Wisdom - Double Barrel Aged
Barreled Souls Brewing Company
- From:
- Barreled Souls Brewing Company
- Maine, United States
- Style:
- Old Ale
Ranked #3 - ABV:
- 18.2%
- Score:
- 95
Ranked #1,702 - Avg:
- 4.63 | pDev: 4.32%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 5
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jul 08, 2025
- Added:
- Nov 08, 2023
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
SCORE
95
World-Class
95
World-Class
Wisdom is an Old Ale brewed in collaboration with Horus aged ale. This year's version was aged in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels before being transferred to Bardstown Rum-finished Bourbon barrels, for a total aging time of 25 months and 10 days.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by SadMachine:
Rated by SadMachine from New Jersey
4.75/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Jun 06, 2025
4.75/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Jun 06, 2025
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by jrc1093 from Connecticut
4.46/5 rDev -3.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.46/5 rDev -3.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Bottled on 7/10/2023; consumed on 7/7/2025
Pours a glossy, deep mahogany body capped with a finger and a half of pale beige foam; solid head retention leaves a slight layer of cap, modest collar, and the random web of soapy lacing holding tentatively to the walls of the glass. 4.75
Aromas of raisin bread fusel are cut with toffee syrup, with a soft dark chocolate char in the distance illuminating toasted oak details as a profound, rummy essence lingers. 4.25
Taste opens with burnt sugar into charred banana bread stimulating depth, with further accents of toffee settling among deft bourbon underpinnings over time, ultimately closing on a dark cacao and fresh rum exhale. 4.5
Mouthfeel brings a medium body and virtually no carbonation, levying a savory silk coating the mid-palate while a comforting barrel warmth sinks into mild char and modest stickiness through the swallow. 4.5
A seamless intertwining of barrels yields a sticky, sweet, flourishing representation of the style; exceedingly dynamic and distinctive. 4.
Jul 08, 2025Pours a glossy, deep mahogany body capped with a finger and a half of pale beige foam; solid head retention leaves a slight layer of cap, modest collar, and the random web of soapy lacing holding tentatively to the walls of the glass. 4.75
Aromas of raisin bread fusel are cut with toffee syrup, with a soft dark chocolate char in the distance illuminating toasted oak details as a profound, rummy essence lingers. 4.25
Taste opens with burnt sugar into charred banana bread stimulating depth, with further accents of toffee settling among deft bourbon underpinnings over time, ultimately closing on a dark cacao and fresh rum exhale. 4.5
Mouthfeel brings a medium body and virtually no carbonation, levying a savory silk coating the mid-palate while a comforting barrel warmth sinks into mild char and modest stickiness through the swallow. 4.5
A seamless intertwining of barrels yields a sticky, sweet, flourishing representation of the style; exceedingly dynamic and distinctive. 4.
Reviewed by lucius10 from California
4.86/5 rDev +5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
4.86/5 rDev +5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
Finally! The elusive DB Wisdom!!! Brown sugar and chocolate, cherry cordials, dates and plums, and a rum barrel boozy nose on this one! Taste follows exactly with beautifully balanced bourbon and rum barrel boozy finish. Wow! This is so smooth for being 18.2% ABV! Damn! So well done and aging gracefully!
Sep 14, 2024
Reviewed by sulldaddy from Connecticut
4.59/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.59/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Sampling a cellar temp 375 ml bottle poured into my snifter. Beer was bottled just a little over 1 year ago on July 10, 2023.
The beer pours a rich dark mahogany color and rests in my glass with no light passing through. A dense , yet fizzy beige colored head of .5 cm foams up and fades to a thin edging soon after the pour. Not a lot of visible bubbles here. Some very scattered lattice if I swirl, more coating and "legs" like a dark wine than lattice.
Aroma is robust! Very fusol and boozy with raisins, rum notes and some brown sugar. I do get a little bourbon and some light pipe tobacco, but no hop presence to be found on the nose.
First sip reveals a medium body with sticky texture and a coating on my palate after each sip. Very spacious carbonation on this beer and a decent hit of warming on each swallow, so much so I feel it on my tongue after each sip.
Flavor is bourbon, rum, black pepper (boozy bite) , some raisin and brown sugar notes. Definitely no hop character on this brew. The ABV isnt hidden in my opinion, but doesnt warm my belly, only my palate.
