Baby Maker
Jack's Abby Brewing

500ml bottle poured into a snifter

A: Ruby colored with brown hues. Perfect clarity. Bubbly white head settles after a short time and lacing is spotty.

S: Scones, toast, nutty, touch of cocoa. Candy apple shell. Perhaps just the slightest touch of leafy hop and orange marmalade.

T: Follows the nose just about perfectly. Lots of maris otter, it seems. Toasty scones, nutty, cocoa, bread crust. Candy shell. Earthy hop tones of bark and pine are fading. Marmalade. Maybe just the slightest impression of sherry. Alcohol is gentle. Drying finish has a lot of lingering scones and crust and a touch of spice.

M: Thick and full with a nice chewy texture. Hefty. Ample carbonation scrubs and lifts. Touch of hop astringency. Alcohol is so damn gently that it just barely comes through with warmth.

O: I have no clue how old this actually is, but a safe guess is about 11 years. It's absolutely crazy how well this aged. Oxidation barely touched it. Hops faded and it's just slightly getting that sherry note, but it's drinking like a 3 year old beer rather than anything near it's actual age. The beer itself comes across as a well brewed albeit super clean barleywine. The malt character is absolutely nailed, the American hops balance and add their own bit of brash complexity, and the fermentation is nailed. This has been perhaps the biggest surprise cellar gem I've pulled out in the last 5 years.

 

 

Bottled 2013, drank April, 2020 out of a tulip.

Aged well, sweet malt bomb, alcohol there but somewhat hidden, glad I finally cracked this legend!

Highly complex and certainly not trying to be an imperial IPA, the brewers of Jack's Abby put together a malt bomb of a beer that balances beautifully with American hops, and then aged in oak barrels for added complexity and charm.

Hazy and peachy, the golden amber lager pours with a hazy viscosity that shows a slow separation of beer from creamy froth. Its scent billows over with candied malts, stone fruit, citrus and pine. To taste, the beer's bready sweet introduction is redolent with poundcake, honey and caramel.

Deliciously malty, the lager showcases the taste of malted barley at an extremely high degree. Candied fruit flavors of apricot, apple, cherry, plum and sultan skirt over a persistent caky sweetness with those honey and caramel flavors holding firmly in place. Its balance from hops come with the fresh zests of grapefruit and orange ahead of a growing bitterness that's laced with torn pinecone, muddled grasses and a peppery spice from alcohol.

Full bodied and lavishly sweet, the beer's malt to hop ratio is impeccable while an overcast of light wine, oak and sherry savoriness provided a nuanced tier of taste that continues to reward the tastebuds deep in aftertaste even though the bitterness continues to tighten.

 

 

 

Bottle. Pours bright golden, finger white head, nice lacing. Sweet candy aroma, mild booze. Big sticky sweet taste with plenty booze, but not burning. Fruity notes. Medium to full slick feel was impressive. Slow sipper, very tasty brew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

500mL bottle from 7Sport (many thanks!). No obvious bottle dating. Served in a Barrel and Barley teku.

Pours a near opaque pale orange with a finger and a half ecrue head. The thin halo that lingers leaves no lacing.

Full, rich nose of bourbon, toffee, honey, dark fruit and faint vanilla. Quite nice.

The aromas were not at all deceiving. Many layers of flavor including bourbon, oak, honey, toffee, vanilla, burnt caramel, cereal grains, dark fruit, leather, faint char, brown sugar and a healthy dousing of booze. Everything works well together and despite the obvious heat this drinks much easier than expected for 14% abv. Absolutely delicious.

Slick, full body with subtle carbonation. Bourbon heat lingers in the long, sweet aftertaste along with honey, toffee and vanilla.

My introduction to lager wines has me quite interested in trying more. I'll call Baby Maker the Jack's Abbey response to Bourbon County Barleywine. This was a phenomenal extra and a pleasure to drink.