Regular Stout Vs Bourbon Barrel Aged Version

Yeti

 

Plead the 5th
Narwhal
Biscotti Break
Big Hugs
Hell's Black Intelligencer
Moloko

and this one might rustle some jimmies but... Abraxas

 

Surly Darkness was the first one to come to mind. Great Lakes Blackout Stout is better than its barrel-aged counterpart as well. Same goes for Sexual Chocolate

I would say FBS and FIS are both better than KBS, which they are, but none of them share a base beer, so it's irrelevant.

I have heard that Imperial Stout Trooper is better without the barrels, but as I've had neither, I cannot speak to the validity of that.

 

I love stout.

I love bourbon.

Stout aged in bourbon barrels is terrible.

 

FIS and FBS. Not a huge fan of Ten Fidy, its merly ok to me. I will have it on draft but can never justify the price when FBS, FIS, and Ivan the Terrible are all significantly cheaper.

 

You should really try the BA version. I love Ten Fidy and have some in the fridge, but the BA version is incredible. It takes it to a new level of awesomeness. Definitely one of the best BA beers I've ever had.

 

I much prefer reg. Old Rasputin over its BA bretheren

 

Old Rasputin and blackout stout like the regular better

 

BA is akin to covering your steak in ketchup.

 

I don't know...like 'em both, but I thought the BA Old Rasputin XIV was pretty damn good.

 

I have always liked the standard Hoppin' Frog BORIS the Crusher better than the barrel-aged version.

I did not like barrel-aged Old Rasputin as much as Old Rasputin when I tried it, but I might have had a bad bottle so I'm willing to try it again someday.

 

I believe the Weyerbacher's Old Heathen is much better than it's bourbon barrel-aged brother Heresy. Old Heathen is a fantastic RIS, where Heresy is way too harsh in bourbon flavors. At least to my palate.

 

I wonder if barrel aging started because the original was flawed in some way... "Hey, this stout isn't as good as we had hoped! What do we do?" (eyes Bourbon barrels)

 

Personally, I don't think you can get much better than a well-crafted barrel-aged stout. That being said, not all beers need to be barrel aged. I do like seeing the one time releases of a brewery trying to barrel age their stouts, but I don't find that all stouts need it. In fact, some don't work well with age. Feel free to try it out for a limited time release, and if it tastes better than the original, mass produce it. The barrel is for enhancing flavors, it shouldn't be purely for the novelty of it (which appears is growing in popularity).

 

I had a freshly tapped version with a Breckenridge barrel... I don't claim all are the same, but I mostly got hints of soy sauce.

 

These two immediately came to mind:
Dark Horse Plead the 5th
DDC Peche Mortel

 

This is one of the few that I completely disagree with. BA Biscotti may be the best beer I've ever had... Though that may have a bit to do with cellaring as I have only had one (so far).

 

Since there has already been a couple of comparisons, lets go ahead and throw this out there...

KBS is NOT BA FIS. KBS is NOT BA FBS. This ends the public service announcement.

 

Heresy, off with your heads!!!

 

Perennial sump was much better as barrel aged sump