness I'd have guess the ABV was over 8%. A nice German style lager aged in Buffalo Trace Barrels, worth a try for fans of barrel aged lagers.