Bourbon Barrel Aged FrankenWine
Drake's Brewing Co.

 

I had this beer on tap at Beer Revolution in Oakland. When the brewer brought it in, he refered to it offhandedly as "Drake's Bourbon Barrel of Funkiness", and that's how Beer Revolution put on the menu- with I believe, a nudge and a wink. I think this beer is a Bourbon barrel version of the FrankenWine. Same abv, and many of the same flavors. Pours almost still, with no head, and a deep, rich, dark Pedro Ximenez sherry color and viscosity. Nice aromas. Rich, sweet barleywine and Bourbon. Notes of brown sugar, coconut, and some spicy hops at the end. Dark caramel notes throughout. The taste is also quite nice. Smooth barleywine flavors up front, followed by relatively big hop flavors, and then a fairly in-your-face Bourbon profile. Hot and heavy, not rich and sweet like the aroma. This would be a great one to bottle and age, but as it is it has promise rather than delivers now. Still, I enjoyed the experience overall.