Flying Mouflan - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Tröegs Brewing Company

Flying Mouflan BBA from Troeg’s Brewing. Purchased 9/23/20 for $ 11.00 (Including tax) for 12.7 oz cork and caged bottle ($ 0.866/oz) from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA. On shelf at store and stored at home at 42 degrees. Reviewed 12/29/20.
In faint barely legible black ink above the label “Bottled 11/7/17” – in larger legible lettering on the label bottom “Bottled 2017”. Served at 56 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 62.2 degrees.
Appearance – 3.75.
First pour – Deep amber (SRM 15), slight haze.
Body – Amber brown (SRM 18), murky. When held to direct light, partial penetration occurs and the amber/garnet becomes more visible.
Head – Small (Maximum 0.5 cm, aggressive center pour), almond, fizzy, short retention, leaving a two mm crown fed by effervescence and a few thin islands for a cap. Cork slid out easily with a weak “Pffft”.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.25 – Initially sweet and caramelly, with a bit of brown sugar and dried fruit, no hops, no yeast. Lasts.
Flavor – 4 – Follows nose; no hops, no yeast. No alcohol (11.5 % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma, but a mild esophageal burning flares briefly then dies, followed by a weak gastric warming. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Finishes a little less sweet with a slight sour taste. Neither bourbon nor barrel are found following a diligent search
Palate – 4 – Full, approaching syrupy, soft but fizzy carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 No bad but definitely improves as it warms – the initial alcohol harshness mellows, and the viscosity improves. The fizzy carbonation surprises by lasting the entire pour. Otherwise, the aroma and flavor are not exceptional but exceed my minimal expectations for a BBA barleywine. Back in 2009, when I had the base non-BBA, non-oak BA Flying Mouflan, I wasn’t a fan of the barleywine style. Now I am and I’d like to re-evaluate the base beer.

thanks to my bro for bringing this back from the 'burg
2017 bottling

eyes...
reddish muddy brown hue, head holds steady at about half a finger with micro bubbles, lacing absolutely . . . crawls down the glass, leaving a coating as well, one of the slower pull backs I have seen in some time as if this is actually fighting gravity, there I also spy sluggish carbonation kind of meandering around among unfiltered bits joined in some strange unpredictable dance holding hands and spinning each other out in silly ovals, this looks like a wild bred stock tamed just enough to look

nose...
ba- ba- ba- boozy, bourbon soaked in raisins (or perhaps the other way around eh?), definitely can sense the wet wood (barrel) aspect, slight burn notes are playing hide and seek between the main notes (strong as they are), this smells like a happy union

taste etc...
wow, takes a second to process this, so much going on through the initial bite and the aftertaste (energizer bunny that it is), initially mild, then a wave of the bourbon flavor but not bracing or aggressive, kind of a buttery representation of bourbon, strong dark fruit flavors but again so smoothed out, some dark bitterness and molasses kicks in in the back corners of your mouth and then ... then , oh-oh oh the great butterscotch coaster oh-oh oh (old reference? ah, fraggle my rocks), the ABV sails by your harbor quick but makes itself known at the dock if you get my poor maritime analogy, as I drink on the butterscotch master really takes over bordertown, this is almost like one of those little fancy coffee/butterscotch candies I hated as a kid (hey, I was kid, I liked Nerds and Summit bars man), this is absolutely smooth, the carbonation is a velvet carpet that no one has walked on yet and never will, supremely easy to drink, and damn I think this would go swell with a full on turkey dinner (too bad there is nothing like that around), I can't imagine this interfering with anything - ahem, aside from motor coordination, and in a mild stretch I would add this to my gravy in a second (move over red eye), this is going especially well with some simple sea salted pistachios and some muenster

verdict?
Ovis gmelini... I think I love you. I don't recall the original being this amenable to my palate, but damn this caspian native has made me a fan. Yes sir, I like it.

Pours a deep dark reddish brown with moderate head. No lacing at all.

The aroma is oak, whiskey and wet brown sugar. The woody notes mellow as it warms and a sweet toffee and bourbon quality takes over.

A dry woodiness hits the tongue first. Very dry. Following is a panoply of sweet treats; Caramel, toffee, and even a little baked fruit. The dryness lingers well after the sip. ABV is well hidden.

