Fourth Dementia - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Kuhnhenn Brewing Company

Fourth Dementia - Bourbon Barrel-AgedFourth Dementia - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Rate It
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Kuhnhenn Brewing Company
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
Old Ale
Ranked #1
ABV:
13.5%
Score:
100
Ranked #101
Avg:
4.55 | pDev: 8.57%
Reviews:
439
Ratings:
2,048
Status:
Active
Rated:
May 26, 2023
Added:
Dec 14, 2006
Wants:
  1,732
Gots:
  450
SCORE
100
World-Class
Fourth Dementia - Bourbon Barrel-AgedFourth Dementia - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Notes: This is our 4th Dementia Olde Ale that has been bourbon barrel-aged. This ale has an intense sweet caramel malt flavor and aroma that develops into a toffee and toasted marshmallow-like character. Brewed every year.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4.25 by Ajlvt from Washington

May 26, 2023
Photo of jrc1093
Reviewed by jrc1093 from Connecticut

4.46/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
2018 vintage; consumed on 5/22/2023

Pours a jet-mahogany body topped with two fingers of fluffy, khaki-hued foam; good head retention leaves a spotty, paper-thin cap, large, creamy collar, and a modest array of chunky, webby lacing strewn around the walls of the glass.

Aromas open to fresh prune laden with prickly oak as accents of fig wash through an encroaching bourbon undercurrent sporting progressive dark cocoa and edgy vanillins detailing.

Taste brings saucy prune and stewed dates upfront, with notes of dusty cocoa and charry oak encroaching on Werthers Originals past the mid-palate into smoked toffee meeting distant undertones of burnt vanilla on the back end of the profile.

Mouthfeel offers a medium-light body and a robust fluff of moderate carbonation, dispersing an airy char to a steadily cleaning roast washing over the mid-palate, a quiet warmth trailing into a bright twang integrating effortlessly toward the finish.

A daring fusion of barrel and brightness in a profile saturated with near-syrupy dark fruit reductions and a tempering, deft level of cocoa char; an exceedingly bold, almost authoritative expression of the style executed with adept clarity.
May 23, 2023
 
Rated: 4.57 by ppavlick from New Jersey

May 12, 2023
Photo of colts9016
Reviewed by colts9016 from Idaho

4.67/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
1910
Name: 4th Dementia
Brewery: Kuhnhenn Brewing
Location: Warren MI
Style: Old Ale
ABV: 13.5%
Date: 2022
Next on the review desk is Fourth Dementia from Kuhnhenn Brewing. I am going to start to pull some big ones from the cellar. This beer has been on my want list for over eight years. Many beers on my want list, like Fox Farms, require travel. I am excited to get to this review. Using a tulip, I served this beer at around 50 degrees. The pour created an airy, fingered light brown head with no retention. It came and went faster than life. No lacing was left on the glass. The high alcohol content could cause the head to wane. I was charting the color somewhere around SRM 32, dark rusty brown. The appearance is about average for this style.
Nosing the glass, I smell whiskey, oak, caramel, toffee, chocolate, soy sauce, mild coffee, bread, raisins, smokiness, Maillard, vanilla, char, and tobacco.
The first sip is like a perfectly executed tango on my palate with flavor. I taste whiskey, oak, caramel, toffee, chocolate, soy sauce, mild coffee, bready, raisins, figs, vanilla, Maillard, tobacco, char, dark roasted malts, burnt sugar, and an aged wine note.
The mouthfeel is slightly warm and coating, finishing smooth and long.
This beer is smacking. The wait was worth it; everything about this beer is terrific. The barrel age is near perfect. The warmer the beer gets, the more flavors develop, creating this symphony in your mouth. Stellar beer; I wish I had several more to sip on.
May 08, 2023
 
Rated: 4.68 by Wisconsin_IPA_Lover from Wisconsin

May 05, 2023
Photo of Rug
Reviewed by Rug from Massachusetts

4.57/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
2022 vintage

I knew downloading Tavour would be a good idea, and I am very grateful that it allows me to access this long time want of mine. I’ve only had one other Kuhnhenn beer before, the best in style Raspberry Eisbock that I enjoyed very much. This one is yet another highly regarded style topper. Let’s dig in

Pours an opaque dark brown with a finger of creamy tan head that slowly fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing

Wow, this is huge in the nose. Super malty and bourbon forward. I’m picking up on aromas of brown bread, toasted walnut, sweet bourbon, dates, smooth oak, sticky caramel, raisin, brown sugar, smoky tobacco, light aged hops, and sweet red wine

It doesn’t reach the same levels of intensity in taste, but it is still very good. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting brown sugar, dark bread, raisin, black cherry, sweet bourbon, caramel, smooth oak, light vanilla, and old leather. The swallow brings notes of brown bread, molasses, toasted walnut, brown sugar, sweet bourbon, burnt caramel, toasted oak, port wine, smoky tobacco, and light sherry

A medium full body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a smooth beer. Finishes off dry with just a touch of booze, feeling well before 13.5%

This is absolutely awesome! I’m so happy I finally got the chance to try it, and even happier I have 3 more bottles of this to drink
May 03, 2023
Photo of jb_4226
Rated by jb_4226 from Texas

4.9/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
#160, excellent!
Apr 26, 2023
 
Rated: 4.75 by cryptichead from Illinois

Apr 23, 2023
 
Rated: 4.56 by dafla67 from Pennsylvania

Apr 22, 2023
Photo of REVZEB
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

