Bitching ‘Bout Bourbon Flavored Beer

I have had beers that I’ve felt were boozy or oaky to the point of being unbalanced and not enjoyable. For the sake of context, are there any particular beers that you have in mind, or perhaps one serious offender that prompted your posted?

 

I guess the simple answer here, and this goes for really any product, not just bourbon barrel aged beers, is this: If you find you’re not enjoying something, stop consuming it.

 

wahhhhhh wahhhhhhhhhh

 

If a brewer says it's bourbon barrel aged, rye barrel aged, Cabernet Sauvignon barrel aged, port barrel aged, Calvados barrel aged, or whatever, I fully expect to get those flavors in the beer. For me, it's a bonus if those flavors are huge and in your face. Same goes for peanut butter porters, raspberry stouts, key lime sours, and so on. They shouldn't let their mouths write checks their asses can't cash.

BTW, I love Southern Tier Crème Brûlée. YMMV.

 

$25 bottles of bourbon lol

 

Wild Turkey 101

 

Not $25 because it's a 1L bottle, but easy to find under $25 for 750ml
p.s. You Do NOT need a membership to buy alcohol at Costco if you reside in: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Texas, or Vermont

 

Good morning,
my humble thought is that the passage in cask (whatever it is) should not distort the starting base beer, but rather refine it, evolve it and give it that extra character, without however destroying its balance.
The product that loses its identity as a beer to resemble the mere previous contents of the barrel is not, in my opinion, a work that brings out the craftsmanship.
Then I believe that each of us has some trusted reference from which we can be quite sure of the product we purchase, there are breweries that have made their ability to work with barrels their specialty.
At the same time, from direct experience, I know of some products that did not properly reflect the desired standards or that had "traumas" during production which, rather than being disposed of, were placed in arrogant barrels, such as for example peated whiskeys to be "saved", perhaps by making a label that says "One shot" or "Limited Release". And in those cases it is obvious that the more the beer resembles whisky, the more the consumer is unaware of the fact that the semi-zeroing of the characteristics of the beer are actually something desired.
And maybe having tasted the whiskey a lot and having also paid a lot, he'll give you an enthusiastic review.
I believe that the passage in cask (Bourbon or other...) should be a plus element of the beer and not an element that distorts it.

 

A bottle of bourbon doesn't last a year in this house.

 

I'm a bourbon lover, so I like those beers that have the barrel character in my face. However, I've had very few that weren't also balanced enough to be able to taste the malt or whatever flavorings were added to the beer.

What does bother me are the BBA beers that are poor examples of the base beer that is used, which then ruins the modest bourbon character that is there. These experiences have all been with small breweries that haven't yet learned the art of barrel aging, but the brewery goes through the process of a 'special release' like the big boys and charge $25-$30 for something mediocre.

 

Short answer, no. BBA beers are no more likely to suck than any other beer. You can minimize flavor mishaps by reading the brewer description to see what add-junks it may have or what beer they're basing it on. You can also look at reviews on BA or untappd to get an idea if others thought it sucked. Lastly, stick with brewers you trust to do BBA right, in my case Boulevard, Prairie Artisan, and Founders.

 

*angry generic clickbait post that could have named names but has been drinking all day and needs to vent before they pass out*

 

It takes you a year to drink a bottle of bourbon?!?! Usually this website makes me feel better about my questionable drinking habits, but not in this case!

 

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

I am with you in spirit, if not in total.

For alas, I, too have fallen victim to the crass marketing ploys of the pretty new girl breweries in town, and waited in line (virtually, at least) for a chance at a $25 ~ $50 bottle, only to feel underwhelmed by the execution vis a vis the overwhelming expectation from the initial hype.

But! I learned my lesson and learned it well.

No longer do I plunk-down $25+ for a limited batch of barrel aged hype, when I can make my own at home (it ain’t cheap, but that ain’t the point) or buy some ACTUAL bourbon or rye for much less money.

In fact, I have taken to sticking to a handful of favorites when it comes to strong and barrel aged beers, and none of them have the hype factor, anymore. They’re damn-near shelf turds.

So many lessons learned in thirty plus years of beer geekery!

 

I think that because there are more bourbon barrel aged beers available today than ever before, there are more crappy bourbon barrel aged beers available today than ever before. There are also more good ones available than in the past.

It just takes a little more effort to be discriminating.

 

With very few exceptions, I don't buy BA beer off the shelves and only buy from reputable local breweries (and Side Project when money allows.) That keeps me from buying BA beers that drift too far away from the "beer" part.

The notable exceptions for when I will buy something off the shelves is when it's non-adjuncted, or at the very least, only adjuncted with coffee, maple, and/or vanilla.

 

SP currently has about $100 of BA beers on sale for $280. And that's why BBT didn't sell out this year.

Same. I only buy BA stuff direct from breweries, with the exception being Medianoche since I no longer have a proxy and it got distro to Ohio this year.

 

On a related note, I purchased a 4 pack of Founder's CBS the other day ($23.99) and found it to be so sweet! Almost cloying. I don't know if my tastes have just changed or they are adding more sweeteners than last time, but it reminded me of ST Creme Brulee.

 

gross