Sobremesa - Tequila Barrel Aged
Copper Kettle Brewing Company

Bomber from Tavour. Pours a rich clear copper color, small head dissipates quickly to flat. Tequila takes over in the aroma, the barrel aging having a lot of influence on this Brew. Taste is the same, more of the tequila notes. Not much of the pale ale comes through except for a little bit of sweet malt and some caramel. I'm on the fence on this one it's got some nice flavors, but it didn't live up to my expectations.

19.2 oz can
Brewed 2022
Release No 9
Barrel Aged Series
ABV 7.8%
IBU 28

Flavor was excellent overall

2022 Stovepipe poured into a pint glass.
Foam leaves quick, little bit of lace. 7.8% ABV.
Can says ‘Only 165 cases produced’,.,. and one if them showed up in SW Florida? Bullshit!
Smells malty, decent wood barrel.
Taste is steroid injected Corona, lime in the background. There’s a sweet exotic agave note for sure, but tequilla barrel? Not so much.
Feel is thin and well carbonated.
Overall - put a 2 ounce shot of El Jimador beside this and you’re all set.
Repeat as necessary.,. Party on.,.

19.2 oz. Can
Brewed 2021
Release No. 8
Barrel Aged Series
ABV: 8.3%

Poured into a Tree House glass a pretty nice hazy dark orange color, pretty nice carbonation, with a pretty nice thick/creamy/kinda fizzy one-finger plus off-white head, which leaves a pretty nice medium-size island, and some sticky lacing behind. The nose is pretty nice, malty, hoppy, slight yeast, slight tequila, oaky, with some pretty nice agava, lime notes. The taste is very nice, malty, hoppy, kinda yeasty, oaky, with some pretty nice tequila, add some pretty nice agava, lime, slight tany/sour. Medium Body, ABV hidden pretty well. Overall, a very tasty beer.

A: The beer is hazy dark yellow amber in color and has some brownish hues. It poured with a quarter finger high white head that died down, leaving a thin patch of bubbles on the surface, a narrow collar around the edge, and some lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of tequila are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and has additional notes of lime.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer does a very good job at hiding any traces of alcohol from the taste.

Serving type: can

This will mark the second of a triumvirate of beers & their liquor counterparts, so stay tuned. I eschewed distilled spirits for many years, having gotten into more trouble with them than with simple beer, but in me auld age, I'm a bit less fiery. I got this one through Tavour before we parted company.

From the Bottle (!): "Brewed 2018"; Barrel Aged Series No 5"; "Strong Pale Ale aged in Tequila barrels with Agave & Lime"; "Zest of Lime"; "Aged in Tequila barrels from Mexico"; "La Cerveza de Verano"; "Nectar de Agave"; "Tasting Notes[:] It's a summer afternoon south of the border and everyone is enjoying the 'sobremesa' - kicking back and entertaining each other with good conversation after a meal. This English style pale ale brings that tradition to you, but with a twist: it's aged in tequila barrels with fresh lime zest and agave nectar."; "Savor the flavor!"; "Best served fresh"; "IBUs[:] 25".

I gotta cop to having been VERY excited about this one when I saw it on offer! Here is how my downfall began as a young man: Bourbon > Gin > Rum > Tequila with each one bringing a new series of … adventures. I set aside a small bottle of 1800 Silver Agave for this one. Mmm.

I Pop!ped the cap on this throwback bomber & started a slow, gentle C-Line pour. It foamed up to form just under two fingers of fizzy, foamy, rocky, tawny head with modest retention. Color was a gorgeous Deep-Amber/Light-Copper to Copper (SRM = > 13, < 17) with NE-quality clarity. 8=O Linda Lou, where are you? She was my redheaded mavourneen who the Navy allowed to slip away while I was gone in 1993. Her coarse hair was this very color! 8=( Nose? I could smell the nose from a distance! There was NO question about its Tequila-barrel aging, but the lime was no slouch, either.

I was transported back to Tijuana, Mexico in 1986. PC Wms. & I had crossed the border only to meet up with unescorted shipmate Rake, a crazy, drunken fool whose aim was to get booted off of active duty & go the f**k home. He came from $$ so he was always a good time. He readily threw in with us & we had a grand day out of jai alai, dog races, a donkey show (!), an impromptu throwdown with a Marine whom I had boxed a few weeks earlier, finally settling into a brothel. Rake was a mumbling mess, but PC & I were undeterred. My gal & I were gearing up when she asks if I want some tequila. I replied that it would be like gilding the lily & that I wanted to get down to the business at hand. Her comeback was a smooth pour of a shot of the best tequila that I have ever had! It was smooth & smoky, nothing like that wormy s**t that I knew better than to have pass my lips. 8=O I had forgotten that interlude until now.