A pretty robust sipping beer that is a winner from Barreled Souls. You only need one of these!
Jul 21, 2024The beer pours a rich dark mahogany color and rests in my glass with no light passing through. A dense , yet fizzy beige colored head of .5 cm foams up and fades to a thin edging soon after the pour. Not a lot of visible bubbles here. Some very scattered lattice if I swirl, more coating and "legs" like a dark wine than lattice.
Aroma is robust! Very fusol and boozy with raisins, rum notes and some brown sugar. I do get a little bourbon and some light pipe tobacco, but no hop presence to be found on the nose.
First sip reveals a medium body with sticky texture and a coating on my palate after each sip. Very spacious carbonation on this beer and a decent hit of warming on each swallow, so much so I feel it on my tongue after each sip.
Flavor is bourbon, rum, black pepper (boozy bite) , some raisin and brown sugar notes. Definitely no hop character on this brew. The ABV isnt hidden in my opinion, but doesnt warm my belly, only my palate.
A pretty robust sipping beer that is a winner from Barreled Souls. You only need one of these!
Reviewed by SpeedwayJim from New York
4.82/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
4.82/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
8oz. Waxed and capped bottle into a BBT snifter.
Pours a dark, near opaque mahogany. No head or lace. Rich, oily legs that stick around forever. Nose is brown sugar, molasses, and barrel. Rich and hot. Also hints of green and purple raisin and sticky prunes. Beer opens with a bouquet of dried dark fruit. I get prunes, raisin, and fig all blended with brown sugar and molasses. Breakfast syrup and rum barrels are pronounced in the middle. Sugar cane and layers of caramel at the finish with a sticky oak in the aftertaste. Body is full with low carbonation. Oily and slick on the palate. Velvety down going with a hot finish and lingering aftertaste.
This one blows me away. Perfect for the style. Big, bold, and complex.
Feb 26, 2024Pours a dark, near opaque mahogany. No head or lace. Rich, oily legs that stick around forever. Nose is brown sugar, molasses, and barrel. Rich and hot. Also hints of green and purple raisin and sticky prunes. Beer opens with a bouquet of dried dark fruit. I get prunes, raisin, and fig all blended with brown sugar and molasses. Breakfast syrup and rum barrels are pronounced in the middle. Sugar cane and layers of caramel at the finish with a sticky oak in the aftertaste. Body is full with low carbonation. Oily and slick on the palate. Velvety down going with a hot finish and lingering aftertaste.
This one blows me away. Perfect for the style. Big, bold, and complex.
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York
4.87/5 rDev +5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
4.87/5 rDev +5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
This one pours a golden brown color, with a small head, and no lacing.
This smells fantastic – caramel, maple, chocolate, rum spice, leather, oak, vanilla,
Wisdom was previously my favorite Barreled Souls ever, I guess it’s not surprising that this amped up version is now my favorite beer yet from them. It’s unfathomable that this is 18.2% - it hides the booziness ridiculously well, and it also manages to not be too sweet, which is also extremely impressive. It’s sticky, obviously, but not cloying. There’s maple, caramel, toffee, and some light breadiness, with a touch of chocolate as well. The rum is there on the finish and adds a cool dimension. There’s also vanilla, leather, and a nice oaky finish.
This is medium bodied, somehow super drinkable, and just plain awesome.
This is as good as it gets for barrel aged barleywine/old ale/whatever.
Nov 08, 2023This smells fantastic – caramel, maple, chocolate, rum spice, leather, oak, vanilla,
Wisdom was previously my favorite Barreled Souls ever, I guess it’s not surprising that this amped up version is now my favorite beer yet from them. It’s unfathomable that this is 18.2% - it hides the booziness ridiculously well, and it also manages to not be too sweet, which is also extremely impressive. It’s sticky, obviously, but not cloying. There’s maple, caramel, toffee, and some light breadiness, with a touch of chocolate as well. The rum is there on the finish and adds a cool dimension. There’s also vanilla, leather, and a nice oaky finish.
This is medium bodied, somehow super drinkable, and just plain awesome.
This is as good as it gets for barrel aged barleywine/old ale/whatever.
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