903 Sasquatch Aged in Balcones Barrels

Tried a bottle this past weekend. Got nice vanilla and oaky notes and some sweetness considering its a milk stout. However the roastiness of the malt was a bit overpowering especially on the back end. Mouthfeel was a bit thin as well IMO. Heard they aged these in small balcones barrels and there is a variation even bottle to bottle. Worth a try.

 

I am going to pick up a bottle if I see it.

 

Sounds worth a try, assuming it isn't ridiculously priced.

 

You can buy a single can of the base beer at TW for $2 and it's a decent milk stout. The BA version did not warrant a $14-15 price tag in my experience.

The label does not state exactly how long it sat in the wood, but those flavors are very light and I'd agree with the earlier poster that said it was a bit thin. I don't think aging it will do much to change the character, but what do I know.

I had high hopes for this.

 

I didn't like this batch. The first batch was pretty good but used different barrels - I think they were bourbon actually? This newest batch was almost a drain pour. Not a stuck-up beer snob kind of drain pour but a this isn't a good beer kind of drain pour. The smokey whiskey and sweet milk stout did not meld together very well. It was almost like pouring your own whiskey into a glass of milk stout, just no cohesion or balance. Even though the first batch was pretty tasty this beer in general isn't tasty enough to warrant the price for me now and going forward, especially with the other ba stouts sitting on shelves.

I hope others have a better experience though. Lots of people seem to love it.

 

I enjoyed it but not enough to buy more at its price

 

I agree. It was good but I was expecting better. Lower ur expectations and its a nice chocolatey whiskey sweet stout

 

I like balcones, but not a fan of baby blue. I can imagine the cornchip-like nature of that bourbon not melding well with the milk stout.

 

do it and report back.

 

I've heard that Baby Blue was super corny but that description makes me never want to try it. I have a bottle of Rumble at the house and LOVE it.

 

I appreciate your thoughtful response.

 

Balcones employee here: Baby Blue is made up of a blend of barrels from about 6 months to about a year on average with some being occasionally older. The whisky time in the barrel versus beer time in the barrel brings up an interesting continuum as more whisky time would bring the barrel more whisky flavor but then the trade off is inherently less oak/char flavor as the whisky would have taken with it more of those wood sugars. Barrel aging is a wacky thing and every combination or base beer that we see with one of our barrels is always a learning experience for both parties.

Hit me up if you're a homebrewer interested in barrels!

 

"Super corny" is one way of putting it, but we like to mention that the younger age of this particular spirit lets some of the brighter, sweet-roasted-corn notes pop through instead of the standard oak and char profile of an aged bourbon. The best way is to taste Baby alongside True Blue 100 and True Blue Cask to get a good feel for where the oak and corn trade off exists in our product offerings.

As this is "BeerAdvocate" I'll stop the whisky talk now. Cheers!

 

Man, I love your products and would love to do the aforementioned side by side! I actually have been chastised for WANTING a bottle of Baby Blue going in blind. Thanks for putting out an amazing product.

 

That review makes it sound fantastic! I can't wait to taste one!