Barrel Aged Penguin
Rhinegeist Brewery

500ML bottle served at 53 degrees F, poured into a tulip glass.
L - a light amber color with a white head that lingers. liquid is murky and dense
S - Vanilla, bourbon, coffee
T - Vanilla on the nose, bourbon on the finish, faint notes of coffee and cocoa
F - Mouthfeel on the thick side with a bite of carbonation
O - A good beer, not too boozy, nice blend of flavors

 

Mildly cloudy, honey amber body; decent head, one-finger thick and lasting. Very faint aroma; malty; white oak. Big malt flavor; toasted grain; toasted caramel; nice bitterness; sweet. Heavy body; thick and chewy; lots of residual sugar heft; warm; semi-sweet mouthfeel.

Eh, the beer delivers some nice taste and balance, but really doesn't seem to say or bring anything to the table other than a relatively heavy body and interesting yet mundane, toasted grain grain and sweet malt flavor to the palate.

 

 

22 ounce bottle, 2018 vintage. Served in a snifter, the beer pours a hazy dark gold/orange color with about an inch off-white head. Head retention is good and there's a decent amount of lacing. The brew smells like cocoa, vanilla, roasted malt, coffee, bell peppers and bourbon. I think the taste is pretty much just like the aroma, with cocoa, vegetal/pepper, roasted malt, vanilla, bourbon, coffee, bready malt, earthy and bourbon flavors. I don't think the bourbon is very strong in the aroma or taste, but it's still noticeable. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's a bit creamy and coating and has a good amount of carbonation. Aging it in the barrels didn't cut down much on the vegetal flavor that was also noticeable in the base beer, however I do think this is better than it. But with that being said, it's still better than a lot of the other blonde stouts I've tried. Worth a try!

 

 

 

 

In a beer that's clearly gotten an identity crisis in the making, the imperial strength blond stout becomes a recluse, at least for three months. Locked inside bourbon barrels, the faked roast impressions pull the nutty oak, coconut and caramel from the barrel, trying once again to become unique once more.

Barrel Aged Penguin pours a medium honey amber and crowns with a short and broken ecru spiderweb froth. High caramel, toffee and butterscotch layers on the senses while the nose balances with impressions of cocoa and coffee. Its sweet taste trends deep with vanilla, cream and a pulled candy upstart.

As the middle palate develops, the beer retains its malty sweet focus and eventually culminates at the fruity sweet taste of circus peanuts candy. Roast and chocolate offer a mild impression of stout, but its character is muted when compared to roasted grain character. But their associated bitterness, tannins and earth character adds the much needed balance to sweetness ratio to keep the ale drinkable and complex.

Full bodied and spicy with a peppery vodka-like alcohol bite, the ale dries slightly in finish to allow a sense of drinkability to ensue. Bourbon sweetness, nutty oakiness is soft like cashew and coconut as the taste of caramel trails into a deep creme brûlée dessert.