Extraneous Ale
Kuhnhenn Brewing Company

Extraneous AleExtraneous Ale
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From:
Kuhnhenn Brewing Company
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
ABV:
17%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.87 | pDev: 15.25%
Reviews:
49
Ratings:
92
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 11, 2020
Added:
Aug 12, 2006
Wants:
  52
Gots:
  20
Boiled for 23 hours, yielding around 30 gallons of beer, extraneous ale was then transferred to a bourbon barrel where it will spend 6 months before being released. Fermented with a lager yeast at ale temperatures.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of GreesyFizeek
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

4.04/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
2010 vintage.

This one pours a murky looking dark brown color, with basically no head or lacing.

This smells like port, dark fruit, red wine, cardboard, oak, bourbon, and caramel.

As this has just about a decade under its belt, some oxidation has to be expected. The dark fruit character has likely intensified over the time period, and there's also just a touch of flat cardboard type character. The intense dark fruit character is really good, though, approaching complex red wine type character. There's a good amount of dry oak character, with a little bit of bourbon left.

This is medium bodied, slightly syrupy, with no real booziness to it. The carbonation level is extremely low, almost still.

This probably was better like 3-5 years ago, but it honestly did age pretty well for something that is 10 years old.
Aug 11, 2020
 
Rated: 3.69 by Texasfan549 from Texas

Apr 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by kjkinsey from Texas

Apr 22, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by liamt07 from Canada (ON)

Dec 30, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by wethorseblanket from California

Nov 28, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by IAmHollywood13 from Ohio

Jun 09, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by md655321 from Michigan

Mar 16, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by bum732 from Lesotho

Jan 25, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Jas45678 from Michigan

Dec 21, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by kjrod20 from New York

Nov 25, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by mltobin from Connecticut

Nov 23, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by DrewZ926 from New York

Nov 17, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by POTABLE83 from New York

Oct 18, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by DLucky from Florida

Sep 04, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by ygolordned from Michigan

Jul 26, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Zaphog from Michigan

Jun 24, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by JohnnieNepal from Michigan

Jun 24, 2013
Photo of tectactoe
Reviewed by tectactoe from Michigan

4.1/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
On tap at Kuhnhenn for Summer Solstice '13. This was one that I never thought I'd get the chance to try, so I was very excited when it was announced that it would be available on tap, and the 2010 vintage no less. Beaming copper on the edges with woody-brown on the edges; almost opaque in the middle with almost no head on the pour - the mere tan ring outlines the edge of the beer.

Commanding, powerful, boozy, and sweet are the four words that best describe the aroma. Lots of stuff going on here; deep grapes, boozy oak, hints of bourbon-soaked raisins, all lathered in sweet toffee with a sticky sweet cocoa note in the finish. It smells big, it smells thick, it smells robust. Though it certainly does smell boozy, there's no way it smells poignant enough to be 17.5% ABV.

Extraneous Ale has a HUGE body as it hits my palate; thick, creamy, smooth, chewy - you name it. This sucker is a big-ass beer. Sticky, boozy dates are at the forefront of each sip, followed up by a round of sweet plums; so sweet and nearly tart for a moment. The "dark fruit" aspect of Extraneous Ale is much bigger than I was expecting, but it's a welcomed and pleasant surprise.

All of the fruits seem to be coated in brown sugar, brandy, and toffee. It's definitely boozy and oaky, but again, I'd never pinpoint this as 17.5% ABV. Deep in the back, there's some lighter hints of licorice and anise. The finish is heavy with oak, wood, and surprisingly enough, a handful of nuttiness. The wood-heavy aftertaste coats the palate and teeth - very abrasive and sticky, pretty expected for a beer this size.

Wow! The six or so ounces that I digested of this was plenty, but I'd like to think that I could put down double that without much of a problem. Big beer; tons of flavor and complexity, and it's certainly a slow sipper, although it goes down extremely easy for being such high gravity. Very excited to finally try this one, it's a great beer. Not sure if it's an old ale, barley wine, or what, but it's pretty damn good.
Jun 24, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by Michigan from Michigan

Jun 22, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by nlmartin from Ohio

Jun 22, 2013
Extraneous Ale from Kuhnhenn Brewing Company
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 92 ratings