Barrel Smoker
Joseph James Brewing Inc.

Poured from a bomber into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Cloudy mahogany pour with 2 fingers of foamy off-white head. Lasts awhile... solid lacing.

S: Rich and malty. Caramel, toasted grains, and faint smoke. Dark fruit and sweets.

T.F: Sweet and malty... lots of dark sugars and caramel. Malts and grains... some dark fruit and peat. Very mild smoke/wood. Some vanilla, cherry, and booze. Medium bodied.... a little boozy. Sticky.

O: A solid BBA wee heavy... although the smoke is pretty mild on this one. A nice easy dessert sipper. Enjoyable brew but wouldn't want this often.

Appearance – Thin layer of head. Brown slightly hazy body with particles floating around.

Aroma – Rich and strong malt, bourbon and vanilla notes, some dark fruits, slightly sweet.

Taste – Strong malt, very boozy, oak tannins, a hint of vanilla, lightly bitter.

Mouthfeel – Thick and slick. More viscous than most of the style.

Overall – Very good beer, got a lot from the barrel aging.

 

04/01/2016

22 oz. Bomber
ABV: 12%

Pours a very nice dark brown color, with some very nice carbonation, which leaves a very nice thick/creamy one-finger off-white head, very nice thick/creamy sticky lacing with some islands. The nose is malty, with some very nice chocolate/toffee notes, licorice, vanilla, dark fruits, bourbon/oak notes. The taste is very very nice, malty, very nice chocolate/toffee, bourbon/oak, vanilla notes. Full body, ABV hidden very well, pretty complex brew, nice little bitter/dry finish. Overall, this one surprised the shit out of me, very tasty brew. Glad I picked up this bottle, because I never had anything from them before, excellent find. Hopefully their other brews are like this. Recommended!

 

12% ABV per the label.

Pours an opaque super dark brown with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. Foamy swaths of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of toasted malt, caramel, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, and slight smoke aromas. Taste is much the same with toast, smoke, salt, caramel, toffee, bourbon, and wood flavors on the finish. There is a medium amount of wood bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and sticky mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good beer with fantastic bourbon barrel aged characteristics that work extremely well with the base beer.

Serving type: bottle.

Look: Pours with about an inch of dark, khaki head. Beer is deep, dark brown, almost opaque.
Smell: When first poured, even cold, the caramel/bourbon smell and a bit of smoke are noticeable without even putting my nose in the glass, although it calms down quickly.
Taste: Bourbon dominates initially. There is some spice mid-palate. The smoke leaves a bit of heat at the finish. Bourbon tends to be sweet, and wee heavy ales tend to be sweet, but the spice and smoke seem to be preventing this beer from being cloyingly sweet. If I could suggest an improvement, it would be to increase the flavor from the malt without making the beer too sweet, if that’s possible.
Mouthfeel: More or less standard compared to the other wee heavy ales I’ve had: medium viscosity, moderate carbonation.
Overall: As somebody who enjoys wee heavy ales, bourbon-barrel-aged beers, and cigars, I’m definitely in the middle of the Venn diagram for this beer’s potential fans. It’s a highly enjoyable and somewhat unusual beer. My only suggestion for improvement would be to have a bit more depth of flavor in the middle. The malt flavors should shine through but are a bit drowned out. I like that this beer was reasonably priced and not exceedingly difficult to acquire. That counts for a lot these days when people are driving across states and standing in line for hours to get one or two bottles of the barrel-aged whale du jour.