Unobtanium Barrel-Aged Old Ale
Straight To Ale

Unobtanium Barrel-Aged Old AleUnobtanium Barrel-Aged Old Ale
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Straight To Ale
 
Alabama, United States
Style:
Old Ale
ABV:
11.5%
Score:
93
Avg:
4.17 | pDev: 11.27%
Reviews:
67
Ratings:
265
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 12, 2022
Added:
Jun 18, 2010
Wants:
  83
Gots:
  67
Unobtanium is a barrel-aged English-style Old Ale that ages for six months in a bourbon barrel, soaking up all sorts of amazing whiskey character as well as hints of oak and vanilla. The name was taken from an old aerospace/engineering term for a specific material or object (often imaginary, impossible or highly improbable to obtain) needed to complete any given project.

And, before you ask, we did not take the name from the elusive metal in Avatar. James Cameron reportedly named the substance as an inside joke to his fellow techie/gear-heads. Our version is much tastier, though.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by OrestesMethuon:
Photo of OrestesMethuon
Reviewed by OrestesMethuon from Montana

4.21/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Nice, deep reddish brown depth; chocolate, molasses, and—especially—raisin on the nose; good, plush, creamy-tan head, which lingers nicely in the tulip; the body is thick, but not unbecomingly so, and the bourbon notes really shine through: corn whiskey, woodiness, and velvety vanilla. Very drinkable, even mellow in its way, for an Old Ale—a nice melding of Old Blighty and Old Bluegrass, fresh and very obtainable in the Straight to Ale footprint.
Jun 22, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of SLB
Rated by SLB

5/5  rDev +19.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Dark amber, medium to heavy body,
Smooth, molasses influence from bourbon barrels
Mar 12, 2022
 
Rated: 4.11 by mattjp03 from Alabama

Dec 31, 2021
Photo of hoptheology
Reviewed by hoptheology from California

4.06/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12 oz can from late 2019/early 2020 (can't read date). Prairie Rastal Glass. Purchased in Birmingham AL.

Has a dark plummy rooty color with a head of 1/2 finger, receding to a fingernail and leaving slight lace up the sides.

Aroma of bourbon-and-caramel soaked plums, molasses, cinnamon, tobacco, black licorice, more alcohol-soaked dark fruits, and caramel/toffee. Amazing nose but not particularly loud and takes some effort to acquire.

Flavor starts with some piney bitterness and tapers off to some banana bread, dark fig, cinnamon, almond, plum flesh, toffee, grape sucker, and bourbon barrel. Some resins and hot alcohol cling on afterwards.

Feel is slick to start, then grips the tongue with fierceness and punishes it with resins and oils. Hot alcohol completes the picture.

Overall, this can wasn't nearly as amazing as it was at the brewery. Fresh on tap this beer was a straight killer. This can came in punching a little below the belt with muted flavors and disjointed complexity. I know this beer is better - just like Laika, I just don't understand what happened in the can - just like Laika.

Price paid : $13.99 / 4 pack
Would buy again : no, unless they can harness the tap magic into their canned version
May 01, 2020
 
Rated: 4.08 by MJSFS from Florida

Jan 25, 2020
Photo of Jwale73
Reviewed by Jwale73 from Rhode Island

3.84/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
12oz. can served in a tulip. 10.1% abv. Pours a deep chestnut hue with a rocky, half inch, khaki-colored head embedded with pinpricks and ringlets. Head eventually disperses into a soapy swirl with swaths of weak lacing coating the bowl of the glass. Nose expresses notes of candied figs, butterscotch and traces of whiskey. Taste consistent with nose; however, the flavors don't really pop - it all comes off a bit muted. Mouthfeel is light in body with an assertive carbonation that leaves a residual burn at the back of the throat between quaffs and a trace of oiliness to the texture. Overall, the appearance and nose are on par with the style. Unfortunately, the mouthfeel comes off a little thin and the flavors don't come together.
Jan 10, 2020
Photo of BEERchitect
Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky

3.99/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pulled from the pits of Kentucky, the Straight to Ale team conjure up an old ale to lay in oaken whisky barrels to soak up all its bourbony glory.

Unobtanium pours with a rustic garnet hue, laced with a foggy haze. As a creamy short froth builds on the beer, its scent of suggested toasted sweetness brings a nutty, fruity and spicy medley to the nose. To taste, the flavor of caramel, brown sugar and light toffee come in a malty sweet upstart.

Malt richness marinates on the middle palate, swooning the senses with whisky spice. All the while, the fruit of marmalade, fig, date and apricot all seem booze soaked and of the dehydrated varieties. Peppercorn and whisky spice balance the sweetness and fruitiness while highlighting the oaken tannins, coconut, caramel and light vanilla of the barrels. Modestly bitter, a woodsy sensation brings a late palate of broad resins with a peppery grip of its own.

