LTD - Barrel-Aged
Greenbush Brewing Company

This is still being made as of 5/30/20.

The BA is smooth and warming but has a wine fermented aftertaste on the first sips. Heavy malt taste. A fruity undertone that's barely there amongst a strong chocolate flavor. Drinking from the can. Will hit you like a ton of bricks after drinking it. It's not up there with BCS but it's not far away either. Worth trying - 12 oz., not 16 like I did.

12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 7/18/2016. Pours very hazy deep orange/copper/amber/light reddish color with a 1 finger dense and creamy off white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big orange peel, golden raisin, peach, plum, fig, pear, apricot, red apple, cinnamon, peppercorn, coriander, clove, wood bark, honey, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, spicy rye whiskey, toasted oak, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, cherry, wood char, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness. Slight booze in the aromas as it warms, but not overwhelming. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready malts, orange peel, spices, fruity yeast, and rye whiskey barrel notes; with big strength. Taste of big orange peel, golden raisin, peach, plum, fig, pear, apricot, red apple, cinnamon, peppercorn, coriander, clove, wood bark, honey, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, spicy rye whiskey, toasted oak, and brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, cherry, wood char, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness; and rye whiskey, bitters, oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of orange peel, golden raisin, peach, plum, fig, pear, apricot, red apple, cinnamon, peppercorn, coriander, clove, wood bark, honey, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, spicy rye whiskey, toasted oak, brown bread/crust, licorice, cherry, wood char, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, orange peel, spices, fruity yeast, and rye whiskey barrel flavors; with a great malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, fairly sticky/tannic, and lightly slick mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 10.3%, and lingering barrel booziness after the finish. Overall this is an awesome spiced American strong ale. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, orange peel, spices, fruity yeast, and rye whiskey barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the modestly bitter/spicy/drying finish. Pretty much perfectly balanced between rich dark/bready malts, spices, fruity yeast, and rye whiskey barrel presence/integration. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. Not overly boozy/tannic on barrels. A really enjoyable offering, and impressively well made experimental style as expected. Showcases the base American strong ale style really well.

Had on tap. Found this beer to be overwhelming meh. Trying to be cute with the mixed drink inspiration, but the beer yeast and barrel flavors pulled it away from what they were going for I think. Not bad, wood and hops have nice robust bite, and the smell is wood and rye.

12 ounce bottle into a snifter. Bottled 7/8/16, had 12/20/16.

Pours an orange/amber color, a little hazy, with a half inch head and some spotty lacing. Great aroma, smells of rye, yeast, light whiskey- more as it warms, toffee, figs, apples, spices- ginger for one?, some cherries, a light floral aroma. The spices jump out in the flavor, much more than the nose, but I can't really single any out, except maybe the ginger. Light malt and yeast, whiskey- again, more as it warms, rye, some cherries, caramel, apples, some figs, a little oak. Mostly smooth, a good body that supports the barrel aging and spices, appropriate level of carbonation.

A unique and interesting beer, fairly complex. I like the spice mix and it's prominence, the whiskey barrel aging is a good compliment. Had this at five months, and have a few more to spread out and see how it ages. Not sure I'd call this an Old Ale. This might take you a little out of your comfort zone, but it's well worth a purchase.

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle dated 7.18.16 provided by prager62.

The beer pours a deep tan with almost no head. A small ring of foam leaves some decent lacing.

The smell hits first with tons of whiskey. Underneath in picking up mint of some sort, although I didn't see that listed on the label. There's also some spices in there, probably ginger the best I can pick out. It's really a unique, great smelling beer.

The taste is a lot of spearmint and allspice with a nice whiskey backbone. It reminds me of allspice tea my grandmother used to make with mint added. It's very smooth and nicely balanced. The aftertaste is a lot like spearmint chewing gum.

The mouthfeel is medium carbonation and slightly thicker, tingling feel.

Overall, I'm enjoying this beer a lot, but it's probably the association with my grandma's tea. It's pretty unique.

Had on draft at the brewery.

Orange-red murk appearance.

White head; nice lace.

Apple brandy nose.

Thick mouthfeel.

Apple, cinnamon & booze. Light & heavy; interesting balance. A bit too hot though.

 

 

 

A twelve ounce bottle with a date that appears to be 07/18/16 poured in my Greenbush tulip.

Look- Pours a dirty looking amber/brown with a few centimeters of off white creamy foam. It hangs around and leaves some thick lacing.

Smell- Ginger, allspice and cinnamon.

Taste- Ginger, allspice, cinnamon and spearmint. It reminds me of chewing gum, toothpaste or mouthwash. Like the smell, I'm not detecting any barrel presence.

Feel- Thin with a strange mouth tingle in the finish.

Overall- This is quite the spicy mess. A very odd and medicinal mix of flavors that make it quite undesirable. Not detecting any barrel coming through the spices. I like many of the Greenbush barrel aged beers, but this one is a miss for me.

Appearance - The beer was a deep copper color with white bubbles topping the glass.

Smell - Lime makes an impression in the aroma. I am made to thing of SoCo and lime.

Taste - My initial impression is the beer tastes like bubbly rye with notes of orange, citrus rind, and lime. I was given the impression than this old ale is modeled after an Old Fashion.

Mouthfeel - The beer was thick and sticky, lingering nicely in the mouth.

Overall - I have had some brew from Greenbush that I thought were good. This is the first really good one.