Driftwood - Red Wine Bourbon Barrel Aged
Kane Brewing Company

**
02/07/2024

bottle to snifter.

LK: dark brown/black color, small khaki head. not lasting.
AROMA: malt, grape, cherry, oak,
TA: cola, cherry, cedar, oak....bourbon flavor is there in spirit, but is second fiddle to red wine influece.
FL: medium body, minimal carbonation. super smooth.

very interesting and tasty. complexity is a bit lax.

**


sweet red grape, red wine finish
**

 

Dark black, with a slight head. Aromas and flavors of chocolate, roast and maple but what the barrel contributes most is a distinct port wine-ish note. Complex flavors, feels a touch thin for the AbV.

Poured into a Kane pub glass. It pours mahogany with dark cola hues at the bottom of the glass, and small, medium mocha-colored cap and thin sheen of lacing. The smell features roasted malt, maple syrup, brown sugar, molasses, oak, and subtle but noticeable bourbon. Wow, this is good! There's lots of maple syrup, molasses, and toffee up front. The initial taste is sweet but it's balanced by red wine grape that provides a hint of tartness. The bourbon influence is nuanced and adds great depth of flavor. As it warms and breathes there are additional notes of raisin and nutty char. The different flavors blend very well. This ale has a moderate mouth feel with low carbonation and the 11.6% ABV is well-hidden. Overall, this variant of Driftwood is complex, flavorful, and thoroughly enjoyable. It's ideal for after dinner sipping.

Modest head production and very good retention. Slightly murky appearance.

The nose is all about the bourbon, somehow. Rich and decadent, with notes of brown sugar, maple syrup, caramel, toffee, bourbon, oak, vanilla.

Thick and rich on the palate, really quite unlike any "regular" brown ale you'll find. Bourbon, brown sugar, pecan, prune, maple syrup, dark break. Maple syrup on the finish, along with lingering bourbon notes and molasses, and perhaps just the barest hint of red wine.

Very little heat for the ABV, but this is still a slow sipper.

Pours black, decent head forms considering the abv, but as with most of these beers it dwindles to a little ring around the glass.

Nose is rich chocolate, bourbon, touch of heat, and a raspberry blackberry like note from the wine; looking for it I perceive a hint of maple syrup.

Taste is an oaky bourbon, chocolate, very subtle maple, leathery char, and a neat dark berry like fruit note on the finish. It really lingers in the aftertaste and is very pleasant almost like raspberry.

Full body beer, low and appropriate carb, oak tannin bite on the tongue, minor red wine acidity; no real bitterness, very well hidden abv with the slightest warming in the throat and nasal canal.

This is a really neat beer, it is quite unique much like my last one today. If I didn’t know I’d say this had raspberry in it possibly; the red wine after taste really has that vibe to it. Really neat beer.

Pours a dark, pitch black color. Completely opaque. Thin, weak mocha colored head momentarily forms on the beer before completely dissipating leaving no residual head. Aroma has notes of bourbon, oak, maple syrup, some molasses, some dark fruits and a bit of alcohol.

Taste has notes of rich malts, dark fruit, red wine, oak, molasses, maple syrup, and bourbon. It is all there and clearly noticeable giving this beer a very complex and rich flavor profile. No one component is strong enough to stand out, but neither is any component lost in the beer. There is a subtle hoppy bitterness on the back end. Moderately sweet both from the red wine notes and the maple syrup, but it avoids being cloying. Moderately warming. Feel is light to medium bodied, smooth, easy drinking for the ABV. Moderate, sprightly, zippy carbonation. Semi-dry finish.

Overall this is a lovely, complex sipper. Really enjoying this one quite a bit.

Kane Red Wine Bourbon Barrel Aged Driftwood. Kane is far and away the king of barrel aged beers in this area and I try to buy everything they put out, or at least have something at the brewery. This one has a LOT going on. The description says it’s a brown ale brewed with maple syrup and molasses and aged in red wine barrels used to finish Jim Beam Legent Bourbon and Buffalo Trace Blanton’s Bourbon Barrels, so. Yeah a lot going on. First of all, looks more like a stout than a brown ale. Aroma a mix of bourdon and red wine. Very enticing. Tastes a bit sweet and a bit boozy, with the bourbon and red wine mixing with the molasses and maple syrup. Honestly it tastes a lot like many other bourbon barrel aged stouts, but just a hint of red wine in the mix. Nice and thick. I could buy another one of these.