Barley Beast- Knob Creek Barrel Edition
Water's End Brewery

Bottle from brewery:
The beer has a fairly clear copper color with an auburn lean. The head didn't really build on a moderate pour, but there was still a fair showing for a barrel-aged offering. A thin ring remains as I am about to stick my nose in. Spots come and go on the glass as it is drunk down.

The nose is a wonderful mix of toffee that is accentuated by the bourbon and vanilla from the barrel. Lighter hints of subdued barrel char, cinnamon, and dark sweet cherry. There's a certain dessert wine aspect to this thing, and as such, there is a bit of a sweet feel to the nose...

... which shows up in the first sip, right up front. The sweet caramel and brown sugar note does fade drastically as the beer spreads over my palate as the liquid moves from the tip of my tongue across its main surface. The barleywine aspect gains the middle taste briefly before starting to give way to the barrel. This version's barrel aspects include a softer bite than the Copper Fox barrel version I had. That bite seems like it's coming from the barrel's original whiskey contents in this one, where it was less obvious in the other 9to me).

There is a tang in this offering that could be from the barrel, but also seems like it has a little lemon zesty aspect to it that is slightly more aggressive than normal barrel tang I've noticed in other BA beers. There isn't much carbonation feel to this, the above medium thickness smooths what is there out a bit. The beer isn't too heavy despite its thickness.

My initial whiffs actually did remind me a little bit of Firestone Walkers' barrel-aged offerings. That comparison falls off the ladder in the taste and feel, but I didn't really expect a small new brewery from the outskirts of the DC suburbs to produce at that level. Still, this beer is a fun barrel-aged English Barleywine (per my "expert" discernment and not its categorization in the database).