Barrel Aged Olde Ale
Drake's Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

Murky, turbid brown with minimal head and carbonation. Smells of vinegar, toffee, and alcohol. Mild butter notes, wood, hint of vanilla, and brandy. A bit of toast and plenty of caramel. The flavor is quite tart as well. Booze, brandy, and wood flavors are prominent. A moderate malt sweetness, some toast, and definitely butter. Age has not been kind.

caramel colored pour with a light head of off white that caps it off rather nicely. Settling down it left a little bit of a light sticky lace along the sides. Aroma was the best I have ever come across. Rich toffee and butterscotch, tons of sweet nectar notes. Candy in all its glory. Perfectly aged with a smooth, perfect profile of vanilla, toffee, and rich butterscotch that will not let up. Rich bourbon flavor just rolls across the palate with a smoothness unlike anything I have run across before. Rich vanilla and boozy notes combine to form a perfect balance of rich sweet notes and oak soaked barrel flavor.

Massive thanks goes out to BRoss242 who shared this one with the group at the "Evening Wood" tasting graciously hosted by cmrillo! 2005 Vintage! Served from bottle into a Mikkeller flute. Poured a deep red orange with a minimal off-white head. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, sweet alcohol, peat, and wood. The flavor was of sweet malt, sweet alcohol, peat, and wood. It had a medium feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this was a pretty good brew. We had this one during a warm-up for the "Evening Wood" tasting while setting up. The peat in this one had become really evident but was not overpowering of the other components much. Was really surprised at how well this one is holding up since 2005. Definitely worth trying for a fan of the style if you can find it.

Pours brown wth tints of amber. Silky beige head, light lace. Nose has ripe pitted fruits, oak, vanilla,brandy, caramel and toffee. Taste also has alot going on, but like the flavor lacks compexity and depth. Medium body, nice carbonation. Not at all what I was expecting, perhaps past its peak.

Poured of of a tiny little 6 oz glass into an a 10oz Old Rasputin glass. Brewed in 05 and aged on brandy barrels. Not sure where/when I originally picked it up but it's marked $6.99.

Big tall creamy head, the first pour was amber and very very clear, 2nd small pour got a little bit of the sediment is darker and almost completely opaque.

On the nose this really smells to me like an flanders red, a bit sour, tart apple, dark fruit, with some malt coming through. Not surprisingly, not even a hint of hops.

The taste though, isn't sour at all, all dark caramel malty, a hint of the wood and brandy, but very very very smooth. Really quite tasty. The "10.24%" alcohol is really well masked and there is only a hint of a bite at the back of the tongue where the hops might otherwise be.

Overall pretty tasty and darn enjoyable. Haven't seen this around in years, but I'm glad i've got one more bottle in the cellar!

Little 7oz bottle originally purchased sometime in the spring of 2006 (at Ledger's I think). Bottle states that it was brewed in 2005 and aged in an apple brandy barrel.

Poured into a Corsendonk tulip. Pours a hazy opaque ruby brown. Good big head whitish head. Smell is vinuous and fruity. An odd mix. A bit sweet, a bit fruity. Slightly creamy texture, a bit of alcohol warming, and suprisingly high feeling of carbonation.

Not at all hard to drink. But it is a pricey little bottle and there's enough going on that you want to pay close attention.

An interesting and unique experiment. Definitely worth trying. Not sure it is a knock out, but it works pretty well.

Hard to sort out all these entries for Drake's. I'm reviewing the brandy barrel aged old ale, and as at least some of the reviews reference the brandy barrel in this entry, I've included my review here. Small six ounce bottle shared with BrickStoreDave. Poured a hazy brown with a surprisingly great head given the style and strength that eventually fades to a cap. Smells slightly sour to start, then a rich apple brandy aroma comes through. The taste is complex with tastes of apple brandy, dry malt, and a long bitterness. Very interesting. Sharp and dry in the mouth, a pleasant sipper.

