Bourbon Barrel Loch Down
Arcadia Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

I picked up a bottle of Arcadia's Bourbon Barrel Loch Down last week for $7.99 at The Lager Mill. I missed out on this beer when it was on tap a couple times and even though it's pretty pricey I thought I would take a chance on it so lets see how it goes. 2015 Vintage. Poured from a brown gold foiled 12oz bottle.

A- The label looks nice, it's pretty typical for Arcadia's barrel aged series and it's a little eye catching with the gold foil. It poured a darker brown color that didn't let any light come through and it had a little under two fingers worth of tan head that died down to a thin ring that stayed till the end it left some spotty lacing behind. This is a good looking beer, I have no complaints.

S- The aroma starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with a malty scotch ale aroma being the first to show up and it's quickly overshadowed by some funky and tart off aromas that I think came from the barrel. Up next comes the barrel which imparts a nice bourbon, light vanilla and oak aroma. This beer didn't have a good aroma, it was on the right path but those off aromas ruined it.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with some malty scotch ale flavors being the first to show up, but just like the aroma the funky and tart off flavors seem to over shadow the base and they are unwanted. Up next comes a dark fruit flavors that goes right in the bourbon barrel which are lighter than they were in the aroma, but they still impart the same aspects. On the finish there's a little tartness with a funky bourbon barrel aftertaste. This wasn't a good tasting beer, I liked some of the flavors, but the off flavors ruined it.

M- Not the smoothest, fairly crisp, medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel was just ok, it wish it was smoother.

Overall I didn't think was a good beer and I thought it wasn't a good example of the style, clearly something went wrong with this brew and I can understand not wanting to take a huge lost and dump the whole batch, but to still bottle it and charge the normal price they charge for their barrel aged beers isn't cool and it makes me think less of this brewery. This beer didn't have good drinkability, it wasn't smooth, it was fairly crisp, not to filling and the taste didn't hold my attention, after a couple sips I was over it, but since I paid so much for the bottle I didn't drain pour, but I probably should have since I didn't enjoy. What I like the most about this beer was how well the alcohol was hidden, to me that was the highlight of this beer. What I liked the least about this beer were the off aspects, they don't belong in this beer. I wouldn't buy this batch again, I might try another batch on tap and maybe another bottle if they release it again, but I will be very skeptical. I wouldn't recommend this beer, it just isn't what it should be. All in all I didn't like this beer, Arcadia pissed me off a little with this one and I felt like I just flushed $8 down the drain. So far it's the worst beer I've had from Arcadia and it's not what it should be for the style. Better luck next time guys, this was very disappointing, don't let it happen again.

 

 

 

Missed out on this at Michigan WBF last year, so excited to finally get to try it!

Serving: Draft pour into a 10 oz snifter.

A: Minimal off-white head at the edges of the glass. Pours a nice murky, light brown.

S: Lots of butterscotch sweetness (in a good way), faint bourbon tones, toffee, hazelnut.

T: At only 8.5%, this is not a huge beer. Bourbon is mild and delicate, but noticeable. Sweet toffee, butterscotch flavors. Carmel. Slightly watery.

M: Full, smooth. Not overly boozy at all.

O: About what I expected from Arcadia on this one. I've had their BA Cereal Killer and BA Imperial Stout, and actually prefer this to both of them. They're all very mild and taste like they've only been aged for a few months. This doesn't knock my socks off, but it's still a very enjoyable BBA Scotch Ale.

Recommendation: Definitely try it if you can find it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't like to completely slam a beer without at least explaining why. I expected to like this as I like original Loch Down, a solid beer. Before you take my word for it, keep in mind that the three others that tried it, liked it. But anyway here it goes:

A: Poured into a 10oz snifter glass, appeared almost stout-like black, but is just a very deep brown with a thin tan head.

S: Not for me, but I don't really like the smell of bourbon, even on Bourbon Aged beers I like. So I gave it a 3/5 as ALL I could smell was bourbon, but I know that it is likely the intention of the brew.

T: Definitely not for me. Tasted like cough syrup, the cherry kind that your mother forced down your throat when you were 10. That, and bourbon.

M: The alcohol dominated, but not overly off-putting.

O: To my taste pallet, the worst beer I've had in a long time.