Medium body. Slightly syrupy.

This is a nice sipper. Very much enjoyed.

 

 

2017 version:
After a couple of years, the barrel notes on this one have started leaning towards the tart rather than the normal tang a barrel sometimes brings. The bourbon itself remains with a bit of a light spice and somewhat smokey note.

The nose on this near still beer brings rich barleywine notes of burnt toast, dark caramel, and some cherry (perhaps aided by the tartness). I'm pretty sure the base is an American barleywine as the caramel is not too sweet and there is a earthy to woodsy bitterness, the latter of which I am sure is accentuated by the aging.

I poured this a little on the cold side, and it took warming to cellar temps to start smoothing out and gelling. The carbonation is light, but a warming alcohol sting makes up for it. Toast, earth, dark fruit, red wine, leather, and an earthy to peaty bitterness with typical accents from the barrel.

I prefer the English variety of barleywine generally, especially in bourbon barrels. I am guessing this has mellowed in a couple years, and that is probably a good thing for me as it still has a good level of bitterness.

Purchased at the brewery. Taste a of rum raisins as well as some mild chocolate and caramel. Decent, but doesn’t shine a candle to bourbon country barley wine and some other great in this category.

 

 

 

2017 Vintage
Pours a decent fizzy bubbly but smaller head that retains fairly well a little messy lacing and decent legs, super dark mahogany color opaque

Nose starts with nice base barleywine, lots of dark fruits, raisin, a little fig/date, even a little candied prune, dark toasted and caramelized malts, candy malt, some toffee and caramel, mild spicy hop in the background, barrels are really light with a little vanilla and butterscotch, bourbon eventually comes out a bit more as it warms

Taste comes on a bit sweet but not too much, candied flavors coming with more toffee and caramel, sweet perceived Maillard caramelized sugars, mild fruits but not as much as the nose, a little raisin, and fig/date notes, a bit of an aged slight oxidaized brandy character and touch of papery, barrel bringing mild vanilla and butterscotch again, and similar to the nose no real bourbon until it starts to warm it flashes in there, toasted biscuity malts, a hint of cocoa and darker malts, mild spicy hops, alcohol is hidden fairly well until it warms, mostly just on the throat, then as it warms a bit more alcohol on the mouth with the bourbon character, a drier but slightly sticky finish

Mouth is med to fuller bod, bright carbonation maybe a bit more than I wanted for a beer like this, not much alcohol until it warms, a touch sticky but not syrupy

Overall eh, base barleywine is nice, good malts, nice hops for American version, I do like the aging effects with brandy and dark fruits, but it did give a touch of paper, the biggest problem I have is lack of barrel, which adds mild characters from the barrel but very little bourbon

 

Poured a dark red/amber. There is some vanilla and bourbon aroma. The flavor is outstanding. Well balance of a host of flavors -- molasses, chocolate, vanilla and brown sugar. The bourbon is only slightly detectable but it works very well.

12.7oz corked & caged bottle into a tulip. bottled 11/8/17, so 6 months old.

dk red body with amber notes. small pale tan head with good carbonation.

very little in the aroma department, just a faint woodiness.

however, the taste department is very good indeed. slightly bitter, chewy, mild bourbon, molasses, slightly sweet. warm.

mouth between medium and full. finish a bittersweet warmth.

overall, very nice BBA American Barley Wine. no one element dominates, nicely balanced.

2017 bottle.
Moderate pour yields a 3/4 inch light tan head over a dark brown-mahogany body with some lacing. Nose of raisins, caramel, vanilla, and chocolate. Taste of chocolate, caramel, molasses, vanilla, and dark fruit. As it warms a sort of cherry liqueur flavor comes forward. Yum! Nice feel and overall, I really liked the base Flying Mouflan but this is next level. Cheers!

 

 

Pours a deep caramel, thin whispy lace, mild carbonation. Aroma is not good on this one - there are some wimpy notes of cheap bourbon, driftwood moss, sweet malt that clashes with the earthier aromas, viney hops. The result reminds me of an antibiotic I used to take as a kid but can’t remember the name of. Very disappointing.