12/03/08- Purchased at Ledgers in Berkeley, CA. $6.49 price tag.

Presentation- I love this little bottle. 6 oz nip bottle with gold foil ofver the cap, which was bottled in Sept 2005. Poured into my JW Lees snifter style glass.

Appearance- Dusty looking cola like colored pour. About a 1/2 inch quickly disappearing head. Leaves light watery lace spots.

Smell- Notes of vanilla, alcohol, chocolate, cherries and maybe some other dark fruits. Large nose.

Taste- If this makes sense...how about a cherry cough syrup flavored eggnog. Large thicker sweet cherry malt base. Follows up with a light dusting of chocolate powder, a good dose of vanilla and a light note of butterscotch. Very odd, but very interesting at the same time.

Mouthfeel- Very highly carbonated for an old ale. Mildly thick, but pretty sticky.

Drinkability- Should have bought another of these and let it age another 3 years or more and see what the result would be. Good, kinda weird, but definitely interesting.

Nip sized bottle acquired in trade with tever (thanks!).

Poured a deeper and cloudy brown color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of wppd. apples, caramel, and some brandy. Tastes of caramel, apples, wood, and some dark fruitiness. Definitely apples in there.

Some alcohol in the finish, but not 10+%. This was OK, but there really wasn't anything there that made this one stand out to me.

Notes from and tasted on 6/23/07

Paid $7.99 for a 6 oz bottle from Monument Liquor in Concord, CA. Barrel aged series #3. Brewed in September of 2005, it was aged in a barrel which housed an Apple Brandy for 11 months. Poured into a snifter.

Quarter inch minimal head after an aggressive pour that shrinks to nothing in a matter of a couple seconds. Looks like a thick and silky Belgian. Opaque deep brown color. No lacing. Lightly carbonated.

Very aromatic. Reminds me a bit of a wild ale as it has a slight funk smell to it, but this is some good funk. Alcohol and yeasty undertones, but the alcohol is fairly well hidden for a 10.24% ABV. Oak and fermented apples.

Taste is quite different than the smell. The sweet malts balance with apples and dark fruits. Very enjoyable and up-front unique flavor. Alcohol is not as detectable as it was in the nose. My belch tasted like fermented apples.

Not as silky as I expected. A medium to full body. Lightly carbonated.

The bottle recommends this for an after dinner drink, and if this is what you are drinking this for, it is highly drinkable. I personally would have one of these every once in a while for a slightly sweet treat - an expensive one at that.

6oz. pour into my favorite goblet equals just an inch of creamy tan head that fades to a skim in minutes. Body is a muddy brown muddle that settles in the glass. Nose smells almost soured almost like rootbeer meets wine with brett bacteria mixed in. On first sip you get a oakey creamy malt fel. A bit of green apple pie it there also that almost becomes soured in the middle but dries out to a rich long bitter on the back of the tongue. You do get a bit of crispness on the mouthfeel. Interesting overall, but not what I was hoping for in an old ale. Maybe a little scattered in the drinkability.

6 ounce bottle purchased for a little over eight dollars at Hollingshead in Orange, Brandy Barrel Aged Series #3, second beer tasted from the series, split with my dad tonight, poured into an oversized wine glass

A-Deep brown color with some red tint, not much of a head but there was about 1/4 inch that disappeared immediately, no retention, some lacing when swirled around in the glass

S-Smelled like a sour green apple jolly rancher, bready malt aromas, cherries, cranberries, could have sworn I could smell some brettanomyces, tarty accents, earthy tones, and booze

T-First sip I took made me wonder if I was drinking the sam beer I just poured, reminded me of an apple wild ale, then the malt and hot alcohol hit me right after, there was some brandy in the finish for sure, there was very little tart left over once this warmed fully, various sweet berry flavors in the finish though, the booze were there but not overpowering and gave a little warmness going down, overall it was very unique and got different with time, quite enjoyable taste

