Kelso Quad Bock - Cabernet Barrel Aged
KelSo Beer Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

This brew was served from the tap at Rattle N’ Hum in New York, NY. It arrived in a white wine glass, glowing the deepest maroon color. It boasted a half finger tall head. This showed poor retention, leaving spotty rings of lacing around the glass. There was a thick haze to the clarity, but no sediment was noted. Carbonation appeared medium. The nose spoke of booze and oak. The cabernet was abundantly apparent, with strong tannins and red wine grape dryness. This was cut by candied figs, rich caramel malts, and a vegetable bitterness as you would find in vegemite spread. Our first impression was that this was very puckering and sour, with big lactics. As we sipped, darker, chocolate malts came through, with a cutting tartness of citrus, bitter wine, and big oak barreling. The middle moved forward with the sourest puckering at the peak, mixing finally with the sweeter caramel notes. Vinegar came with bready grain through the finish, with sugars to cut the sweetness, and a woody flash for that final punch. The aftertaste breathed of oak, red wine tannins, and grapey sweetness. The body was medium, and the carbonation was medium to high. The finish was bone dry following a nice slurp, froth, and puckering smack to each sip. The abv was appropriate, and the beer drank as more of a sipper.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this brew was the interesting balance of cedar, barley, sugars, grape, and sourness. On the negative side, the wine actually became overwhelming at times, but did offer a pleasant sourness to the drink. Huge sweetness came towards the end, but this was necessary to balance out the wine, which it actually never completely accomplishes. This would be best as a dessert drink.

Served on tap at Mugs Alehouse in Brooklyn, NY

A: Pours a slightly cloudy mahogany in color with a thin light beige head. The head reduces to a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Significant lacing is observed.

S: Lots of vinous notes on the aroma - you can definitely tell this beer was aged in wine barrels. Lots of sweetness and some presence of dark fruit.

T: Dark fruit, candi sugar, and vinous notes are the primary flavors for this beer. The flavor of the wine is very present and overshadows the original beer flavors.

M: Medium bodied with light to moderate amounts of carbonation. There is some alcohol heat in the finish.

O: The wine from the barrel aging overshadows the beer - if I wanted something that tasted like wine, I would have ordered wine. This is a sipping beer but after a couple of sips, I had enough.

A: The beer is dark reddish brown in color. It poured with a thin light beige head that quickly died down, leaving wispy lacing on the surface and a dense ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass, then eventually completely fading away.
S: There are moderately strong aromas of Cabernet Sauvignon in the nose from the barrel aging.
T: Similar to the smell, the taste has strong flavors of Cabernet Sauvignon along with notes of oak and hints of dark fruits. It’s very winey and doesn’t have much flavors of the underlying beer.
M: It feels medium-bodied and somewhat smooth on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The beer is rather easy to drink compared to other beers in the style because it is relatively light-bodied in nature; the alcohol is somewhat noticeable but doesn’t affect its drinkability.