V.I.P. - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Madhouse Brewing Company

 

Pours viscous from the bottle, forming a cascading, dark brown, densely packed head. Upon finishing the pour, the head settles to a hefty two fingers, espresso foam color and consistency. Nearly void of color, this beer is opaque. No visible carbonation. As I continue to drink, the head dissipates to a thin ring around the edge of the glass. No lacing, but the residual sugar is there when you swirl the glass. The viscosity has me intrigued.

Tons of vanilla on the nose. Overall, fresh and natural. Despite the 13.5% ABV there is really no extract aroma here. The aroma is throwing off a lot of fruit to me. Fresh sliced pineapple, juicy plum, cherry cordial, fruit cake, raisins. Coffee, milk chocolate, s’mores with an emphasis on the chocolate and marshmallow. I let the beer sit out for 20 minutes before opening. About 20 minutes in I’m beginning to get some earthy aromas as well, perhaps earthy/herbal hops, but perhaps from the dark malts being used. 30-45 minutes in the ABV is evident as bourbon when you inhale deeply. The vanilla is more tame.

With undertones of vanilla, cocoa powder, pineapple and coconut, this beer is toasty, rather dry, a bit ashy with burnt bread bitterness on the finish. Notes of oak. This is really drinking like a huge English Porter with some enhancements from the vanilla and bourbon barrel aging. The flavor has a dry cocoa powder aspect to it. It’s not very sweet.

Ok, I just had an “aha” moment. The fruit has been driving me nuts. And now I realize it reminds of strawberry candy. Strawberry Charleston Chew.

The beer has very low carbonation, and a thick mouthfeel. At 13.5%, it warms the pipes and the residual sweetness coats the lips. All pleasantly.

Overall, I’m really enjoying this beer. My initial impression was a disconnect between how much vanilla/additional complexity came from the nose, while these aspects seemed muted on the flavor profile. Even so, I enjoy that this beer is not drinking like a pastry Porter. Over time as the beer approached room temperature everything melded nicely and made for a beer with a nice sweet nose, balanced by a more dry and bitter flavor profile. A nice experience for my first Madhouse brew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours pitch black. Good bourbon notes on the nose. I was really surprised that this was actually a porter, as the flavors are reminiscent of a well made BA stout.