Barrel-Aged Six (Sole Composition Series)
Upright Brewing Company

This is a review of the 2015 version of the beer, description below:

Brewer's description: Barrel Aged Six is a one-off blend of only two casks. One was formerly used for our Barleywine, and once served as a rum and bourbon barrel before that. The second was a fresh nocino cask, imparting distinct spirit and walnut notes to the malt and vanilla flavors coming from the Barleywine cask. Tying it all together is the addition of a house made poplar bud tincture, lending a character that's difficult to describe with pine, mint, leather and resin all showing a bit. The finished beer starts malty but finishes quite dry and soft, making for a great snifter pour. 7.25%

My review:
Beautiful fruity nose, mild cola, botanicals, herbs- yarrow, calendula , mild rum and vanilla, nicely blended with the rye base. Palate is a blend of red wine, beautiful fresh saison yeast character. A touch of tannin, nutty and earthy, which i guess is from the Nocino, is also present. Bubbly, clean finish, mild heat, vanilla and mildly oxidized red wine on the finish. Mild mineral character. Beautiful.

 

 

On tap at The Bier Stein in Eugene on 5.28.13

A - Served a dark almost black with a fine dark tan head that fades in half and liners throughout the whole glass.

S - Booze, whiskey, and that's mostly it.

T - Similar to the nose, but more of the base six comes through and makes it pretty enjoyable.

D - Mild carbonation with a heavier body.

O - six with some whiskey barrel. Just as good as it sounds.

 

On tap at 16 Tons the other day.

The beer pours a faily dark brown color with good head retention and lacing. The nose is attractive, as I get considerable milk chocolate, vanilla, brown sugar, a hint of leather and bourbon. The flavor profile generally replicates the nose, though I wasn't prepared for the level of bourbon I tasted in this beer. I like good bourbon, but it really dominates the flavor profile in this moderately sweet beer. Mouthfeel is fairly full, and it seemed as if there was a bit of heat from alcohol on the finish. Otherwise, drinkability was pretty good, with the alcohol well integrated into the flavor profile.

A tasty beer I thought, but I'm not sure barrel aging a saison is such a good idea. The base beer in this could have been just about anything, given the heavy handed influence of the bourbon and barrel aging in this beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can't remember who brought this to thetomG's place, but thanks!

A - Quick-dissolving thin white foam settles to a partial ring and a few wisps, and a few tiny specks of lace. Transparent reddish orange-brown body.

S - Oak, whiskey, a hint of sweet port, and vanilla. The base beer seems to have been overwhelmed by the barrel. I'd be hard-pressed to tell you what the style of the base beer was.

T - Again, lots of oak, whiskey, more oak, and a hint of port sweetness. There are some nebulous fruity yeast notes and a bit of fruity malt character, but the Saison has been nearly obliterated by barrel-aging.

M - Thin, with some dry and tannic textures, zesty carbonation, and a slightly chewy finish.

D - I'm glad I liked the Big Bottom whiskey flavors, because that's largely what this beer tastes like. A think a more delicate touch would have greatly improved the flavor balance, and this didn't stack up very well compared to the other variants of Six that we had.

Bottle shared by Thorpe at a recent tasting served in a snifter, Bottle 27/59.

Beer is amber with a haze to it, small off white head, lazy, wispy, low carbonation, low retention, minimal lacing, looks like beer.

Bready and sweet with a mild toffee and sweet caramel with a plum like fruitiness and a little bourbon.

I get the port and the bourbon in this one, raisins almost on the front end, some sweet oak and liquor follows with nice stone fruits and a good finish. A little too dry on the back end but a really nice beer. I'd have it again.

Bottle at a recent Upright Sole Composition tasting. Served in a Mikasa tulip.

Bottle 27/59.

Pours a somewhat-cloudy amber-tawny color with a small off-white head that eventually fall to a thin cap, leaving behind a bit of spotty lacing.

The nose carried a bit of brown sugar and toffee with some light yeast in the background. Some dark fruit and earth character with just a touch of tobacco. The barrel character came through with mostly bourbon, though there was a bit of port in the background. Some raisin there as well. Long duration with a very light acidity and a touch of bitterness.

Medium body with light carbonation and a semi-dry finish. The barrel character was quite nice in this one and I really liked the finish, though I could have gone for a bit more port character. All in all, a nice and interesting beer that is worth seeking out.