Bourbon Barrel Aged MoonRay
Aquanaut Brewing Company

Super light. Roasted malt, some vanilla and oak. Light on flavor, body and smell. Finishes dry. It's fairly refreshing to drink a "session" BA Porter. It's OK.

Pours dark black - oily and shiny. Frothy tan head dissipates quickly leaving a thin ring of tan foam along the outside of the beer. Beer appears to be thin to the eye even for a porter.

Smell has notes of rich roasted malt, chocolate, brown sugar, bourbon, wood, and a hint of vanilla.

Taste follows the nose with a nice roasted malt and chocolate flavor. Really nice porter base. Get a touch of bittering hops on the back end of that porter flavor. Mild barrel character on the back end starts to shine through. Hint of bourbon, but much more of a wood character with some oak, vanilla, and cocoa. I'd love to see more barrel character in this beer - more bourbon coming through. Still, the flavors here are quite good.

Feel is very thin - even for a porter this is thin. It just didn't hold up well to the barrel aging. Carbonation is prickly in the mouth. Beer is quite smooth.

Overall this is a solid first effort at barrel aging from Aquanaut. The biggest issue with this is that the base porter is just too thin and doesn't hold its own well in the barrel aging. If they beefed up the base porter this could be a really good beer. Also the barrel character could be increased, but thats not as egregious.