The Ballad Of Minnie Quay (2018-)
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27 June 2020 - Beer #129

Corona Day #107

Price: $15.99 at Linwood Wine & Liquor at Hudson Lights in Fort Lee, NJ
Description: Old Ale aged in brandy barrels

Appearance: 4 - much lighter than I expected. Almost looks like a wheatwine.

Nose: 4 - smells almost too fruity, not like an old ale at all. Uh oh.

Taste: 4 - tastes like a blend of old ale and wheatwine. Quite tasty and VERY interesting.

Mouth: 4 - somewhat flat and somewhat thin, yet still goes down pleasantly.

Overall: 4 - one of the stranger beers I've had in a while. Quite good though.

Stay safe out there, my friends.

Cheers!

Fairly boozy, big caramel and fruit. Definitely on the sweeter side, I get tons of fig and raisin, big brandy notes mostly showing up on the finish. The brandy was a great idea for this beer, I always enjoy attempts at barrels other than bourbon.

 

 

2019 vintage, bottled March 25
Pours a medium-small fluffy fizzy head with med retention, good sticky lacing and decent legs, very hazy deep golden amber tan color

Nose sweet malts, toasty and caramelized sugars, some candi sugar like candy malt, light biscuity toffee, mild pome fruit esters, a touch of brandy but not much, touch of perfumey alcohol, aged slight winey papery oxidized malt

Taste brings fruity aged malt, a bit winey again, with fair sweet malt flavors, biscuity toffee, fair caramel and a little candy malt, honey and almost maple like flavors, fruit brings more pome fruit like candied apple, and some white raisin soaked in brandy into a rum raisin cake thing, plenty of pastry cake batter like, brandy is there but light, a bit of perfumey alcohol, oxidation brings a little winey toffee like but a touch papery note, drier finish but a bit sticky, some alcohol tingle, and lingering sugars, as it warms a bit of buttery oak coming through adding a nice inviting character

Mouth is fuller bod but a bit soft, medium carb, a little warming alcohol

Overall not bad, not a ton of the brandy barrel although fair amount of fruity characters I think attributed to malt-derived esters and mild oxidation, OK overall and gets better as it warms thankfully

 

 

From the 650 ml. bottle. 2019 batch. Sampled on October 12, 2019.

Attractive looking amber-reddish pour with a fast off-white head that fades away quickly. Decent clarity.

The aroma is at first malt forward but not terribly boozy. I pick up the Brandy in the form of apple, pear, or berries.

Medium, effervescent body.

The sweet malts are up first in the taste and then the fruity like character kicks in. Not boozy but it really warms as it goes down.

A: The beer is very hazy caramel amber in color. It poured with a short white head that quickly settled down, leaving only a narrow ring of bubbles around the sides of the glass. A lot of chunks of yeast poured out into the bottom of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of dark fruits such as figs and raisins are present in the nose along with strong notes of brandy and hints of caramel malts.
T: The taste has lots of flavors of brandy with notes of brown sugar and figs. There are some hints of alcohol in the finish.
M: It feels medium- to full-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. The brandy also lends some warmth to the mouthfeel.
O: I liked the combination of brandy, brown sugar, and figs in the taste of this beer. It wasn't as alcoholic as one might expect given all of the brandy.

Serving type: bottle

 

2019 version--- abv 10.5%

L- The beer pours a deep amber bordering on brown. The head is a couple of fingers of off white foam which recedes to a thin film. Lacing dots the sides of the glass.
S-The nose is slightly sweet caramel with a some booziness which I assume is from the brandy barrel.
T- Like the nose there a sweet malt presence as expected in an English Old Ale. The barrel cuts the sweetness somewhat and takes it in a different direction leaving slightly fruity apple aspect, although it's light. Alcohol presence is minimal.
F- Mouthfeel overall is on the lighter side of medium. It is slightly warming and drinks very easy for a 10.5% beer. Carbonation is light after the initial pour.
O- A nicely crafted 10.5% beer. Balanced sweetness and a light barrel presence make this one more approachable than a lot of other beers of this ilk. Recommended.

 

 

 

Pours a Mildly hazy amber red color with a thin head. Lacing good. Brandy aroma. Apples? Malty. Belgium yeast taste. A little less brandy. Mild apple. Light to medium bodied. Mild carbonation

Dark bronze body with a thin cap of off-white foam. Smell is boozy from the brandy, soaking the other aromas of dark fruit especially fig, with brown sugar, pear and barley. Taste is harsh on the finish from the brandy booze and slight wood, but before is a ballad of dark fruit and the sweet part of the brandy with toffee malts. Feel breaks apart from the booziness, pretty sweet too, warm and smooth besides booze heat

L: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a coppery color and a mostly clear consistency. There was a half inch of foamy head that lasted a below average amount of time. Pretty good lacing.

S: A very nice aroma of malt, booze, wood, caramel, and some fruit.

T: Tasted of a fair amount of the advertised brandy (and its accompanying barrel), a bit of fruit (apples, in particular), lots of malt (present throughout), and a tinge of caramel. A solid, focused, and somewhat boozy flavor. The brandy compliments the fruit and malt quite well, the latter taking the edge off a bit. Not overly aggressive, and kind of sweet.

F: A decent amount of carbonation with a warm, smooth finish. Medium-bodied.

O: A solidly made, likable beer. Worth a try.