Bourbon Barrel Draft Horse
Brewery Ommegang

on paper this sounds outlandish and crazy, in the glass its pretty cohesive, although perhaps not as dynamic as the process suggests it might be. strong biere de garde in bourbon barrels a long time, fermented with brett brux, and then blended with pale sour, wow. cant be too much of the sour in here, i guess some acidity cuts obvious malt sugar and oak heft, but its not even really tangy at all, and to me the brett seems underdeveloped even though some of this beer was three years in a barrel, would have expected a little more brett funk to this, especially from brux, unless the alcohol content overwhelmed it before it could leave a bigger mark on this. a little cloudy, amber colored, a tad dull to me, like whiskey without the shine, and not much head after a minute, even though i keep topping off my glass more and more aggressively. really feeling the bourbon on the nose, its strong, woody, sweet, and has hints of honeycomb and maple to it, neat with the subtle belgian yeast esters here, presents like a dubbel, but has some of that old biere de garde character too, slight oxidation is not inappropriate here. very little funk to me, a letdown i guess, and not as dry as i hoped it would be from the brett either, but the wood is cool, old still. the flavor has caramel, almond, and toffee richness from the whiskey and the grain, a light chocolate layer, fig, cognac, vanilla, and even black tea, pretty complex even if its not what i was expecting. alcohol and sugar start to take over about mid palate, it warms up a little aggressive, but the maturity never fades. i like the slight orangey tang from the sour, gives it a cocktail vibe, but its real minimal, i almost have to go looking for that bit. a deep wintery brew overall. not as carbonated as i expect from these guys in the bottle, but huge and slow in a good way, light chestnut, brown sugar, and red apple cider to finish. a nice evening sipper, needed or not. thanks to my brother for procuring and sharing! always a joy to drink the good stuff from ommegang!

2019 bottle... blend #005. Poured from a cork'n'cage bomber into a Dogfish Head only. Brewery only release

L: Golden amber pour... cloudy with 2 fingers of foamy white head. Great ring of lacing.

S: Bourbon and vanilla with tart fruit and yeast.

T.F: Follows the nose. Honey, yeast, bourbon, and vanilla. Brown sugar, caramel, tart fruit, funk, and fruit. Oak... spice, and grape peel. Medium bodied... somewhat boozy. Well carbonated and warming. More bourbon and tart fruit at the finish.

O: An interesting brew... and the sour ale mixes well with the sweets and bourbon. An enjoyable change of pace beer, and a quality effort from Ommegang.