Of Glory
The North Brewery

 

No bottle date
22 oz
$?

Deep amber and clear with a nice head...maybe a half inch that settles to a ring. A little bit of lacing on a swirl.

Nose is oaky and a bit oxidized. Am getting minor sweetness, whiskey, and apple cider.

Taste is similar to the nose. Oak and Whiskey throughout. Oxidation. Minor booze. Minor hops. Sweetness, dark fruit, and malt also present.

Mouthful is medium and smooth but a touch thin. Carbonation is average. Finish is semi sweet.

Surprised by the amount of oxidation. It is very much a detractor from the smell and taste. Similarly, the mouthful is a touch thin. On the plus side, the whiskey barrel adds nice character. Not so much an (American) barleywine in style but then again maybe a bad bottle.

March 2016 Vintage. Bomber. Into a North Brewery tulip glass. Great label art.

A: A little low on carbonation as the hiss wasn't much when the cap popped, but the color is very nice. Layered, dense, and murky brown and red without being opaque. And there are some thick bubbles on the outside rim of the top of the beer and on the bulb of the glass, so maybe the carbonation isn't as low as I thought it would be.

S: I love that initial sweet smell of bourbon, with oak, vanilla, toffee, and booze. Roasted and slightly burned caramelized sugars. Some dark berries. Some chocolate notes.

T: If anything this closer to an Imperial Brown or English Barleywine, as the usual blast of hops from the current American style is missing. With the whiskey aging, however, that's a good thing. The big malt flavors are allowed to shine through with the bourbon, toffee, vanilla, chocolate, berries, oak, and alcohol. And yes, this is sweeter than some people may hope for because the hops aren't crazy, but for a fan of the style like I am -- and as I imagine North was going for -- this melds well and a ton of hops would screw up the harmony involved. The hops do enough and more to to let the richness and booze and whiskey nuances come through, and they do in spades. Long, lingering finish of whiskey flavors and malt decadence.

F: Thick, dense, full -- all without being cloying or a teeth-coating sugar bomb. That lack of carbonation, or lack of initial popped-cap hiss, proves to add to the velvety mouthfeel which lets it all come through well. This is how the carbonation needs to be with this beer. Otherwise I don't think I'd be getting as much, and the levels help balance everything out.

D: This is small batch barrel aging at its best. I have a feeling that four months helped this come into its own a bit, though I wouldn't have wanted to age it more than maybe six months or so. I suggest a two-hour window from start to finish if not sharing. The North Brewery continues to do amazing things.