The lime & tequila fumes emanated from this beer like a cobra coming out of a fakir's basket in Bombay, India! I was awestruck. This smelled like the kind of thing that I wanted to dive into & never resurface, with any luck. I took a sip of my 1800 Silver to pave the way, followed by my first hit of this sinuous, tart beauty. 8=O My eyes came out of their sockets and would have smacked against the far wall, had I not been wearing glasses! Holy Mahoney. The lime was intense enough to cause a puckering of my lips just as the tequila-aging caused me to try & inhale to catch my breath! I was gasping, choking, sputtering with only the 1800 Silver ready-to-hand! What to do? Ever try extinguishing a fire with gasoline?!? Whaaa! Jeebzus! Whose clever idea was this! My nose hairs immediately spontaneously combusted & my eyes were watering uncontrollably. Phew. Hahaha. I knew that this was going to be good when I bought it, but I had NO idea as to how good. Time for some more of the beer to cool down. By now, the lime had gained a prevalence that was unstoppable. My lips were puckered tighter than a street whore's wrinkled grommet during Fleet Week! 8=* A wee hit of that 1800 should put things right! 8=O Who's facking taking a 2x4 to me skull at this hour?!? Fu*ksake, lads, a game's a game, but I've got a ship to be on! Oh, no, that's right, I'm in quarantine! A bit more of that 1800, then? Oi, who wants a go? F**k! This is coming on like a wrecking ball with nae operator at the helm. I've gotta get right, but how? The Lady (Sobremesa) or the Tiger (1800)? Which door? I have been awaiting this combo for so long & tonight was it. Now, I'm astride a bucking Brahma bull & I'm the bloody clown! I want to go home, but I'm already home, making me a real sharpie!Nowt's coming to me rescue, I'm on me own.F**ksake! There's still 1/4 of the bomber to be dealt with & a level ounce of that 1800! Did I mention the finish?Brilliant! Dry as a beached whale! In this age of barrel-aging, d'ye know how rare tequila & rum barrels are?The lot are chasing whiskey/whisky barrels while the future's in gin, tequila & rum barrels. Sod the whisky! Every bloke on the corner has a whiskey barrel. The future's in the odds & sods, right, mates? Look, the finish was dry, but it's beside the point.YMMV.

19.2 ounce can into tulip glass, 2019 vintage. Pours fairly hazy deep orange/copper/amber color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy off white head with solid retention, that reduces to a thin spotty lace cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big lightly tart lime, citrus peel/zest, peach, plum, pear, apricot, red apple, white grape, tequila, honey, agave, oak, biscuit, and white bread dough; with lighter notes of vanilla, peppercorn, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of lime zest, agave, fruity yeast, tequila barrels, bready malts, and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with big strength. Taste of big lightly tart lime, citrus peel/zest, peach, plum, pear, apricot, red apple, white grape, tequila, honey, agave, oak, biscuit, and white bread dough; with lighter notes of vanilla, peppercorn, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light herbal, floral, woody, grassy, zesty, peppery bitterness; and tequila/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart lime, citrus peel/zest, peach, plum, pear, apricot, red apple, white grape, tequila, honey, agave, oak, biscuit, white bread dough, light vanilla, peppercorn, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of lime zest, agave, fruity yeast, tequila barrels, bready malts, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitterness and tequila/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying sweetness after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/grainy, and lightly slick/sticky/peel/zesty/tannic mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 8.1%, with minimal lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this an awesome barrel aged English strong ale. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of lime zest, agave, fruity yeast, tequila barrels, bready malts, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on with the mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish; great soft feel for the ABV. Perfectly balance between rich malts, lime zest, agave, English yeast, and Tequila barrel presence/integration; with solid earthy hops. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressively spot on style example. Not overwhelming on any aspect.

 

Poured from a 16 oz. can (no date) into a pint glass...immediate overwhelming banana aroma...beautiful copper color...nice head and well carbonated. I've never had a tequila barrel aged ale, so I wasn't sure what to expect from the taste/smell. I think the huge banana flavor is not what they were going for though. Think banana soda up front with a smooth hoppy ale on the finish