1792 Bourbon Oak
Hackney Church Brew Co.

 

it was cool to try this side by side with the barrel aged heaven help me stout they make, trying to guess one which was done in the barrels and which with soaked oak chips or spirals, which is how we all assumed this one was made. usually in my experience this method yields more wood and whiskey character than the barrels, something about the new oak always stands out, even in huge base stouts like this, but i was wrong in my guess and the more whiskey forward one was actually the barrel aged, which to me suggests that it was real freshly or maybe even not completely empty. this is nice beer though, the oak brings a rich vanilla smoothness to a well made stout base, its sort of creamy feeling, a little bit sweet, but with a tidy ferment and just enough whiskey character coming through. lots of milk chocolate to this, some raisin, a shot of fresh pulled quality espresso, and just a bit of smoke but nothing burnt. i couldnt drink a ton of this, its got a lot of body and the booze is there the whole way, but the quality is impressive. all the beer here was excellent.