Barrel-Aged Red Ale
Cerveza Artesanal BarbaRoja

 

 

 

 

A: The beer is clear red in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high off white head that died down and left a ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: There are moderately strong aromas of scotch and wine in the nose from the barrel aging.
T: The taste is rather malt-forward and has flavors of scotch with notes of oak and hints of vanilla. The initial taste has some hints of sweetness while the finish has some hints of smoke.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: Considering its strength, this beer isn’t that difficult to drink because the alcohol is well hidden from the taste; however the flavors imparted from the barrel aging make this more of a sipper.

Caged and corked 750mL bottle purchased at Huckleberry's in Spokane. Hadn't noticed this before, but I usually tend to focus on the micros when I'm there. I thought this would be a Flanders Red, and was intrigued by it's Argentine origin. No freshness date on the bottle

After an opening that featured a lot less evidence of carbonation that I was expecting, this poured a muddy-looking russet color. Very hazy. Modest white, bubbly head that faded away quickly, leaving a small foam collar. Quite a bit of spotty lace.

Unremarkably sweet malts and green apples in the nose. As it warms there's a slight boozy note.

Malty flavored, with aan undercurrent of fruit. In the background there's a warming alcohol sensation. There's an extremely anemic, vaguely peppery dryness at the swallow.

Fairly thick and lifeless in the mouthfeel.

This tastes like an elderly, boozy amber ale that has been packaged to look like a Belgian-style. Not too impressed, and am a little sad that I've got such a big bottle of this to drink.

A: The pour is a light amber color with a slight haze and very little in terms of head or carbonation.

S: Not all that much going on in terms of the aroma. Light sweet malt, caramel, green apple, vinegar, and butter. Mmm.

T: The flavor is not all that much better, I must say. A fair amount of butter, toffee, and some miscellaneous fruits. I'm really reaching on those descriptors as this beer is incredibly watery.

M: The body is light, watery, thin, etc. with minimal carbonation.

D: A definite miss. There is really not much positive going on with this beer, unfortunately.

Anapa S.A.--Argentina--BarbaRoja Barrel-Aged Red Ale--Gran Reserva de Barricas--Cerveza Artesanal--2010 25.4 oz. Bottle. 9.00% ABV. 40 IBU's? (4.25 / 5.0) Fizzy mild lace white head. Clear cold hazed sediment flecked dark amber color. Earthy toasted mild hop complex wild ester front. Thin dry sweet citrus hint barrel wood smoke mild sour rich toasted tangy mild dark fruit red ale body. Clean mild citrus hop end. Sampled 8/20/2010. 2 @ $12.99 Each.

5-24-10 - Poured into a Dogfish Head snifter - 1 pint corked bottle

Appearance: Pours a hazy, deep amber with reddish highlights and a bubbly, white head that slowly disappears as the beer warms.

Smell: Smells like it has been aged in scotch barrels with vanilla, dark malt, dark-skinned fruit (notably prune) and a peppery spice.

Taste: You can taste the barrel-aged scotch, pepper, caramel, vanilla, and malt sweetness. The flavors are not delivered with the strength that has been anticipated by the smell. Although you can almost taste the alcohol from the strong scotch smell, this is not noticeably present on the tongue.

Mouthfeel: Nice, moderate carbonation. This beer has a good feel with a creamy, bubbly texture that rolls over the palate. Clean and crisp without a dry finish.

Drinkability: A drinkable sipper, not unlike a fine liqueur.

Comments: At first I was taken by what I surmised to be complexity present in this beer. However, not all of the good elements of this beer ultimately come to fruition. This beer paired nicely with corned beef and sauerkraut.

A - Pours a cloudy orange/brown color, that takes on a deeper red hue in lower light. Thin but creamy looking head.
S - Complex aroma of chocolate, vanilla, and citrus, and definite malt presence. I've had to go back to this one for quite a few tries, and I feel like there are about 20 other aromas I'm not pegging here.
T - Malt up front, with the chocolate aroma emerging on the tongue as well. This is followed by a definite hop presence with bitter and citrusy notes. Oddly enough, there is a woody flavor to this...not the oakiness usually associated with a wine, but more like chewing on a stick (not a bad thing though).
M - This beer is intriguingly creamy and bubbly at the same time. An initial velvety rush coats the mouth, but the tongue and lips get quite a pop as well. Very nice mouthfeel.
D - At 9%, it is surprising and nice that there is no real alcohol flavor to this. Very complex flavors that are well balanced. A wonderful beer to sip on.

Pours a copper brown/red with an off white head.

Great malt, candi sugar "Belgian" nose. Medium full body.

Nice medium mouthfeel with some creamy character.

Flavors are hoppy carmel with a very nice balance, with carmel, toffee and burnt sugar. Has a short creamed coffee character and flavor -would characterize as an "Argentinian Belgian."

Short malt finish.

This is a very pleasant and drinkable beer and much more like a "reasonable" Belgian than anything else. Worth trying.

750 mL bottle,

A: Pours burgundy-brown with a firm white head, good head retention, nice colour.

S: Big on the wood, hint of vinegar sour tang. Dominated by caramel.

T: Sweet toffee/caramel off the bat. Wood and hop flavour come in on the back end with notes of marzipan and almonds. Certainly some pastry-like flavour in there.

M: Creamy, with firm and crisp carbonation. Nice smoothness from the wood.