M-Tarty, spicy, boozy, and sweet mouthfeel, lots of carbonation, thin to medium body, taste did not last as long as I had hoped

D-Could have drank three of these little bottles myself, not heavy on the stomach, ABV is a little high though, goes down smoothly, taste is complex to keep coming back for more

Wish I had more of this, only had three ounces after splitting the bottle, could have drank five to six times that amount easily, one of the better beers I have ever had from Drake's, nice surprise, would definitely drink again even if it is so expensive, definitely recommended

brandy barrel series #3, brewed in 2005. thanks to fartingdog for sending this along!

A - slightly hazy golden brown with a huge offwhite head.

S - Apples, bready malts a slight brett cherry note.

T - a funky (no pun intended) mix of apples, brett cherry pie, sweet malts and a light acidic note.

M - full bodied, heavily carbonated, dry tart finish.

D - drinkability suffers some I think due to the high carbonation and potential brett aspect.

It's a neat drink but hard to put a finger on.

Thanks to jgaston for sending this as part of BC2!
Barrel-aged series #3 - brandy barrel.
Dark toffee colour with a bit of haze, topped by a thin layer of fine, beige bubbles mostly keeping themselves to the sides of the glass in a thick collar. Great retention, spotty lacing. Earthy aroma with notes of oak, apple skin, cherry tartness, leather and tobacco, caramel and bread, faint cocoa and vanilla. Flavour has a fruity punch (mostly apple, pear and date) followed by oak, leather, definite brett character yet still nicely balanced. Fairly bready. Some caramel sweetness lingers and alcohol gives a bit of spice in the finish. Medium bodied with fine, well integrated carbonation that's a little on the high side. Good texture that's a bit airy. Good stuff. Everything's pretty solid here and quite enjoyable.

I was a bit let down by this beer. First it was ludicrously priced and I'm still in shock I even paid it. Cost was 8 bucks for a 6ounce bottle! says it's brandy barrel aged but not much of that came out in the taste profile or the aroma. Beer was smooth and sufficed just fine as a winter warmer. Very potent and warming, and good sipper but really not in the league of North Coasts Old Stock barrel aged beers. Not even close. Very dark copper body, no head. Very malty with a touch of spicy hop, not much brandy notes are evident. Poor value in my opinion.

fartingdog hooked me up with this one as part of BC2. thanks dave!

6oz bottle topped with gold foil. barrel aged series #3, olde ale aged in brandy barrels. the bottle says it was brewed in 2005 and aged in apple brandy barrels from St. Georges Distillery for 11 months. dave has written "jan 2007 release" on the bottle. sampled jan 20/08.

pours hazy medium brown with a big dense tan head. the head drops slowly and leaves a bit of spotty lace.

aroma is nice. apple. cherry. bit of cranberry and date. light alcohol. bit of peach. bready malt. touch of dark chocolate. maybe a bit of vanilla. there's a bit of an earthy and leathery character in there too, sort of rounding out the edges - maybe a bit of brett?

taste is good. there's definitely some brett in there, lending it a bit of leather and tobacco leaf as well as some earthy character. very light alcohol. big bready malt. bit of caramel. light dark fruit - date, raisin. i don't get any apple or as much fruit as i did in the aroma, but there's still a solid fruity presence. actually, as it warms i do get a little more apple, peach, and pear.

mouthfeel is nice. slightly above medium carbonation, but fairly well integrated. medium body with a fairly dry finish. i suspect the lighter body, dry finish, and higher carbonation could be the result of the brett. other stuff from the drake's barrel aged series that i've tried has all had very little or no carbonation. the body fills out a little as it warms, but still feels a bit shy of where i'd expect for the style.

drinkability is quite good. the alcohol is balanced well. the brett character is mild and does not overwhelm. great fruity presence. i'd like a touch less carbonation and a little fuller body, but i'm definitely impressed by this one. thanks dave!