Barrel Aged Harbinger
J. Wakefield Brewing

 

 

Would I buy this again? Maybe. It is very adjunct-sweet (which I understand is the point), but Im finding these less and less desirable vs. true barrel aging followed by dry, boozy flavors. Still a good beer and better then most adjunct stouts Ive had.

Hazelnut and coffee are really nice. First JWB beer and it's special. Great feel and smell.

Pours an oily, night black color with a small, but stable beige head, showing off some huge bubbles.

Smells like liquid Nutella with a creamy, roasty edge to it, resulting from an intense hazelnut aroma. This gets enhanced by a note of dried blueberries, covered by lots of fudge and a note of spices, resulting from the complimenting oak barrel. The barrel goes hand in hand with a more subtle use of sweet espresso coffee beans, building an intriguing counterpart to the fudgy hazelnut sweetness.

Mouthfeel on this is wonderful, the heavy, thick body of this gets gently feathered by a luscious creaminess with almost no carbonation left. Decadent and huge on the tongue throughout, this beer is surprisingly easy to drink, as for how great it is composed.

Tastes brighter than expected, due to a surprising but pleasant coffee tartness, adding a nice twist to the other, more expectable stout flavors. There is an almost overwhelming amount of brownie batter in this, paired with lots of sweet and boozy milk chocolate truffles and a potent hazelnut roastiness, covered by rock sugar. Develops a creaminess so smooth, that it almost numbs down the warming bourbon barrel, by exhibiting an actual milkiness during the finish, which startles me. Has a sudden uprising in dryness, resulting from both the coffee and the barrel, which makes the beer extremely versatile and entertaining, as well as throughout tasty with prevailing hazelnuts and toffee as a sweet counterpart.

This is great, tasty and smooth with a great use of adjuncts. It compliments perfectly to the sweet base of the beer as for its hazelnuts, but also for creating a well working contrast as for the bitter coffee. This results into a great versatility, which makes the beer interesting till its last drop.

 

 

 

 

Immediately the first thing noted was hazelnuts on the nose. The same thing was found to be the case for the flavor. Coffee comes in secondarily as it warms. The barrel character was most prevalent with mouthfeel (burn) and less so with the smell and taste. I would prefer that these flavors would be more balanced.