I wanted to create a post to find out what exactly reviewers mean when talking about tasting the barrel. Specifically, I see that a reviewer say they didn't taste the bourbon, then I look above at beer notes and the beer was aged in rye whiskey barrels. I immediately think, well, that's why you didn't taste it. But my knowledge of bourbon and rye whiskey is not good. I basically know Perennial's BA Abraxas, Side Project's The Origin are aged in rye whiskey barrels, opposed to BCBS is aged in bourbon barrels. Let me know what you know.
This might be a good starting point, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rye_whiskey#Differences_between_rye_and_bourbon, at least in terms of identifying how the booze that once occupied the barrel might affect any subsequent liquids that are aged within it. Since the difference between the actual whiskeys is pretty subtle, I can't help but wonder if the difference will be terribly detectable by the time you get to the finished beer. It seems like you'd get more flavor profiles from the barrel itself--oak, vanilla, tannins, etc.--than you would from the booze that was aged in the barrel, but I'd love to hear the answer from someone who's had more extensive personal experience than me. I've had several bourbon BA beers, but only one rye BA beer, The Bruery Smoking Wood. And it was such an intense and unforgiving beer that detecting subtle differences between rye whiskey barrels and bourbon whiskey barrels seemed all but impossible.
Most barrel-aged beers supposedly are second use finished products, but some bourbon barrel beers seem more intense (BCBS for one) than others (Dragon's Milk) for some reason as far as the bourbon flavor being being so noticeable. I've always felt that the bourbon flavor is so unique that you can't compare it with other liquor's barrel-aged beers. If I had to quantify it I say that bourbon flavor is 4 times more noticeable than other liquor flavors if it's BCBS, but only 2-3 times more noticeable the comparison is with some other bourbon beers. My point is that the intensity of the liquor from one barrel to the next (or from one type of liquor to the next) may mask the barrel's characteristics for tasting the tannins, the vanillas, etc.
Since most bourbon has quite a bit of rye in it anyway, I don't think you would be able to tell the difference most of the time. But I've never had a side by side of one beer released in two different barreled versions so I can't really say for sure.
And quite frankly I think most people greatly exaggerate the effect the barrel usually has. Most barreled beers, the whiskey completely overpowers the wood flavors. You really need 3rd or even 4th use barrels to get the most wood flavor in a barreled beer (one of the reasons King Henry was so good).
Hmm good question.. for what it's worth, the rittenhouse rye eclipse was my favorite of the series that I've had
You'll never be able to tell the difference by simply tasting beers one-by-one aged in different barrels. One option is to work through some horizontals of the same base beers aged in different barrels (like the Eclipse or Bois series). But I think the best method is to go directly to the spirits: drink through some ryes and bourbons, and then come back and try the associated beers. (Going to a bar with a good whiskey selection is probably more efficient than buying whole bottles of good whiskey, but it depends on your preference.) It's substantially easier to learn it that way. Otherwise it's hard to separate out what components are contributing what flavors to the aroma/taste.
Eclipse might be a good side by side. As they use Rye and Bourbon from the same base beer. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14936/55065/ http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14936/64055
If you truly want to grasp the difference between the two barrels, I'd recommend buying a good rye whiskey and bourbon. Drink those two neat side by side (Rye should be a bit spicier where as the bourbon will be slightly sweet with a lot of vanilla and oak taste). Once you have a good idea of what those two profiles of, picking up the barrel taste in the beer is hella easy. Like a few people recommended, do a side by side of the two types of beer from the same family (I.e. Eclipse, Bois, Gentleman's Club... actually dont to GC those beers are overpriced trash)
I suggest, instead of drinking beer to unearth the subtleties of whiskey, to actually drink some of the spirits in question. A side-by-side of Bulleit Rye and Bulleit Bourbon would be an interesting exercise. Both are affordable and easy to find.
A local brewery, Tyranena, had it's Double Stout aged in both Rye Whisky barrels, and Bourbon barrels. I tried both and thought the Rye was a bit better, but it was only available on tap. I honestly can't say that I could notice the difference of the barrels that were used.
The difference is the whisk(e)y IN the barrel, not so much the barrel itself. Bourbon as opposed to rye whisk(e)y is generally sweeter with more caramel, vanilla, butterscotch tones. Rye whiskies are generally (IMO) more fruity, sometimes also considerably more drier, but then it's also a question of well are you talking straight or blended (such as Canadian). But it all depends on the mash bill of a whiskey also. Translating this for beer is not that simple IMO. You can take 2 rye barreled beers of the same style and they can be very different in the final product. Same with a bourbon aged one. There's so much going on and so much up to a brewery's creation that you can just easily point and say... oh yeah this is from a bourbon barrel, and this is a rye. Whiskies themselves are complex creations in their own right. Barrel charring, mash bill particularly, aging etc... so you add then brewing to that and it becomes even more complicated. But then that's half the fun, cause when it's done well it's a fantastic experience.
I'm Bourbon lover, and even between Bourbons there is a huge diffrence. Some are sweet, some a little rough, some vanilla. They are aged differently as well. I would expect a 12 yr old to be smoother with more barrel than a 9. Rye usually isn't aged all that long in general, something like 6ys, and I would expect less sweet a little sharper hit to the rye. In a beer I don't see how you could tell to be honest, even how hot the barrels are is huge, 2nd use etc.
