Blue Sky Thinking
DOT Brew

without question one of the more unique beers ive had recently, shared generously by friends who either brought it back from travels or had family who did, either way, lucky me! how weird does it get? an irish made pilsener aged in sherry and bourbon barrels that may have also housed irish whiskey? never heard of such a thing! truly weird. has some color from the barrels, lightly hazy sort of muted orange in color, frothy headed from the can though, which felt a little tight like some refermentation has been happening, nice and lively in the glass even if the color doesnt really fit a pils type. any real pils nuance in european grain or old world lager yeast is well run over by strong wood and whiskey in the nose, probably why more robust base beers are generally used for this sort of barrel treatment, but im certainly intrigued by all thats going on, sort of mossy and wet, the wood is old but vibrant, there is a savory aspect, a light vanilla and maple sweetness, and some baked and toasted nuttiness coming out of pale malts with the oak which is cool, irish whiskey to me in front of sherry or bourbon, but it could all just combine that way. the flavor is a little sweeter, oddly alcoholic, even fusel, for its modest abv, and i get like charred orange peel, vanilla bean and vanilla wafer cookies, dry dusty dirt in the summer, oxidized wine, even golden raisin and coconut sort of fruitiness to this. its beyond strange, almost more cocktail than liquor or let alone beer, but it also still has some pils elements pushing through, even if the balance skews barrel over beer. cool stuff, fluffy feeling and bubbly but also palate coating and sweet to me, wouldnt want more than maybe two of them. rather avant garde stuff, fun introduction to this brewery, creative and definitely fun!