The taste is a little better but still a misfire. Whatever barrels they used imparted a ton of wood flavor - if I had looked down & saw wood chips actually floating in the beer I wouldn’t have been surprised. The bourbon is low shelf, fusel and raw tasting. There are some hops too which add some musty cardboard flavors towards the back palate, along with some german malt that never comes to life. Finishes dry. I love base Flying Mouflan, and was a huge fan of the regular oak-aged version, so I was shocked how badly the bourbon version misses the mark. Troegs is consistently solid so maybe this was just a bad batch but it was a huge letdown in my opinion.

I picked up a 2017 vintage 12.7oz bottle at Tröegs on 01FEB18 while in the area for a Battle of the Bulge re-enactment. Weighs in at 11.50% ABV and set me back %13.00. Safely back home, time to give it a try....

Poured into a Smutty snifter, it was a clear but dense, chestnut/mahogany color. The color is really seen only at the edges and when backlit. Head is a scant covering of fine, beige bubbles, with light lacing. Nose has some caramel, toffee, charred brown sugar and dark fruit. The body is about a medium, perhaps a smidge more... And the feel is über smooth, with rather light prickle.

Flavor also has some brown sugar, caramel and toffee. Has a hint of dark fruit, rum, some tobacco, and earthy hopping. Bourbon action is barely detectable, as far as my palate can tell. Not bad... Nowhere near as good as the regular Mouflan, imo... Prosit!!

4.06/5 rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

1997

Bottle at the brewery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2016 Vintage.
12.7 oz bottle poured into a snifter.

Appearance
Deep chestnut brown with ruby highlights. Short head dissipates quickly.

Nose
Toffee, caramel, tobacco, leather, earth, cocoa, oak, and vanilla.

Taste
Toffee, caramel cubes, vanilla ice cream, and white oak. Tobacco, leather, earth, and candy sugar. Hints of cocoa nib. There is an underlying orange cream and grapefruit juiciness that add a lot of character.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus bodied, silky, smooth, and warming.

Overall
A excellent barrel aged Barleywine! The oak tastes fresh and adds a lot of vanilla bean flavor. I got this at the brewery for $4.50 / bottle in a mix pack. Excellent price!

cool to try the barrel aged version of this. i always sort of considered the original to be more of a huge imperial red than a barleywine in the traditional sense. it neve quite gets as deep and dark and layered as some of the classics, and there is definitely a nice hop to it, so it always seemed a bit of an oddity as a barleywine, at least to me. the bourbon barrel treatment here sort of brings it back into that more traditional barleywine realm, with the sweet and woody and vanilla and honey notes from the whiskey barrel adding a ton of depth to the already hearty and rich deep amber caramelized grain base. its dense now, more nuanced, sweeter, and plenty mature. lots of flavor here, dried fruit, brown sugar, molasses, a bready yeast and still a bit of hops. as much wood as whiskey here, surprisingly mellowing for a beer thats up over 13% abv, hard to imagine its so strong, drinks a whole lot easier. this must have spent a fair bit of time in the barrels, it has really transformed this. i have always loved troegs, but it seems like lately they have stepped their game up in a big way. this is really remarkable beer, suitable for indefinite ageing i am certain...

edit: this is ageing really well too, a little soy to it now, but an even mellower alcohol presence. its awesome stuff, just be sure to share, man this thing can put even seasoned beer drinkers to bed!

edit: another vintage bottle, the label says something like copyright 2014, but i dont know that it corresponds to age, its 13.4% abv though, so maybe correlates to the 2015 data listed here, either way its five or six years old now from the cellar, and is totally flat in the glass despite the label saying otherwise. i dont really remember it ever being bubbly, but its close to still now. tons of gloopy sediment too, thick and partially coagulated overall. some astringency in the flavor, like sour raisins muddled in vodka, oxidized too, almost english now more than it used to be. certainly past its prime window at this point, but i will leave original scores in place. maybe not one to keep for a decade, even though the high abv, the style, the cork and cage packaging all suggest it might go the distance, this is on the decline now...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beer comes in a ruby brown color with wonderful garnet hues.

The aroma smacks of sweet caramel surrounded by toasted oak, bourbon, vanilla, rich malty qualities, honey, toffee.

The flavor follows with rich malty sweetness, without being overly sweet or deserty as oak jumps in and dries out the beer with rich tannic oak. Bourbon heat jumps around the beer with its medium plus mouthfeel.