I recently just received what is supposed to be a 100% Rye Whiskey BA Papier(http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16866/50668) in a trade. It looks just like the bottle pictured on the profile with the perfect silver wax and everything. The only question I have is the label doesn't say anything about being barrel aged, and it has the same label as my regular Papier. Says its 14.5%, 75% oak aged ale/25% ale aged in bourbon barrel, and the bottle number is #0622 of 4777. Is this what the label of all BA Papiers say and they are just specified by the waxing? Any one have any insight on this, I would really appreciate it! Thanks in advance! Cheers!
Looks like you got screwed. Weren't there only supposed to be like 150 bottles or something? The "75% oak aged ale/25% ale aged in bourbon barrel" might also give it away...
The 100% BA versions were all higher in ABV, because they were 100% barrel-aged (and hence picked up more alcohol). The Bruery didn't want to pay for extra label approvals for the 100% BA versions as they were tiny batches (~150 bottles) so they used the regular Papier label but added different wax colors to distinguish the variants. They also came in paper (get it, Papier?) boxes. If you've got the Silver Wax it's legit, unless you think your trade partner meticulously scraped off a ton of black wax and re-waxed it in silver. The bottle #s were lower but pretty random IIRC.
I appreciate all of info so far! Anyone else have info or maybe pictures of their bottles, I would greatly appreciate it! Just don't want to get screwed here. I'll try to write the Bruery tomorrow as well.
Makes sense about not wanting to get a new label approval. It looks super clean and just like the ones on the BA and RB profile. I don't know! Anyone have one they could snap a pic of?
Only outward difference between the BA and regular variants is the wax and the special packaging. The labels are the same. I believe that the BA variants were the lower numbered bottles, and #0622 sounds about right for BA Papier.
The labels are the same for every variant. The color of the wax and the labels on the box differentiate them. Don't waste your time writing to The Bruery because that is the answer. A lot of the early -bal releases used the same labels as the regular releases except with a sticker on the back that said "100% Barrel Aged" as well. Autumn Maple and Partridge come to mind there. Edit--the sticker is not on Papier--it has the items above.
I didn't get a box with mine and there is no separate sticker on mine either. I get the stickers were the same, was wondering if anyone had like a number break down for the variants.
Sorry, the Papier just has the box and the wax colors. The sticker is for other beers that don't have those things. I've never seen a "number break down" for any of the variants. I just looked up my bottles and found the following. Bourbon #287 Brandy #669 #2401 Rye #562 #573
I think mine was something like 52-, so you're probably good. I honestly wouldn't worry about it, although I was at first as well.
