Special Reserve Vintage 2017
Pipeworks Brewing Co.

Got in a BIF from FBarber. 16 ounce can into tulip glass, 2017 vintage, aged 36 months in Heaven Hill Barrels. Pours thick looking like a barleywine, lightly hazy/cloudy ruby red/dark brown pour. Not quite opaque. Small foamy off white head with poor retention that reduces to nothing in 1 second as expected of 14.9%. Aromas of huge caramel, toffee, brown sugar, bourbon, toasted oak, light peppery/charred wood, and a solid amount of booze/ethanol. Slight coconut. Taste is really intense. Huge caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread, bourbon, toasted oak; light peppery/charred wood, vanilla, cocoa, raisin, prune, molasses, coconut, herbal, yeast earthiness. Vanilla and coconut come out more lingering on the palate. Light-medium herbal bitterness and charred oak spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; moderately silky barleywine feel with balanced bourbon/oak tannin spiciness. Light-medium increasing warmth and booze of 14.9% down to the gut. Great malt complexity and intense barrel presence. The flavorings aren't that strong at all, but the lactose gives a nice silkiness to the finish. The barrel is boozy but not all that rough. A great "cigar beer", more for sipping like a scotch, but it's smoothing up more as it reaches room temperature. Feels like a well made BBA American Barleywine to me.

Sampling a 16 oz can poured into a snifter. The beer has been in my cellar for about a year I believe. No date stamp on the label and my can says 14.9% ABV.
The beer pours a dark cola brown with revealed garnet highlights when I hold up to a light source. Fizzy beige head is a surface covering and then nothing but a spinning wisp in the center of the glass. There are a few large pieces of sediment in the bottom of my glass that snuck in on my pour. I left about an ounce behind in the can.
Aroma is pretty complex and dominated by malt. I get some dark fruits, raisin and plum with a bit of bourbon and brown sugar mixing in. There is a little peppery booze, so the ABV isnt completely hidden, but the hops are absent.
First sip reveals a medium body with silky yet also sticky texture. It feels a little weird on my lips. Definitely coating my palate, but also very soft feel. Carbonation however is fine and sharp on each sip.
Flavor is sweet and malt driven. I get brown sugar and raisins mixing with some bourbon and vanilla notes. There is a bit of warmth for the booziness again. hits my mouth and lingers on the swallow, the ABV is not hidden here. Hops never show up on this beer. It is definitely on the sweeter side of beers and the booze makes this quite a sipper. Glad to have tried this one.

Looks like cola in the glass with a higher viscosity. Aromas of caramel, vanilla bourbon, and cocoa lead brown sugar, molasses, and earthy yeast, new world but pleasant with the balance leaning sweet. Taste is another story, did I get a bad can or something? Sharp wood punches through everything with burnt hair, brown sugar, coca-cola, and booze, everything else is just kinda there in a broken way with ash. How much sugar there is on the second half is not helping the situation. Feel is warm verging on hot, sugary and woody clashing over a smoky earth base. Couldn't finish it

16 ounce can into a snifter. Had 4/16/22.

Pours a ruddy copper color, clear, with no head and no lacing. Aromas of bourbon, figs, caramel, malt, oak, grapes, light tobacco. Flavors of bourbon, caramel, figs, malt, oak, grapes, some brown sugar. Smooth, a good but thinner feeling medium body, appropriately carbonated on the low side.

Has a great aroma, a very good flavor, but the combination of a thin body and a lower level of carbonation does take away from this. Does a great job of hiding the ABV, especially with that handicap. Still, it’s certainly enjoyable.

A perfect blend of caramel with a hint of toffee, roasted malt, barrel and bourbon. All equally represented.

Low carbonation, no head or lacing. Aroma is rich with caramel, toast, cocoa, vanilla and more. Taste is that superb blend of sweet, cocoa, roast and bourbon. Intoxicating. Literally. The level of ABV is not dominant...but after a few sips, I knew. Wow! Nice coating mouthfeel. Not flat...actually stimulating on the tongue. This is a winner. Sorry I only grabbed one 16oz can while in Chicago. I highly recommend.

16oz can reads "Aged 36 months in Heaven Hill Barrels". Poured into a snifter, shows a dull ruddy, brown body with a ruby glow when backlit and scant tan bubbles fail to cover and leave a clean glass after the booze legs it down.

Fruity aromas leap from the glass, that with warmth elucidate raisin, plum, caramel apple, toffee, cocoa, and a slight biscuit note.

Flavors match. The toffee is stronger after 50° or so, but all the aromas are met on the tongue including the booze.

Almost still, the carbonation is so low, but appropriate for the style and aging. Warming action from tongue to throat to chest and a wet finish.

Overall this is quite the sipper.

great barrel aged ale - i would put this one up against all the Goose Island bourbons - greater bourbon taste not stromg

16oz can, 14.9% ABV
L: thin cola colored ale; head disappears quicker than I’ve ever seen before. Weird flaky chunks at the bottom of the glass give off loads of carbonation
S: big boozy bourbon aroma along with oak, caramel, spice, chocolate, tobacco, vanilla
T: rich & boozy with nice complexity: oaky bourbon, caramel, vanilla, cocoa, tobacco leaf, toffee, orange, brown sugar, graham cracker, and a hint of lactose
F: medium body, lower carbonation, boozy and rich but not overly sweet, finishes with bourbon and some spice lingering on the palate
O: a very complex barrel aged beer that shows off the Old Fitzgerald barrels nicely

 

 

 

Pours a ruddy reddish brown, tiny khaki head faded in a flash, no lacing. Booze, upfront and foremost, toffee, caramel leather some ash and burnt sugar., taste buds get all that and more. Thin, but it feels "oily and sticky".. I expected some heat from the 3 years it spent in barrels and 14.9%, but this went down pretty easily, I'd buy this again in a heartbeat!

Released March 2021; drank 3/17/21 @ the Yarchives.

Semi-opaque dark brown/orange appearance.

A rough pour yielded a nice, noisy khaki head which quickly dissipated; no lace.

Caramel, bourbon heat, toffee & orange peel notes in the nose.

Thick, sticky mouthfeel.

Caramel & leather flavors up front; dried fig & toffee notes on the finish. Bourbon heat & oak notes emerge as this warmed.

A big, bold, boozy barrel aged beer; if this kind of thing is up your alley, you'll find a lot to like here.

Pours a thinnish brown color. Rather clear in appearance when poured, but opaque in the glass. Thin, weak soda-like head.

Aroma smells like oak and straight bourbon. beneath that there are notes of graham crackers, cookies, cocoa and vanilla. It seems to me like a beer that has been left too long in the barrel - whatever adjuncts were in this are long gone.

Taste is completely unexpected given how muddled the nose was. So there are of course notes of bourbon, oak up front - clearly this has spent a decent amount of time in the barrels. Coming along behind that are notes of brown sugar, vanilla cream, cocoa, and graham crackers. A strong alcohol burn comes through throughout resulting in an overall warming sensation.

Feel is thin, smooth, and warming. Bright, fizzy carbonation. Very dry finish.

Overall it is an interesting beer. I enjoyed it, but was fine to have this be a one off.

Purchased an 8 ounce bottle of this at Open Bottle’s Wednesday night barrel aged stout night. Reminds me of a BA Barleywine in terms of appearance and sweetness. Murky mild brown color, no head or lacing. Smell is barrel forward more than anything. Plenty of chocolate and vanilla flavor with a tangy barrel wood presence. A bit of a thick feel, medium bodied, and boozy as hell. Interesting beer.