10-10-10 IPA (Bourbon Barrel Aged)
Swamp Head Brewery

 

Reviewed from (long-standing) notes. Poured from a 750 mL bottle into an El Catador Barrel-Aged glass.

A: Hazy orange-tinged gold, with a finger of white foamy head. The head fades to a ring around the glass fairly quickly atop the average visible carbonation.

S: Bourbon, resin, and orange pith. Biscuit malts. Some vanilla and oak tannins, but these stay mild. An old school hop profile for sure, but appealing enough.

T: Bourbon sweetness and orange pith. Vanilla and resin bitterness. Biscuit malts and oak tannins. Modest caramel from the malts with more ethanol sweetness. Modestly bitter with more bourbon sweetness in the hang.

M: A bit of a heavy body for a DIPA. The alcohol is obvious but not obnoxiously hot. Carbonation sensation just on the low side of average.

O: Barrel-aged hoppy beers are hit and miss for me...and more often a miss, honestly. This isn’t my favorite. The bitterness, while obvious, doesn’t quite balance the sweet malts and barrel presence. Also, the bourbon accentuates the caramel flavors in the malts. Still, far from terrible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swamp Head's 10-10-10 is one of my favorites of their beers. Naturally I looked forward to trying this. It was good, though in my opinion the bourbon notes in the nose were a little overpowering. It was quite boozy. I felt that the hop character was a little lost in the mix, when compared to the not bourbon aged 10-10-10. I did enjoy this.

 

 

Had on tap at The Craft Bar in Panama City Beach. Have had some bourbon barrel aged IPA's in the past but none compare to this one. While the bourbon is there it is a compliment to the hops and crisp backbone of the base beer and does not overpower or muddle the flavors of the IPA. It does what you might expect but is balanced and that is something sorely lacking in most examples of this style. The regular 10-10-10 is a good double IPA bu this is in a different league. Excellent, interesting brew.

This version was aged in Pappy Van Winkle barrels.