Barrel Aging: Bourbon or Rum?

Saint Arnold Bishop Barrel #8 was Pumpkinator in Appleton Rum barrels and it was fantastic.
Clown Shoes Hammer of the Holy was good, but I didn't pick much of the rum barrel.

 

Rumpkin was insanely hot and sweet. Aging for a good while could make a huge difference that would be very interesting to taste.

 

I got a Rum King from @AdmiralOzone I'm really excited to try it now. I've never had a rum barrel beer I see that Innis beer all the time but the clear bottles scare me away.

 

I'm guessing the base beer is going to matter more when aged in rum barrels. But I, too, have been loving the rum barrel stouts lately. The rum impact seems to be smoother and sweeter. My favorite examples would be Rum King, Rarer Dos and Ten Fidy (limited keg only find).

 

IMO it all depends on the base beer, like @FourBetter said. With this whole BA craze people are throwing anything into any barrel just to say they barrel age. Tequilla, Rum, Bourbon, Wine, etc etc etc....

 

I've found that I like rum and bourbon barrel aged beers...for about the first 6 ounces. More than that usually is just too much for me. For example, I had an 8-ounce pour of BCBW that was more than enough for me (although I did finish it, don't worry). Even the oak-aged Founders Old Curmudgeon I had last night was awesome at first but it took me a long time to finish it off. Now a nice wine barrel aged Belgian sour, I can drink that all day long...

 

IMO, rum adds sweetness and (usually) fire, but not the same depth of flavor from the wood.

 

Let me know what you think of that Rum King. I heard mix feelings...well the inner dialogues were on the lines of me not liking Pumking, so I stayed away from Rum King.

 

I just went out and picked up Hammer of the Holy.
It will be my first rum barrel aged beer.
I will be cracking it open tonight!

Cheers

 

Well, I'm partial to rye whiskey barrel aged beers, but from the choices given, I guess I'd say bourbon.

I've had three rum barrel beers I've really liked: 1) Red Brick 21st Anniversary Dark Saison, 2) Pirate Bomb! and 3) Sucre. The rest range from unimpressive to bad. The list of bourbon barrel beers that I've really liked is much longer. Although in fairness, I've had far more beers aged in bourbon barrels than rum barrels, so the sample size isn't exactly fair.

 

I definitely love the RUM barrel aged beeer better, but not sure if its because its harder to come by a RUM stout that I appreciate it more.

 

I have to agree with @smakawhat . I even think tequilla is a better choice than rum but my preference is whiskey and wine barrels. The only beer that I liked very much that was aged in rum barrels was from two roads, their roadsmary's baby.

 

Give me Rum or give me death

 

Definitely prefer wine and tequila barrels for aging than rum.. yes I agree! Some great examples of those, although in all fairness there is more of them I would say than rum barrels...

I dig that Agave Maria from Lost Abbey, and Hues from Mikkeller

 

In my experience, I've enjoyed only a few rum barrel aged beers. The rum character imparts too much sweetness for my taste. Bourbon barrels are usually nice, too, but I've had a couple of bad experiences with a couple of bottles.

Rye or whisky barrels, though. I've not had a bad beer coming off whisky or rye.

 

I feel like this happens with almost every beer I buy.

 

I had regular and bourbon the other day and they were the biggest letdowns...is rum any better?

 

I love rum barrel aged beers. That being said, I love rum. 3rd year beer from Revolution is awesome if you can get your hands on it.