What to expect with Barrel Aged Beers.

In general there's a lot more booziness on the palate. You also pick up tastes that are associated with the type of barrels they were stored in. I.E. Oak flavors or more charred flavors. And liking the bourbon it is associated with helps tremendously. Think of it as a much bigger RIS. Aging them also helps integrate the flavors the way a smooth RIS does.

 

oak usually adds this characteristic vanilla / coconut-like flavor, and sometimes (rarely) a slight char flavor (the latter i know more from people describing it than really tasting it). in some of the better barrel aged beers (BCBS for example), all sorts of ridiculous pastry shop flavors come from the barrel aging. say what you want about goose island in other respects, but they're wizards with barrels.

edit: p.s. occasionally barrel aging adds bourbon flavor from residual bourbon (or whatever spirit) in the barrel. other times, it seems like it's adding bourbon flavor since you might recognize oak notes also present in bourbon--but that's not bourbon flavor, that's a flavor that bourbon and beer both get the same way (exposure to oak).

 

I agree, but feel the charred flavoring is readily apparent if you drink bourbons and scotches regularly. It is sometimes rather difficult to discern which exact bourbon was used, but not impossible. And the descriptor Coconut is noticeable is say, Sucaba.

Not being a fan of peat, I'm glad that the US breweries haven't ventured forth into this as much as their British counterparts.

 

Barrel-aging adds to the complexity (careful, some BA beers can lose out because of this). Parabola does not fall into the category of losing out, though. A good way to see exactly what is added is to do a side-by-side with a beer that has a non-aged release. Here are some that are available in both barrel-aged and non (and do not require you to trade your cellar to obtain them):

Dark Horse Plead the Fifth and BA Plead the Fifth
Central Waters Satin Solstice and Bourbon Barrel Stout (probably the easiest to obtain, since both are available off the shelf for a couple weeks, minimum).
Great Lakes Blackout Stout and Barrel-Aged Blackout Stout

There are plenty others that have both (Dark Lord, Hunahpu's, Zhukov, Sexual Chocolate, etc), but the asking price is generally high due to the lack of distro/production.

 

I can tell you from experience that Firestone's barrel aging is known to impart a good amount of that coconut flavor in particular, and over time it mellows into a vanilla/cream taste and the tannins become more pronounced imo. Parabola is one of the best BA beers out there and the bourbon doesn't dominate. The type of wood makes a huge difference, and some give a more peppery or charred character. If you want to really get a sense of wood flavors try Palo Santo Marron, it's wood fermented and aged shortly, and you can really tell when it's fresh.

 

Well, if you're about to try Parabola, you can expect just about the best RIS out there. As others have said, it has some roasted coconut flavors, also vanilla and coffee. It has a very intense almost baking chocolate character too.

Shit, now I need to find this year's Parabola SOON!

 

BA RIS is my favorite style of beer. It blurs the line between a beer and a spirit for me. It has the complexity of the initial stout, but sometimes with a little more heat and booziness like a spirit. Nothing beats sitting back at the end of a hard day or week and sipping on some parabola or uncle jacobs.

 

I feel like a straight RIS is bitter (either from hops or bitter chocolate), and BA only smooths them out. Thats why Im kind of excited for BA Sexual Chocolate. Hoping it mellows out the unbalanced bitterness of Sexual Chocolate. It can go too far and pick up too much booze like BA Siberian Night did. When they mesh well (like Great Lakes Blackout and The Abyss), look out. Its a thing of beauty.

 

Hi ray,

I'm not sure what you mean by a normal RIS.

I've found there are 3 types of RIS:

• The classic type, which can be nasty.
• The Samuel Smith type, which makes the classic type more palatable but still a little nasty.
• The American type.

The Americans, typically, have taken RIS down the path of "experimental platform".

I'd like to suggest buying a bottle of Samuel Smith Imperial Stout (16.9 oz, 7% ABV, ~$5) and a bottle of the classic type. I think Courage makes a classic, I don't recall offhand. Also buy an American type which hasn't been barrel-aged. Then you'll have 4 different takes on RIS. Drink them all over a few days, compare, and report. I'd be interested in your findings.

Enjoy, KP.

 

Aside from the flavor differences (which are well-described in the previous posts), there are also differences in aroma and appearance.

The aroma will still have the nice roasty notes like coffee and chocolate, but will also pick up oaky, woody, vanilla-like notes. Perhaps even some coconut. If it's in a bourbon barrel for a good while, expect some bourbon notes.

The appearance may also differ. Unless they get refermented in the bottle, beers that have been barrel-aged will generally have very little head in the glass. I always keep this in mind when rating barrel-aged beers so that I don't downgrade their appearance unfairly.

 

Knowledge is power but developing your own opinion is far more valuable. If you go into a new beer with preconceived notions you may find yourself looking for these trademarks that others have mentioned and miss out on what your palate is really picking up. Just my opinion.

 

kind of a 2 way street. reviews (or threads like these) can bring up placebo and obscure other things, but they can also help clarify the muddle that you're tasting when things are very unfamiliar. that said, i agree that this thread is probably more likely to do the former.

 

Hmm IMO your opinion is always so general, just my opinion

 

Expect to pay a lot more for a beer that is usually not much better than a non barrel aged version of the same style. Parabola is quite unique though, lots of vanilla which is great.

 

Always with the common sense and logical answer. Jeez! No wonder you were BA of the Year. Campaigning hard for year 2 huh?

Cheers!

 

Those that I've tried had too much barrel flavor for my taste. The barrel overwhelmed the beer flavor.