Barrel Man
Bull & Bush Brewery

L:. Pours a hazy dark orange with hints of Amber and no lacing on the glass.

S:. Floral earthy hops, notes of sweet grape and slightly tart grape.

T:. Follows the smell, earthy hops, notes of sweet grape a touch of malt. Very balanced and drinkable.

F:. Lower carbonation, fairly easy

O:. The syrah barrel adds nice balance to this IPA.

July 3rd, 2015 - The creeping smell of spilled beer here at the Bull and Bush is keeping the aroma of this brew at bay, hindered also by the tiny tasting glass it came in. But the flavor is easily parsed. Woodsier, and dryer than the man beer, it has a sharpness like pipe tobacco that is slightly smokey and peppery at the same time, and served on a lighter body. A great brew for pipe enthusiasts!

 

 

L - Slightly cloudy, amber hued with a decent head the color of dried grass. Head retreated quickly to a thin layer of foam that the scant carbonation had a little trouble keeping up with.
S - muted hops and licorice
T - Balanced and unassuming maltiness with licorice and possibly wine like finish until a big bitter takes up residence.
F - Medium bodied, enough carbonation bring out tannins and keep a sustained bitterness
O - Good things going on, keeps your interest.

 

 

Pours a cloudy reddish with an off white head that is semi rocky. Smells of a woody hoppy something. Has a strong wood flavor. Hard to get the hops through it.

 

i think the barrel aged version of this beer was a long time coming. i mean, a big malty english ipa with a ton of bitterness and grain based nuance, i think it was only a matter of time. what i did not see coming, not sure anyone could have, is the use of the syrah barrel instead of a more conventional vessel. for being a traditional english type brewery, bull and bush is definitely trending towards the unconventional, and i love it. this is a gem here, a real beauty of a beer. the barrel influence is thick, and to me was so oaky it almost tasted like it was aged on the wood spirals soaked in the wine, not in an old barrel. it had that fresh cut and toasted element, like it was as woody as it is malty, maybe it just sat around a long time, but the wood on this is intense for sure. the wine a little less so, but i think the fruitiness helps fill in for some of the hop character that gets left in the barrel, and the combination of this style and this barrel, as unlikely as it seems and sounds, actually tastes fantastic. i wonder how many trial runs of this went down, or did it just taste this good first kick at the can? rich beer, thick and musty almost, not sure its much of an ipa anymore, and im also not sure i can or want to drink ten of them like i used to feel about man beer all those years ago, but its a pretty brilliant offering all up, and could well fetch these fellows another medal for the front window...

Look: Hazy, pale brown. Pours with a finger of head that dissipates at a reasonable rate. leaves thick pretty lacing.

Smell: Oak, vanilla, nutty.. All together kinda reminds me of a box of crayons.

Taste: Vanilla and chocolate malts right up front followed closely by some bourbon. The French oak gives it a medium dry finish in which some hoppy bitterness is present. Alcohol is fairly hot and is present throughout.

Feel: Fairly big bodied. Again, it finishes fairly dry. Some carbonation. Pretty boozy, numbs the tongue.

Overall: None of this says IPA. Only barely do I get any hops at any time. Plus, this is way heavier on the malts than many American IPA's I've had (though I'm not one to complain). It's certainly an interesting beer (I'll admit, I was seduced when it smelt like crayons) and I'll more than likely revisit this one. Certainly worth a try.

The pour produced a brownish amber colored body; foamy, two-finger thick head. Very malty, very woody aroma greets the nostrils; musty. Big caramel sweetness combined with an oak-like presence riding above it all; a bit medicinal in the background. Mostly heavy mouthfeel; somewhat biting, boozy quality hovering in the background.

For a barrel-aged IPA, little of the sensory experience hints at an IPA. This is more like a barleywine in character. The French oak syrah wine barrel-aging does come through nicely but whether it's too much for any IPA character or if the base beer just doesn't have enough IPA-oomph to begin with...well, it's hard to say. As the beer warms up, more of the syrah wine character starts to stand out as well. A good, malty, oak twinged beer with a red wine edge, just not much of an IPA.