Sierra Nevada - Barrel-Aged Narwhal

After seeing all these prices I'm starting to think I should've bought more than two up in Portland seeing as how they were under $13. Meanwhile, I haven't even seen any near me.

 

You did remember to put the Bigfoot in the barrels that previously contained the Narwhal, correct?

 

I'll be honest, I liked this but didn't love it. Definitely not worth the $25 I paid for it but glad I tried it.

 

Great idea... But with the Narwhal just getting bottled and the Bigfoot due to come out in early 2015, that isn't nearly enough contact time. Instead - Hopefully, they put some SNBCo Porter with vanilla beans and cocoa nibs in those empty Narwhal barrels for a limited release at their gift shops in late 2015.

 

I picked up a bottle today at Liquor Shed. Just under $20. I'll check it out tomorrow for NBS

 

26 bucks at Texas Wine & Spirits in Carlsbad

 

i was pretty unimpressed with this, i thought the alcohol taste took more then it added from the original narwhal, which i think is much better, not saying its bad but for the price i paid i was pretty disappointed.

 

I cannot find this yet in the Southeast Massachusetts area. Anyone else have luck where I am?!?

 

I'm really surprised at the variance in price...I'm seeing reports of $13 all the way to $25 for a bottle. I imagine this is all distributor mark up as well as retail mark up, but knowing how the Alchemist likes to be sure that authorized retailers sell Heady at the same low price, I wonder what Sierra Nevada thinks of their customers paying widely different prices only based on where they live.

 

Not very good

 

I just paid 24.99 for a bottle here in TX at a smaller retailer just to say I've tried. No matter how good it is, I can't justify buying more - but willing to this 1x. I would hope/expect that the big box retailers sell for $18-$20.

Of course, I say this and paid up, but there won't be future purchases. What's crazy is the rest of the SN stuff is all extremely well priced. Ehhh, whatever...

 

Wow, that's steep for SoCal.

 

This release came and went in a flash a few weeks ago in NC (Durham area). EVERY place near me that got some sold out within a day and I had no chance, so I had totally missed out. Then, last night, I was at Total Wine, and there on the shelf, was a single bottle. It was so beautiful, it seemed to have a heavenly glow. I grabbed that miracle and it now has a home in my cabinet.

 

assuming their online inventory is correct, they have more.

 

How is this BA holding up against BCBS and KBS?

 

@sierranevadabill I picked up 2 and opened one last night and... wow... I'm very impressed! It was exceptional. I rated it at 4.75/5 and I can only see it getting better with some age. Just curious, what brand of bourbon were the barrels?

 

"Aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels."

 

I Finally got 2 bottles last night at a Brooklyn bar/bottle shop cost me $25 a bottle + tax.

 

@mingo Right, but I'm asking which brand.

 

Decent by MA standards. All you have to do is spend a few minutes in these forums to see how badly we are getting F'd. Don't blame SN for a $20 price...blame the nanny state government.

 

I just looked. Interesting. I wonder if they made a mistake though, because they show the regular Narwhal as limited, but they had a shit ton of that.

 

I ordered a case in Thursday and still have a few bottles on shelf. Pretty shocked it hasn't sold out so I may buy them myself. I'll get to try it tonight with a tasting group and expect big things, any BA beer that gains 2.4% ABV from the barrel has to be tasty.

 

Does this beer really even exist?

 

I hate to quote my own post but I just realized you already answered this question earlier on in the thread. One more question @sierranevadabill

How long did this spend in barrels? Last question, I swear lol

 

Yes, I saw bottles at Riverside Liquors on Rt. 26 just outside Frederick. $16.99 I believe was the listing price on the shelf. They had at least 3-4 bottles on shelf plus a case unopened. Cost you about $18-$19 after MD sin taxes.

 

Total Wine in Durham and Raleigh had the BA Narwhal for ~$20 a bottle... I only got 1.. But they seemed to have plenty of it.

 

Probably a number of different barrels, or if it's all the same barrel, the bourbon is not going to be top shelf. In both cases, that's why breweries tend to not advertise, unless it's a really small batch made in the very few top shelf barrels someone could obtain.

 

I picked up 3 of these a few days ago at $20. It is an awesome beer that takes Narwhal to the next level with subtle hints of bourbon and a nice dark chocolate flavor

 

Most of it seems worthy of mentioning in my opinion. Plenty of other breweries (Firestone Walker, Ballast Point, etc...) list the brand of barrel and in some cases the bourbon brand is much cheaper than what was used for the BA Narwhal.

From @sierranevadabill earlier in the thread: "In this case, Narwhal was aged in fresh bourbon barrels (a combination of Willett single barrel, Heaven Hill and various Beam brands)"

 

Unless it is a single brand, and unless we have an agreement with the distiller, we tend not to advertise (or list on packaging) what brands are used for our barrel aging. In most cases, we don't have licensing agreements with the distilleries, so we feel funny about using their brands to advertise our products.

This hasn't actually been publicized much, but I expect there to be some trademark disputes in the near future with breweries doing exactly this. Over he years, I've had the opportunity to get to know distillers from all over Kentucky and the larger U.S. and a bunch of them are unhappy about the number of breweries listing their brands on the package. Specifically the very high-end makers. Out of respect for that, we don't do it. Again, unless we have an agreement.

-Bill

 

This batch of Narwhal went into barrels January 23rd, 2014 so it spent just over 8 months aging time prior to bottling.

 

I'd put it on par with KBS, maybe slightly under. Doesn't come close to bourbon county. It wasn't bad but not worth the price.

 

Just gotta know where to look. I bought my 2 for $20.99 each.

 

That is kind of shocking. I would have expected most ATL bottle shops to sell right out. At any rate, I enjoyed this one quite a bit. The barrel treatment was kind of subtle, and the beer still led with immense maltiness. In other words, I smelled the bourbon more than I tasted it, which I actually appreciated. The ABV was anything but subtle, however. Powerful beer.

 

Which is probably smart on Sierra Nevada's part, which doesn't surprise me at all.

Which was just right, IMHO. Outstanding result.

 

Picked up some at the place in Frederick that the other guy mentioned. Plenty left on shelves for $15.99 pre tax. Looking forward to trying it!

 

And not to hijack this thread but I saw someone mentioning the BA Bigfoot ll be released soon. Any idea when we ll see it on shelves? @sierrnevadabill

 

Thanks! Thanks also for your response about the barrel brands. That makes sense and I guess certain breweries that advertise may have deals with the distillers, or are small enough to where the distillers/brands might not care.

 

The release is scheduled for Late January / Early February 2015.