Barrel Aged McGarvey's Scottish Ale
Oggi's Pizza & Brewing Co.

the barrel really elevates this one, and while i thought the original was nice, i also found it awfully light for the style. i actually like that element here, so much milder than many, its a nice base to showcase the barrel, and i think its awesome to have barrel aged beer at such a modest abv, all the flavor without the heavy drunk, and this beer is perfect for it. it takes on a lot of vanilla and oak, which is nice with the nutty baked sweet malts in the base beer, which again is light for the style but peasant and well made. there is a little more sweetness in this version, but also a needed earthy element from the barrel that makes it taste natural and grounded and feel so smooth. not insanely barrel heavy or anything, but uniformly mellow and mature, really good. sturdier than the non barrel aged edition, but still quite drinkable, and i could have happily had a couple of these. notes of maple and honey at the end, toasted biscuits, and almonds even. really tasty stuff, i liked both of these, and they have me wanting to try a few more beers from this operation that i had not previously heard of! good stuff here!