Gubna - NDA Añejo Tequila Barrel-Aged
Oskar Blues Grill & Brew

 

 

2016-07-08
19.2oz can (stovepipe) served in a nonic. Canned on 12/16/15. "Barrel lee legal." I never know how to feel about barrel aged IPAs -- not fresh, but barrel aged? Oh well...

Pours mostly clear golden with a slight orange tinge, big head that fades slowly and lots of carbonation. Smell is tequila, citrus, old hay. I wouldn't recognize the tequila if it wasn't mentioned on the can.

Taste is a little bit of the tequila, a little bit of vague citrus (maybe leaning toward light lemon), a moderate amount of somewhat bready sweetness. It has a slight metallic tinge.

Mouthfeel is surprisingly thin, a little bit of a film, very effervescent. Overall, it's interesting and not bad.

From a 16.9 oz can (canned December 16, 2015) to a tulip. Review from notes dated June 11, 2016.

A-A firm pour produces a tall, sticky, nearly white head. The beer beneath is apricot in color and slightly murky. No real carbonation to be seen, but the head lasts a long time and leaves chunks on the glass.

S-What an odd aroma. I sniff tropical fruits like guava, passionfruit, and pineapple, as well as some white grape juice, and grapefruit. The tequila bites a little, but never gets in your face; there just a little oaky flavor on the edges. Booze is assertive and warming.

T-The taste is similarly odd (but enjoyable for me). I taste the aforementioned fruits, in addition to some peach. The beer is pretty sweet with honey, agave, and caramel notes providing the backdrop for the barrel and hops. Spicy tequila flavors pop in and out of my senses as I drink.

M-The beer is on the heavy side and sticky on the palate. Carbonation keeps things from being too cloying.

O-This is probably a love/hate beer. I happened to really enjoy it, but I can see why others would not. I don't think that I would drink this a lot, but it made for a unique experiment and a tasty dessert.

Well, that's what you get when you combine flavors that are common to margarita and roll them into a strongly malted but still hop-dominant imperial IPA. Aging Oskar Blues "Gubna" Imperial IPA in Anejo tequila barrels seems to do a disservice to both the ale and the tequila at first glance, but wait.... there's more...

A sturdy haze, a creamy strong head, a hearty looking appearance transpires while a caldering toffee-rich and spicy agave scent simmers by below. Its taste is moderately sweet with toasted and nutty caramels and a breadiness akin to shortcake.

But the hops are largely masked by the Anejo on the early palate, but really come alive across the middle- With the malt density, rich taste and biscuit character holding firm, the bright taste of pink grapefruit, bitter orange and spruce begin to have their hay-day. But as soon as the IPA character of the beer shows strongly, here comes the booze- equipped with its fruity agave spice, an oaken tannic property and the undeniable booze of the tequila elixir takes hold.

Dangerously drinkable, the beer's medium-full body is creamy, bready and pastry-like. But those characteristics are no match for the dryness of booze, citrus spice, hop resins and the natural alcohol prickle of imperial ale. A long and bitter aftertaste outlasts any other flavor but without a challenge from those citrus, Anego oaks.

 

It's hard to say what I like about this beer - probably the base beer (which is great). It's a strange mash of flavors. As others have mentioned it's a very strange mashup of tequila characteristics and IIPA. It has the burn from the high abv/tequila barrels, but it's not a harsh drinking beer...it's actually quite smooth. Overall, I'm just not sure what to think of it. Wouldn't buy another (for $13/can), but glad I got to try one of this very unique style.

 

 

Tawny, golden hued body; lots of big carbonation bubbles; 1 1/2 finger thick, sticky head. Dull, faintly perceptible aroma; mostly a sweet, caramel-like scent for what little is there. Strong hop and tequila flavor tempered with some nicely balanced malt grain sweetness; somewhat fiery, almost chili pepper-like. Medium-heavy in body.

Hmm...to like or not like...Okay, this is an enjoyable beer yet most assuredly different from the base Gubna. It offers heat and alcohol potency with a decidedly tequila angle to things, yet leaves the IIPA side of things lost in the shuffle. There is little if any hop aroma and the boozy side of things also masks the hop bitterness one would expect from an IPA-styled brew. It's different, and it's okay, but probably not something I'd seek out in the future...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really, really weird. The Tequila barrel comes through in such a strange way. It tastes like a fizzy, lemon/ lime saison. No oak, char, vanilla or caramel coming through from the aging. Just a weird beer. I doubt many will enjoy this. Especially at $12 a can.