Separate Entries For Different Barrels?

It depends on how different the barrel is.

 

Reviews are now limited to one per brand per BA. Some brands (not limited to barrel aged) have different recipes depending on either geography or time. Some brewers recycle old brands with new formulas (say an older West Coast IPA is delete, and the name is applied to a new juicy IPA (I encountered that with Barrier Money). Another case is when a label is applied to different beers in various locations. For example Lidl's Perlenbacher Pilsner in the US is German brewed, and pretty good. The same label is used in Britain for a British brewed product that seems to get poor reviews (was Lidl sourcing to be Brexit-ready?). Maybe it's sufficient to ask that reviewers give more details from the label. When I revise a review, I try to keep some of the older review available if I suspect a change in product.

 

I voted Depends.
beer aged in barrels from different brands of the same liquor tastes pretty much the same. Beer aged in barrels from different types of liquor tastes noticeably different.

 

Now this is an interesting 'house keeping" question. If we list every vintage or batch on the breweries page, it could easily become a wall of offerings. But BA does serve as an archive of sorts, and if that is the brewers intention, sure?

That being said, listing vintages/batches is a great work around for the one review per beer policy. And if it makes pages only marginally worse to look at, I'm ok with it. Have you seen some winery lists, now that's a spreadsheet.

To expand, look at Trillium. It seems necessary to differentiate between the hops in Cutting Tiles, or fruit in Fated Farmer, and "batches" of Mettle Alloy because they have different goals for each offering. Everyone can squabble about batch variance in Affogato within the Affogato page, because the intention behind the beer is the same.

Now take 3 Fonteinen and their Zenne y Frontera, the batch differentiation plays a huge role in what's exciting about the beer, but why does that framework not carry over to Armand & Gaston? It should, but it's too late now, the page looks silly, and isn't very user friendly.

To answer your questions specifically:
BCBS single barrels should be different beers because that's what the brewer intended, and it will encourage side by sides, and engaged tastings. In the meantime maybe we as reviewers also have an obligation to qualify what we are drinking, batch#, canning date, and not diverge from the norms established on the specific page; like adding the lone single barrel selection.

 

Imo no, the volume is so low that Knob Creek, is Wild Turkey, is rye. The wetness of the barrels makes a bigger difference but I’m sure the brewers blend that out.

 

Yes, maybe my palate isn't sensitive enough to truly appreciate those subtle differences.

I'm thinking that the reviewer could simply note the barrel in the review
“this is the 2018 vintage aged in Wild Turkey barrels”
”reviewing the 2019 Old Granddad variant”

 

Same spirit just different brand (heaven hill, willett, Elijah Craig etc.)= 1 listing

Different spirit (port, rum, scotch etc.)=multiple listings

imo

 

I wholeheartedly agree.

 

For marketing purposes only.

 

Years ago Foothills In Winston Salem put Hoppyum into wet hot barrels, it was so dark it looked like an amber. Boozy as hell, tasted like a glass of beer 1/4 shot of bourbon, damn was that good shit. Tasted like an old fashioned boilermaker or depth charge. But the commercial stuff is so slightly influenced it's disappointing.

 

But distilleries not only have different specifications for their barrels, but also have a wide range of products from NA statement to 12-18yrs. Everything from cooperage and oak sourcing, stave weathering, char levels, and warehouse location, matter a great deal to the brewer looking to source a barrel for oak impact. That is if they are so lucky to even have a choice.

That "Eagle Rare" barrel is guaranteed to have held whisky for at least 10 years, "Buffalo Trace," well, rumored to be 7-9.

 

The no age statement is about demand more than anything else, they still blend the batches together using whiskies like 6 to 12 yrs. The age statement is the youngest whiskey by law in that bottling, and likely mixed in with older whiskies to meet house standards. Money.

 

But that's what I mean. If you have the opportunity to select a barrel that held bourbon for 4-8 years vs one that rested for 10+, they will be qualitatively different, and making note of the pedigree on a beer label is significant.