Barrel Aged 8°
Selkirk Abbey Brewing Company

Poured from 22oz waxed bomber into a tulip.

Appearance: medium brown hue with a moderate haze and a finger of frothy ivory foam atop. I like it.

Smell: sweet, bready, caramelly and with a little bit of toffee character. There are hints of dark fruit and it's not at all phenolic -- a damn good start.

Taste: rich, malty and sweet with just a little bit of barrel and whiskey in the mix. It's surprisingly well-balanced for a barrel-aged Belgian. I am really liking this one.

Mouthfeel: medium body with an OK carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: this beer's nice fruitiness and sweetness really work for me; the barrel just adds a little dimension to a good beer. The sweetness might be a little much for some, but I'm finding that I quite enjoy it.

Thanks to Woemad for this one. Waxed 22oz bottle pored into 10oz goblet. Poured a lightly cloudy medium brown, none of reddish hue I anticipated, with just a light cap of head that dissipated quickly, and left no lacing.

The aroma started with a slightly sweet malt scent, followed by a bit of wood, and some yeast. Some fruitiness came out after a bit, and there was just a hint of alcohol in the background. All those aspects were amplified on the tongue. Malts earthier, fruit more notable, wood solider.

The body was nicely full, but not heavy, and coated the tongue very well, while leaving a semi-sweet finish. drinkability was awesome, this 22 is disappearing quickly. Overall, a fantastic brew. A must try if you see it, I'm going to try to get a few more bottles.

Bottle from Boise Co-op. Muddy brown pour, kind of flat. Aroma is pit fruit, brown sugar, kind of smoky. More barrel than dubbel notes. Kind of a conundrum at first, but grows on you as you get further in. Not sure if the barrel works with the style, but an interesting experiment.

22oz wax-topped bomber purchased at the Selkirk Abbey tap room in Post Falls, Idaho, for $12.50. As of right now, that seems the only place it is available. I believe this was aged in Dry Fly Triticale and Wheat Whiskey casks for 8 months, but my memory is perhaps not to be relied upon for information obtained that night. It's actually lower in strength than the standard version of 8°, which I'm shocked to find I never reviewed.

Poured into brewery-appropriate glassware, this was a color nearest that of a potato, with things becoming less opaque and more of a burnt orange color when held up to light. Not much head, and what was there was beige and rather short lived, but I believe that is a hallmark of barrel aging, so I'm not scoring too strictly for it.

Holy crap, what a decadent aroma! Plums, brown sugar, toffee, whiskey, man, oh, man, this smells delicious. And boozy! What there is not is a strong smell of oaky woodsiness. Somehow there's a ton of complex flavor and an incredible amount of subtlety AT THE SAME TIME!

Pretty much everything I said about the aroma goes for the taste as well. It's a fairly sweet beer, but not unduly so for the style, except the amplitude of the flavors might be more expected in a stronger style of Abbey-ale, such as a Quadrupel. There are whisps of a spiciness that might be a sign of the portion aged in Triticale barrels, as that is Dry Fly's rye whiskey, but it is well down in the mix. I might cry when there's no more of this in the bottle.

Medium bodied, for a beer packing so much flavor, which is very Belgian. The mouthfeel isn't as light and effervescent as most true Belgian-made Dubbels, but it's damn close.

God, what a beer. This is the most enthusiastic I've been for a newish beer in quite some time, I must admit. While I admit I'm something of a homer for my local breweries, I think anyone who enjoys this style of beer would appreciate this if able to nab a bottle. If you match this description, get your ass to Selkirk Abbey with all speed. You'll be glad you did.