Sheepdog
Camp Colvos Brewing

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a slightly hazy, medium coppery amber with a massive half glass white head with great retention and thick lacing. In fact, I had to spoon off another half glass of foam to catch the aroma. Aroma of pale malt, Belgian yeast, oak, light whiskey; quite spicy. Flavor is dry candi malt, Belgian yeast, light stone fruit, aged hops, oak, whiskey. Medium bodied with light creaminess and sharp carbonation. The main character is pretty much Belgian pale ale with yeast, malt and fruit flavors very much to that style. However, there are aged hops, more vegetal than fresh, but with a moderate bitterness, and the oak and whiskey from the barrel, that make this somewhat different. I was hesitant about getting this, because I've had very few barreled ales of low to moderate ABV that turned out well. This is an exception, it has not only held up nicely to the barreling, but also sitting in a cooler for a few months. The closest thing to this I've had is the barrelled Belgian Silly beers, which have a much higher ABV. It was a little over-foamy, but I'm pretty impressed with this idiosyncratic ale and am glad I took a chance on it. I look forward to trying some of the other offerings from this small brewery.