Full bodied but lightened by the oak spices and the whisky warmth, the beer begins to drink like a Belgian dubbel as the fruit and spice intensify deep into the session. A long linger of bourbon outlasts any hop, fruit or spice for an extended taste of Kentucky.
Feb 12, 2019
 
Rated: 4.56 by mholdefer from Alabama

Jan 31, 2019
 
Rated: 4.03 by The_Kriek_Freak from Pennsylvania

Jan 12, 2019
 
Rated: 3.63 by WickedBeer from Alabama

Dec 26, 2018
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.84/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottle at share. Really liked this, not the concensus. Dark, clear brown, kind of flat. Strong, leathery, boozy aroma. Taste is sweet and strong.. Molasses, plums, maple syrup. Boozy.
Sep 22, 2018
 
Rated: 4.21 by bushwack from Alabama

Sep 19, 2018
Photo of Treyliff
Reviewed by Treyliff from West Virginia

4.21/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
220z bottle poured into a snifter
Either 2013 or 2014 vintage

A- pours a deep amber-brown color with a one-finger foamy white head that reduces to a ring around the edge of the glass

S- big note of vanilla extract on the nose, as well as plenty of bourbon barrel that adds elements of caramel and toffee. Undertones of leather, tobacco, raisin bread and over-ripe banana

T- rich and malty with an almost-salty character up front. Notes of caramel, toffee, fruitcake and raisin. Mid-palate adds the barrel notes, with plenty of oaky bourbon that continues into the finish, along with notes of tobacco and vanilla. More caramel and barrel on the linger

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel and a slightly warming finish

O- nice and malty with a good balance of barrel, this has held up very nicely
Aug 22, 2018
Photo of colts9016
Reviewed by colts9016 from Idaho

4.18/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
The can has an interesting label and makes me wonder what has been put into this beer for such a devious character to broach the can. The beer is served in a snifter at 53 degrees. The pour was hard and produced a one finger head with dismal results, typical of this style. The head is frothy and creamy and light tan in color. The color of the beer's color is SRM 30 a dark rusty brown color near used motor oil look. The clarity of the beer is transparent. Carbonation bubble dance slowly up the sides of the glass.

The bourbon aroma in the beer is the first aroma I smell, vanilla, citrus, wood and spice emanated from glass. The additional aromas are bready, caramel, brown sugar, dark roasted malt, oak, earth, yeast and alcohol.

The flavors in the beer is bourbon, bready, vanilla, citrus, oak, spice, brown sugar, earthy, yeast, caramel, toasted malt, citrus, herbal, and stone fruit.

The mouthfeel of the beer is chewy and rich.

The body of the beer is full, the carbonation is low, and the finish is long.

The beer aroma is phenomenal, but the taste just is not what I smell. Nevertheless the beer is good, great flavor and follows the beer style. I really enjoy the bourbon barrel flavor in the beer, it really gave it something to talk about. Overall good beer wish the flavors was as strong as the nose.
Jun 20, 2018
Photo of cavedave
Reviewed by cavedave from New York

4.24/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Thanks richj1970 for these two cans, a 2016 and a 2017.

Pour for both is typical cloudy brown with long lasting tan foam atop. 2017 is darker with bigger head.

The nose on the 2016 is much more barrel influenced and strong, with whiskey, vanilla, and spicy alcohol leading the way for a complex, full strength aroma that also features raisin bread, treacle, and dates.

Interesting that in the 2017 aroma I find the same flavors, but they are dialed back and blended. I say interesting because I am not sure I would have identified them from the blend so readily without the other glass to compare.

Oh, man, this 2016 is fucking delicious. It is a faithful and perfectly balanced version of the aroma, with just enough alcohol warmth to push this taste to 11. Clean, and possessing the strange characteristic of being brightly flavored while also tasting blended, each sip seems to present a little differently.

What a difference a year makes! In the 2017 barrel notes dominate the taste, which is nuts, since they are so much more prevalent in the aroma of the 2016! Strong alcohol presence too, and the fruit bready characteristic is a minor, less balanced, player than the older one. There is bitterness here, not strong, but def. evident in the end of sip, that isn't in the 2016.

The mouthfeel is identical in both 2016 and 2017, even though appearance, smell, and taste are not. Both are med. bodied, highly viscous, low carb, refreshing for style, with a clean, long lasting finsh.

Gee this is a really great and delicious experiment that I love to do, since there is no other way to find out what time does to beers that are big enough to possibly benefit from being laid down. My overall impression of both vintages is--- go get some, what are you waiting for! If you are a fan of Old Ale or BSDA you are gonna love this!
May 01, 2018
Photo of LiquidAmber
Reviewed by LiquidAmber from Washington

4.16/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a medium reddish orange with fizzy, half finger khaki head that dissipates quickly to a slight ring around the glass, no lacing. Aroma of light biscuit malt, plums, raisins, bourbon and light oaky vanilla; a bit boozy. Flavor is caramel and mild biscuit malt, bourbon, sweet fresh and dried plums, woody oak and oaky vanilla, brown sugar. Finish is semi-sweet with a nice lingering dark fruit and woodiness; lots more bourbon. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. I don't recall a barrel aged old ale, although it seems like a likely candidate for barreling. The flavor is quite pleasant, resembling a Belgian quad profile; semi sweet and fruity. Even the yeast leans towards fruity Belgian style. It is somewhat too bad that the deep biscuit malt that makes an old ale so appealing is lost here. The flavors are great, but the biscuit is subsumed into the fruit component. Not quite what I expected, but very enjoyable and well done. I'm going to age one of these for a year and see how it mellows; it seems a good candidate.
Apr 25, 2018
Photo of WOLFGANG
Rated by WOLFGANG from South Carolina

4.09/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Draught. Sweet, smokey, yummy.
Apr 23, 2018
 
Rated: 4.5 by Radcpa from Washington

Apr 16, 2018
 
Rated: 4.53 by Mastercamo from Georgia

Apr 02, 2018
 
Rated: 4.22 by rarigney from Washington

Mar 16, 2018
Unobtanium Barrel-Aged Old Ale from Straight To Ale
Beer rating: 93 out of 100 with 265 ratings