Driftwood - Rye Barrel-Aged
Kane Brewing Company

Drank from a 1 pint .9 fl oz black wax dipped bottle purchased at Kane Brewing Company, Ocean, NJ
Served in a snifter

Dark brown appearance with subtle mahogany highlights. The beer poured somewhat thinner than I anticipated. A frothy, bubbly, finger-tall, light khaki crown topped the liquid and slowly fell to a thick, resilient collar. Some streaky, spotty lacing trickled down the sides of the glass.

The aroma was solid. Boozy and very malt forward. Nice combination of caramel and roasted malt notes. Moderately sweet. Hint of maple. Somewhat nutty too. There was a subtle smokiness as well. Campfire smoke came to mind. Touch of fruitiness. As the beer sat, the nose became a lot smoother. The booziness mellowed but the rye barrel intensified, as did the molasses, the maple and the overall sweetness.

The flavor profile started out somewhat rough around the edges but really came together with time. Malty up front. Again, roasted and caramel malts were apparent. Slightly nutty. Bit of molasses. Moderately sweet. Boozy but not excessively so. The alcohol intensified as the beer moved along the palate. Dry, woody notes, booze and a touch of maple rounded things out in the finish. Like in the nose, the maple became more prominent with time.

Impressive mouthfeel. A bit thinner in body than I anticipated given the ABV but super creamy, fluffy and smooth. The liquid contained a fine, fairly zippy effervescence that turned pillowy soft on the palate.

Kane’s Rye Barrel-Aged Driftwood is an enjoyable beer but, based on scores and price point, did not quite live up to my expectations. I could imagine fans of Firestone Walker’s barrel-aged series gravitating toward this.

Pours very dark with moderate head. Big aroma of molasses, raisin, fig, dark fruit, brown sugar, light booze. Flavor is brown sugar but not too sweet, molasses, more raisin and fig. This one is lighter and sweeter than the bourbon variant, a little less flavor. Thick and syrupy. Overall a very enjoyable beer.

2/8/20
Bomber bought 10/2018
4.75 rating

Deep brown pour, little to no head to speak of. Syrupy and smooth. Molasses and maple syrup give this unique barrel-aged brown ale a definite sweetness, but not to excess. The 15 month aging process in the barrel (plus the additional one year I aged it) gave it amazing smoothness despite the lofty ABV. Great pour on a cold night.

750ml bottle poured into a snifter glass. Pours a dark brown with a small tan head that disappears immediately.
Smells of maple syrup, molasses, and chocolate with some vanilla from the rye barrel.
Taste is sweet syrup upfront as well as caramel and chocolate, with hints of booze on the finish.
Sticky, full bodied mouthfeel with medium carbonation.
Overall a great beer. Nice to see styles other than stouts/porters and barleywines getting some barrel treatment.