J. Marie - Whiskey Barrel-Aged No. 8
River North Brewery
- From:
- River North Brewery
- Colorado, United States
- Style:
- Belgian Pale Strong Ale
- ABV:
- 10.2%
- Score:
- +8 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 4.12 | pDev: 2.91%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 1
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Sep 22, 2018
- Added:
- Jul 12, 2018
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by ichorNet from Massachusetts
4.23/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.23/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Split a 12.7 oz bottle with my cousin, who got this beer in a Tavour box. As far as I can tell, this is the correct way to enter the 8th batch of this on BA... but hell if I really know. Hope I did the right thing here. Only 72 cases made of this one and it was released this year (2018), so it's at least fairly fresh. RN's beers seem to be known for their aging potential, though, anyway, so I'm not sure date really matters other than to gauge what may be different between batches.
Pours a light-medium amber color with a fluffy, meringue-like dollop of head that sinks down to about three-quarters of a finger with solid legs but no real lace presence. Since I got the second half of the bottle, I received some yeast dregs which seem to be swirling about in my glass until they are fully integrated. Vivacious carbonation presence in the pour as well... good to see some solid activity in a beer this big!
The nose is very whiskey-forward, with some light baking spice, red apple, pear and subtle herbalness combining with pie crust and bready, lightly-biscuity malts. Pretty nice smell, actually, with a solid hit of warming barrel presence and the requisite double digit ABV coming to the surface rather handily. Still, though, this doesn't smell quite as intense as it undoubtedly is, and I respect the rather restricted approach here.
On the tongue, this is reminding me quite a bit of a really classic beer... Allagash's Curieux! Its combination of whiskey spiciness and tight tannic profile with the complexity of the Belgian yeast and the lightly hopped, pale malt-forward profile is nearly a dead ringer for that beer. Since Curieux is one of my favorites, I respect the brewers at River North for pulling off a reasonable-enough facsimile with this brew. This has slightly more malt flavor and a bit less yeastiness to it, but they're really quite close in general profile. Flavors of apricot, peach, fresh-baked bread and cinnamon spice really drive home the disparate-yet-defined approach going on here.
The feel is on the heavier side and lacks the drinkability I associate with "saison"-style ales, but I honestly think this bats a fair bit higher than any traditional farmhouse ale... so much so that it's almost "tripel"-like in stature. The carbonation is somewhat restrained despite being apparent in the initial pour, so I'd say that this beer does open up over the course of about half an hour. As such, it is worth sipping at and contemplating. Solid!
Jul 12, 2018Pours a light-medium amber color with a fluffy, meringue-like dollop of head that sinks down to about three-quarters of a finger with solid legs but no real lace presence. Since I got the second half of the bottle, I received some yeast dregs which seem to be swirling about in my glass until they are fully integrated. Vivacious carbonation presence in the pour as well... good to see some solid activity in a beer this big!
The nose is very whiskey-forward, with some light baking spice, red apple, pear and subtle herbalness combining with pie crust and bready, lightly-biscuity malts. Pretty nice smell, actually, with a solid hit of warming barrel presence and the requisite double digit ABV coming to the surface rather handily. Still, though, this doesn't smell quite as intense as it undoubtedly is, and I respect the rather restricted approach here.
On the tongue, this is reminding me quite a bit of a really classic beer... Allagash's Curieux! Its combination of whiskey spiciness and tight tannic profile with the complexity of the Belgian yeast and the lightly hopped, pale malt-forward profile is nearly a dead ringer for that beer. Since Curieux is one of my favorites, I respect the brewers at River North for pulling off a reasonable-enough facsimile with this brew. This has slightly more malt flavor and a bit less yeastiness to it, but they're really quite close in general profile. Flavors of apricot, peach, fresh-baked bread and cinnamon spice really drive home the disparate-yet-defined approach going on here.
The feel is on the heavier side and lacks the drinkability I associate with "saison"-style ales, but I honestly think this bats a fair bit higher than any traditional farmhouse ale... so much so that it's almost "tripel"-like in stature. The carbonation is somewhat restrained despite being apparent in the initial pour, so I'd say that this beer does open up over the course of about half an hour. As such, it is worth sipping at and contemplating. Solid!
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