Barrel Aged Henry
Transient Artisan Ales

Barrel Aged Henry from Transient Artisan Ales. 16.9 oz bottle. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Received from @Whyteboar in NBW BIF #16. Reviewed 09/02/23 (Review 3035). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated bottle. Served at 48.5 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 55.5 degrees.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, same but some ruby at the edges.
Head – Large (Maximum five cm, aggressive center pour), brown sugar, high density, quickly receding to a 0.8 cm crown fed by carbonation and a complete cap. The head lightens to desert sand after a brief exposure to room air.
Lacing – Fair. A couple of mountainous peaks of tiny bubbles remain as the level drops.
Aroma – 4.25 – Roasted malt, chocolate. Slight oakiness. No hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 4.25 – Begins lightly sweet. Roasted malt, chocolate, no hops, no yeast. Unfortunately, no maple and no barrel. No ethanol (9 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. Solid gastric warming occurs but never reaches the uncomfortable burn stage. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Ends with both bourbon and ethanol on the exhale
Palate – 4 – Medium, watery, soft but lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 (After deducting 0.25 point for undated personal container) Certainly not a bad brew, it just doesn’t seem to live up to its potential. The chocolate is the definitive flavor and hides any bourbon, oak, or maple. While I enjoyed the beer in general, I’d probably have rated it higher if I hadn’t first read the label.

I’m not sure if the bottling consumed 1/23/21.

Transient has always known how barrel age a beer and this stands up. I love the non sweet BA stouts the best. Well, they need some sweetness, but the pastry ones can be too much for me. This is amazing bc it fits that bill. The 23 year Elijah Craig barrels are pretty fancy for a porter, but worth the hype. I don’t taste much maple here, maybe just a hint. It has a thick mouthfeel (for a porter) and it’s super complex. Don’t pass this up if you see it!

 

Wow! I can really taste the EC23 coming through. Def worth a try if you like EC.

Pours black as 3 am with a dark tan head that provides some lacing. The nose has a nice mix of milk chocolate, a little char, and a heaping helping of the Elijah Craig barrels and BLIS maple barrels. I am officially salivating

The milk chocolate and char flavors are very forward, but the two barrels spring into action immediately after, making for a flavorful treat of a porter, especially as the beer warms. The mouthfeel is medium and a little creamy.

This is truly a pleasure to drink - it features all of the high points of the base beer, with the addition of the barrels, which makes for a wonderful flavor ride.