Gin Barrel Aged Simcoe Sillier
Kuhnhenn Brewing Company

2017 (and only?) batch.

This one pours a somewhat murky and muddy looking brown color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This definitely did not escape from the oxidation demon, both in terms of how it looks, and how it tastes. There's that stale sherry sort of thing, and cardboard. The gin barrel is a very interesting choice here. I'm not sure if it was perfectly aligned with a very malty Belgian pale (not really all that pale) ale. The gin barrel gives off some floral chamomile type flavor, with a dried berry character. There's no real Belgian character coming off of the base beer, just old stale maltiness - bread and caramel.

This is not super drinkable, with too much stale sweetness on the finish. There's no booze to it.

It's hard for me to get behind this one. I usually absolutely love Kuhnhenn, but this is just too weird.

 

12 ounce bottle into a tulip snifter. 2017 edition. Had 7/17/18.

Pours a medium amber/orange, a little cloudy, with a short, quickly dissipating head and some spotty, soapy cling. Aromas of Belgian yeast, pineapple, apples, juniper, some mango, light spices, a little gin. The taste is a little more expansive- Belgian yeast, gin, malt, juniper, tropical hops- pineapple, mango, some caramel, light pine. It’s a little sweet. Smooth, a good medium body, appropriately carbonated but flat feeling after a while.

This is pretty good. The barrels, Belgian yeast and Simcoe hops are well blended and effective. Very good flavor and aroma. It’s high price point is a solid negative.

 

 

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a tulip. 2017 vintage.

A: Pours a caramel bronze and leaves a finger of white/off-white head that slowly fades to a rim around the beer. Translucent - carbonation bubbles can be seen throughout.

S: Right when I started pouring the bottle, big wafts of juniper filled the room. Accompanied by oak, caramel, hint of clove.

T: Oak and juniper stick out the most along with caramel, vanilla, and other herby notes. It works well and is very well balanced.

M: Fairly thick body for the style. Creamy. Carb is low to medium and works well.

O: A very interesting, different, well done beer. The gin barrel makes this beer special. Definitely recommended, especially for gin lovers.

Brew pours a murky, nutty brown; head production is essentially nonexistent.

Aroma is absolutely unique and unexpected: mint, vanilla, and chocolate, smelling like candy or even mouthwash - but in a good way! Floral, bright, and inviting. I'm really enjoying just smelling this beer.

While the palate certainly has some similarities to the nose, it carries some differences, as well - but the nose does lead beautifully into the flavor on first sip. A fascinating melange of flavors, all competing for attention at various times. Sometimes I get cherry syrup; at others, a chocolate-covered spearmint candy. Darker fruit and Belgian yeast tones fade in and out, never becoming a major player but adding depth along with caramel malt. Simcoe hops add yet another series of flavor to the mix, adding pine and citrus at times.

Some boozy throat and chest heat, but otherwise a very clean, smooth sip.

I have never had a beer like this. That can be a compliment or a derogatory remark, but in this case, the beer is absolutely enjoyable as well. It's quite sweet, and in some ways syrupy.

Pours clear orange and almost still. Minimal bubbles. Smell is big gin botanicals, oak, vanilla, bubble gum, and a hint of hop zest hidden behind it all. Taste is a mess. Tangy botanicals and the Belgian yeast make for a very gin and tonic taste at first, but then...Barrel oak kicks in for a big vanilla burst, and then.... bubblegum esters and the hops bring in a fruity, Juicy Fruit gum flavor to the front. A total uncohesive mess that leaves the palate coated with what I can only assume Not Your Father’s Cream Soda (Barrel-Aged version) would taste like. Feel is heavy and syrupy. I’ll give it to Kuhnhenn for attempting this, and there’s a lot of flavors in there, but it ultimately fails in the execution. A trendy variant that takes away from the base Beer. I’ll admit that I’m not a fan of gin barrel treatments on beers, and this further supports it.

 

 

Thanks to FlintB for this extra dropped into a recent trade. I didn’t really care for the base beer but hey, different batch, likely wildly different taste. Kuhnhenn: beer roulette. 12 oz. bottle.

The pour is a lovely molten copper, though the lack of pop when the cap comes off is matched by the lack of bubbles. Smells like a Belgian, with the underlying fruit, that damn bubblegum, & a touch of heat that I don’t recall from the original.

Simcoe Sillier – Gin Barrel Aged (Hubba Bubba Container Aged). I’ve seen major leaguers chewing the yeast cakes in the bottom of these bottles. Holy gum. Other than the sugar high, there’s floral spices, honey, berries (must be the juniper, though I couldn’t pick it out of a lineup). The gin makes a very fashionably late, & very subtle, entrance on the finish. Ends in a massive injection of sugar. Sweet, sappy, thick. Twelve ounces of this is about twice what I needed.

This hangs together a bit better than the base beer, but the sweeter-than-Mr-Rogers sappiness is overwrought. Do people – at least those who have dentists – drink this in any volume? Decent enough.

I don't think that I have ever drank something quite like this.

Beer pours a syrupy red gold - you might easily mistake this as a liqueur or a cough medicine. It's quite clear and doesn't seem to be heavily carbonated - only the tiniest hint of bubbles forming at the edges of my glass. Very curious. I was a bit surprised when I read the beer description after smelling it - I could have sworn that it smelled sour initially. The smell has since dissipated and the beer is now on to smelling mildly boozy.

The taste really threw me off. I could have sworn that I tasted quite a lot of cherry when it was still cold. As the beer has warmed, the juniper and gin have come forward more and more. That gin imparts a very pleasant warmth throughout your throat and chest. Very nice! I'd considered opening a winter warmer today (as it's snowing like crazy), but this seems equally appropriate now.

General observations: the hop presence to the beer is fairly insignificant, but what is there is very nice. It offsets the sweetness and thick, syrupyness to a degree. It's still very cloying and rich. The gin barrels have been used to great advantage in this beer - I've never had another gin barrel-aged beer to this point, that I recall, and this one is memorable.