How do you like your bourbon/whiskey aged beers

Bourbon County varieties
Parabola
KBS
(With tons of newer great BBA beers coming out almost everyday it seems)

The bourbon barrel needs to add flavor, not just be an addition to the label. If you don't like BBA beers fresh, hold onto them for a bit (1yr). The heat will subside and the beer will become more balanced.

 

If it tastes like some poured bourbon in it that's bad IMO. Just drink whiskey if that's what you're looking for. Widely released and mostly affordable BA stouts I like would be BCBS, KBS, BBPT5, CW BB Stout, etc. If the name starts with Kentucky Ale just dump it out

 

Depends on the base beer vs the barrel aging strength. Some beers like Parabola seem a little over shadowed by the aging process and I like after a few years, Some like Chocolate rain are a kick in the face of flavor even fresh! I don't need to age it at all.

 

Just for context - what was the beer that you and your friend were drinking?

 

I'd say I've gotta lean towards the side of better balance. Anything over 10% that's been barrel aged seems to be about perfect to me with a year of age.

 

As long as the base beer fits the barrel and the time spent in the barrel, I will enjoy any strength of barrel presence. From none (Jacobins St Rouge, although not technically a whiskey barrel) all the way to moderate/strong (BCBS or Sucaba). Balance and a good base beer are key.

Examples of aging gone wrong (IMO) are Curieux (I don't know why they threw a delicate triple in the same ring as a brutish bourbon barrel, and then let the two go the distance; the end result is a harsh/overly buttery sin), Deth's Tar (there was some stout flavor here and there, but the wood was pretty blanketing) and, as mentioned before, all kinds of Kentucky Ale (there's a lot going wrong there).

 

Neat.

 

I can drink either a more blended beer or one with a "hot" bourbon taste because I am a bourbon fan. Personally though I would rather have a more blended beer because I'm drinking a beer even though both offer subtle difference that make them unique and enjoyable. I like BCBS a lot but some say it's too hot. If you are willing to venture into non stout BBA I love Backwoods Bastard.

 

I like KBS or most offerings from Clown Shoes but I TRULY enjoy the subtlety and elegance of Allagash Curieux.

 

If the booze shows through, and I mean "alcohol" not flavors of the whiskey and wood, then that's a flaw in my book. It isn't fatal. Example: Jack's Abby barrel aged Framinghammer. It's an excellent beer that is held back by being just a touch too boozy. I find this across all variants. BCBS, with a higher abv, is less boozy. Some lesser beers are much more boozy than either.

 

The barrel aged beers I enjoy most are those that capture the depth of oak flavoring moreso than the alcohol/burn. Im talking caramel, vanilla and coconut...all those delicious nuanced characteristics that come out when a beer hits the sweet spot of aging in wet spirit barrels. If boozy alcohol burn comes with it, so be it but that depth of barrel flavor is what I enjoy most.

Some examples that immediately come to mind are:
parabola
most jackie o's darker BA beers: dark apparition, oil of aphrodite, black maple
fifty fifty eclipse series
voodoo black magick and voodoo daddy variations
sexual chocolate
event horizon
old rabbits foot

there are lots more, im having a brain fart

 

I actually enjoy both the bourbon forward and the more subtle styles equally.

 

Not a big fan of hot stouts, but I have had some of the Avery Ales that are pretty boozy and they make me wish for a cool night and a good cigar.

 

Like all my beers, I like them fresh ideally.

Sometimes they are hot in the case of barrel aged brews, sometimes they are not. The vast majority of the ones that I have had don't taste like whiskey per se, but certainly have a good amount of whiskey like character to them..

 

I'm not usually a fan of barrel aged beers (I don't enjoy the whisky /bourbon taste) but Curieux really did it well. Perfect heat level and had a really smooth flavor transition.

I also enjoyed KBS and w00tstout 2.0 ...so something along those lines for me.

 

I'll try any BA stout at least once, and agree that some are made a lot better than others. In my opinion, balance is the key. Can you taste what the barrel brought to the table along with the other flavors, or does it just dominate?

 

I really like beers like The Abyss. Barrel character is there, but it adds to the brew, doesn't overshadow it. Beers like Parabola, TO ME, kind of need age. Otherwise, they tend to be too hot. Just my opinion, but I prefer a balanced barrel aged beer.

 

Only if its 15 Years +. If not, a Splash of Spring Water or one Ice Cube is acceptable.

 

My preference is a BA stout that does not have a "hot" quality to it.

I have not extensively consumed BCBS over many years but I have noticed that the level of "hotness' has varied from year to year. I once aged a BCBS that was "hot" for a year to see if this diminished the "hotness' which it did but just a bit.

Cheers!