Gravity Check - Bourbon Barrel Aged
Western Collective

2018 vintage, neat beer, among the best of anything from a barrel i have had from these guys, not sure how this one flew under the radar so much, with all the hype around so many of their mediocre beers i would have thought this one would blow up, but such is the nature of a barleywine in boise it seems. this is lighter in color than expected, by quite a lot actually. instead of brownish red its like orange to copper, pretty clear, and with more head than a lot of these have, all of a sudden a pint can of this doesnt seem like such a big done, nice shine, good looking brew! the nose is dried fruits, toffee, and a lot of barrel, as much oak as whiskey, but i get honey, maple, vanilla, chestnut, charred wood, warm alcohol, and dried apricot and fig in this, really a lot going on and without a ton of nutty, kilned, toasted, long boiled malt intensity, its lighter than most even with the bourbon and the alcohol. really cool fruitiness in the taste, golden raisin, date, dried apricot again, even a preserved orange peel note, light spiciness perhaps from the barrel, more wood as it warms, definite raw honey sweetness but its not heavy, the high for the style carbonation helps with that, and i end up with swirling fruit, spice, and vanilla at the end. faint apple and squash character too, autumnal and earthy in that way without being heavy. really tasty, id love to try the non barrel aged version too, this seems unique and solid as a base beer too, but no doubt the barrel contribution is big here. really dug this, could have had a second can. obviously pretty old now, but held up extremely well, no fade to it at all. a top western collective beer in my experience...

16oz can at brewery. Brown body, mostly clear, bubbly head. Big malty aroma, sweet, prunes. Sweetness remains in the taste, prunes, raisins, dates. Malty AF. Heat detectable, but not in your face. Pretty smooth. Minor barrel notes.