Gilded Rooster
Wonder Aleworks

a frey ranch bourbon (delicious) barrel aged version of their golden rooster coffee kolsch, which i did not have while we were in. i love coffee in kolsch to start with, great natural synergy there between the flavorful yeast, the european grain, and the cocoa character of the coffee, and that is true here too, although the base beer seems extremely light to me, might not be all that compelling without the coffee, which doesnt impact the color of this one bit (curiously nor does the barrel), but is a very significant contributor to the aroma and flavor of this, seems super fresh on the coffee side for being barrel aged as well, very cool. radiant golden brew and shockingly clear for what it is, short white head settling out, but its not lacking carbonation. the lead aroma for me is warming coffee, chocolatey coffee, and some sweet caramel influence from the bourbon, a hint of vanilla, and bready but light old world pils type malt at the center. the flavor follows, coffee first, not overly roasted, and no bitterness or acidity to speak of at all from it. its smooth, woody, i get some kolsch yeast through it all, and even though this is definitely sweet and hits with big caramel notes from the whiskey, its also light on the palate and pretty drinkable still, its cool to have a barrel aged beer so low in alcohol too, and it seems like blonde beer like this doesnt end up in whiskey barrels often enough, there is a real cool layering of flavor to this. a little richer in taste than it needs to be, drier would be better, but i love how much of the whiskey nuance comes through, and how the coffee feathers in. one of the better beers we had in here, a good idea and quite well executed. its cool how many of their beer have local historical inspiration!