4.49/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours dark brown with a tan head. Tobacco, bourbon barrel that is actually dark wood forward by a tiny bit, toffee, prune, old ale yeast nose. Taste hits barrel and barley first with tobacco, leather, prune, then toffee, plum skin, black licorice and then a finishing oxidized yeast finish. Feel is boozy yet cooler, medium bodied and artful yeast with great barrel character. Let this warm up and it will reward you!
Apr 11, 2023
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

4.43/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
12oz bottle from Tavour. Mahogany pour, ring of head. Aroma is raisins, plums, sweet, woody. Taste is pit fruit, light tannic notes, tobacco, prunes, woody, barrel, sweetness. Slick body, ABV seeps in slowly. Luscious, sumptuous.
Apr 09, 2023
 
Rated: 4.5 by smithj4 from New York

Apr 05, 2023
Photo of pathman
Rated by pathman from Ohio

5/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
04/04/23 bottle @ home
Apr 05, 2023
 
Rated: 4.59 by Gkruszewski from New York

Apr 04, 2023
 
Rated: 4.5 by paulish from New York

Apr 03, 2023
 
Rated: 4.47 by Original_Gravity from Washington

Mar 18, 2023
 
Rated: 4.75 by bruindre from Massachusetts

Feb 08, 2023
 
Rated: 4.94 by MJSFS from Florida

Feb 04, 2023
Photo of Zach_Attack
Rated by Zach_Attack from Massachusetts

4.43/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This is consistently tasty. That said, I think some additional time will take this to another level.
Jan 17, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by Nichols33 from Massachusetts

Jan 06, 2023
 
Rated: 4.5 by Juggerr from New York

Dec 02, 2022
 
Rated: 4.06 by Gambyt20 from Illinois

May 13, 2022
Photo of Bhubbard34
Reviewed by Bhubbard34 from Pennsylvania

4.52/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
2021 version, drank 4/26/22

Pours a deep, dark brown. Minimal head, dissipates quickly. Strong aroma of chocolate, leather, and tobacco.

A bit thin, borderline syrupy feel. Tastes of dark chocolate, tobacco, caramel, toffee. Intense flavor, but hides the alcohol really well. Strong, but not in any way boozy. Enjoyable sipper
Apr 27, 2022
Photo of Sludgeman
Reviewed by Sludgeman from District of Columbia

4.54/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Purchased at the brewery outside of Detroit, MI. 12 oz @ 13.5%. Bought this beer on a Monday at the brewery transported it home stuffed in my steel-toed boot in my luggage on a flight back to DC. Poured into a small-stemmed tulip. I drank this beer on the following Friday evening at home to celebrate my first day in the new office. Very happy I did not wait.

This is the first barrel-aged old ale that I’ve had. A barrel-aged beer that the brewer “did right.” But I still may have taken this beer out of the barrels earlier. The high ABV and the sweetness might make you think you are drinking a barleywine.

Complex is an understatement. 4.5

A – Pours a hazy deep reddish brown but opaque in the glass with a thin tan head with reddish highlights. Constant thin head. Good carbonation. Viscosity on the glass. Some lacing. 4.5

S – A rich but oxidized aroma of vanilla and caramel, with some slight metallic. 4.25

T – Caramel, brown sugar, then the vanilla with finally the barrel spirits in the background. Not as much barrel in the taste as the aroma might lead you to believe. The oxidized or metallic notes are very sedate. Vinous qualities as wells, some raisins soaked in bourbon. No hoppiness that I can discern. 4.75

MF – Medium heavy body with a sweetish finish. Slick and a bit coating. Let this beer linger on the palate and the oxidation rises up just a little. 4.5
Apr 09, 2022
 
Rated: 4.46 by not2quick from Missouri

Mar 21, 2022
 
Rated: 4.25 by ryand14 from Michigan

Feb 11, 2022
Photo of Luscious_Malfoy
Reviewed by Luscious_Malfoy from Illinois

4.54/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
poured from a 12oz bottle into a snifter. pours a dark chestnut with very little foam. wonderful aromas of bourbon, charred oak, toffee, vanilla, even a hint of coconut. taste follows with a slight fruitiness on the finish. medium-full mouthfeel; nice, lower level of carbonation. to me, this is right in that wheelhouse of Längst and Ryeway - two beers i absolutely love. this beer might be a tad more drinkable (possibly even more approachable) as i don’t find it to be the slow sippers that Längst and Ryeway are. really good stuff!
Jan 21, 2022
 
Rated: 4.25 by rare_bird from Michigan

Jan 15, 2022
 
Rated: 3.83 by Beerbom from California

Dec 30, 2021
 
Rated: 4.54 by GeorgeAKeim from Oregon

Dec 18, 2021
 
Rated: 4.44 by jvillefan from California

Nov 26, 2021
 
Rated: 4.5 by Rkitchen from Michigan

Jun 19, 2021
 
Rated: 4.25 by GFK from Michigan

Jun 15, 2021
 
Rated: 4.31 by ThirstyHungryLife from California

Apr 13, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by Bugsmcl from Ohio

Feb 12, 2021
 
Rated: 4.52 by Mebuzzard from Colorado

Feb 01, 2021
 
Rated: 4.5 by mrmsmith from District of Columbia

Jan 31, 2021
 
Rated: 4.67 by Eyedoc27 from Illinois

Nov 28, 2020
 
Rated: 4.43 by nollie77 from Ohio

Nov 19, 2020
Photo of AllOfTheCats
Reviewed by AllOfTheCats from Wisconsin

4.3/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Pretty unique. Almost like an imperial stout plus barleywine blend with a dry finish. Caramel up front, then some char. Hoping to try some more of their beers.
Sep 27, 2020
Fourth Dementia - Bourbon Barrel-Aged from Kuhnhenn Brewing Company
Beer rating: 100 out of 100 with 2048 ratings