Lost River IPA - Barrel-Aged
Bellwoods Brewery

Bottle from the brewery. Mild bourbon taste when cold, more hop aroma as it warmed. Pours cloudy golden, with foamy sticky white head. Very lacey. Greater than average mouthfeel, good drinkability and balance of an IPA with distinct nice ageing, wood and bourbon all understated making a lavish mixture.

Bottle from the brewery. Bottled sometime in the last week or so, I expect.

Beer is dark orange/caramel. Small white head. Dissipates fairly quickly.

A surprising amount of caramel malt in the nose, much more than in the regular version of this beer. Orange and mango, pine. Oak is there as well, but not hugely so.

Oak is there in spades in the taste, however. Lots of it, certainly the dominant flavour. Caramel malt is next up. The hops really play a tertiary role, which is not to say that they are faint or hard to notice. Quite a lot of pine and orange, grapefruit.

Medium bodied, moderate carbonation. Oily.

Overall, quite tasty but I prefer the regular version. The barrel effect is a nice twist, though.

Bottle from the brewery. Aged in Tawse Winery Cab Sauv oak barrels. ABV is 7.6%. Poured in to Bellwoods snifter.

A - Hazy medium golden orange colour. Half a finger of off-white head formed and reduced to a thin layer.

S - Sweeter up front than the regular version with more caramel coming through. Some floral, citrus and pine hop aromas are present in the background but they take the back seat, unlike the regular version. Very light bitterness present. A good amount of oak is present without being overpowering.

T - A good sharp bitterness up front with lots of oak and plenty of sweet caramel. The oak seems to accentuate the carame malt sweetness. Some lighter pine and grapefruit flavours are present as well but the hops flavours are muted from the barrel aging and act as a secondary component.

M - Medium body. Light to moderate carbonation. Good sticky hop oils are present.