D: Like the pirate label, looks like it came out of the Goonies. This is not a Flanders Red and it is not sour, this confused me when I first tasted it seeing Barrel-Aged Red Ale. Solid beer.

BarbaRoja Red

A: Parchment head with very fine even carbonation atop dark amber body that looks reddish brown if not back-lit.

S: Slightly spicy, with lots of milk chocolate and dried fruits.

T: Taste follows aroma: mild sweet spice, boozy milk chocolate-covered cherries, raisins.

M: Medium-light mouthfeel with cling, but without too much stickiness.  Light carbonation, but not so little that I missed it.

D:  Alcohol is present, but the sweetness and yeast lingers, making it less drinkable than some of the Abbey ales that it reminds me of. 

Notes:  I didn't get any of the wood from the barrel aging, I guess it could have mellowed the flavor a bit, I suppose.

Because this is an Argentine beer, I really wasn't expecting it to match a style, so I took "red ale" with a grain of salt.

750 mL bottle poured into my Portsmouth Brewery balloon glass, which is essentially a tulip/snifter hybrid. Minimal head, lacing, and carbonation. I got this as part of my first shipment for Michael Jackson's Rare Beer Club but noticed online that this was initially offered last spring, so I am wondering how long this was sitting in some warehouse, stored on its side, etc., etc.

The nose was my favorite part of this beer: malty with hints of oak and very mild funk.

This is a sweet beer (but not too sweet) with heavy malt tones. I thought I was drinking a scotch-style ale that had been barrel aged for a few months.

Overall I liked this beer but wouldn't seek it out again. I hope my next RBC shipment is a little more enticing (and accurate), otherwise I feel like the company is dragging a beer hero's name through the mud for the sake of marketing and sales.

A reddish amber with a moderate head that turns into a fine layer of foam, with some lacing.

Smells of butterscotch, fruit, spice, wet straw, brown sugar, vanilla, a little funk.

Forward palate is hoppy, some citrus rind, toffee, and sweet dark fruit, with more pronounced bitter in the finish and wood flavor.

Creamy, light mouthfeel with good carbonation. Verrry smooth.

I find this an enjoyable red ale, with a good balance of sweet and roasted malt flavors. At 9 percent, the alcohol is concealed. Each sip invites the next, making it a good beer to spend time drinking.

This was not what I was expecting. I'm pleasantly surprised, I guess, but it's not particularly good, either. It's a lightly sour malt-forward beer. The aroma is sweet caramel with a touch of tart raspberries. The taste is a pleasant, simple bock that's been gently barrel-aged. It's sweet with just a hint of wood and a background fruitiness. There's significantly more roast or smoke in the malt than I was expecting. Odd but forgettable.

A - Fat Champagne-style cork didn't budge at first, but shot out with a loud pop. Pours more amber than red into my Ommegang 10th anniversary goblet. Head retains well.

S - Seems to me a straight-up malty aroma reminiscent of a doppelbock, with raisins, sweetbread and some smokiness.

T - Hmm, for this having been barrel-aged, it seems to me that the story here has more to do with the malt bill than any character imparted by a barrel. Rich, smoky malts abound - not quite rauchbier-like, but you can tell these malts have been pretty well-kilned.

F - Rich, creamy feel. Not quite sticky-sweet, but a little sticky. Full bodied.

D - This screams "food beer." Indeed, it paired very well with brisket. Throw it up against some meat, cheese, anything BBQ'd, and you have a winning pairing. Very good effort from this Argentinean brewery.

Appearance: clear light brown in color with a short 1/2" head that breaks apart quickly.

Smell: yeast, caramel, some bitterness, and a general earthy tone are the main aroma components.

Taste: caramel, yeast, pepper, mild fruit sweetness, and a big earthy tone create a bit of an unbalanced beer. Bitterness is moderate.

Mouthfeel: medium-heavy in body. Crisp to start, less crisp at the finish.

Drinkability: overall the flavor profile is interesting but I found myself looking elsewhere after the bottle was finished.

Thanks to schmittymack for throwing in two of the wildest extras I've seen in a long time. This is number one, & thanks also for the education...no idea there were breweries in Argentina, much less one that's sticking beer in barrels!

Pours on the very light, fairly clear side of red. If I were an artist I'd call it ochre, or something. Head vanished instantly; no carbonation is in evidence. Smells not like a red ale at all, very sweet, malt pouring out of the glass, pretty enticing.

There's something not quite...right with this beer. The first impression is of sweet malts, but too sweet, almost to the point of a candied Belgian. The barrel shows up in the dry aftertaste. Not much else to it. If you were to judge this by style it'd be miles off the mark, but I'm not going to do that to this poor creature.

This is a pretty unremarkable beer. Not bad, not good, but right down the middle.

Pour: 750ml to wide mouth glass. Red copper body, a finger of thick tan head slowly melts to an opaque topping of lacing and generous halo. Bubbles meander slowly to the surface. Can't wait to drink it.

Nose: Light tart fruit notes, apricot & apple & grape. More than a slight hint of oxidization.

Mouth: Enters light bodied with mild flavors of red fruit. The chocolate & roast flavors in the finish are the big surprise. This doesn't fit my expectations of this style in any way, shape, or flavor. I don't get any barrel flavors, wild-organism fermentation, or anything else I look forward to in a "barrel-aged red ale". Slight presence of diacetyl, oily slick mouth feel. The MF isn't all bad, though... light, well carbonated, goes down easy.