Nickel Brook Old Kentucky Bastard (Bourbon Barrel Aged Bolshevik Bastard) - Better Bitters Brewing Co.

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

3.3/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle from the brewery. Poured in to tulip.

A - Poured deep black with one finger of dark cocoa brown head. Good retention.

S - Heavy roast aroma up front with some chocolate. The barrel attributes are very muted in the nose with only a touch of bourbon and vanilla present. The barrel is very much secondary in the nose.

T - Heavy oak flavour up front with an astringency accompanying it that is off-putting at first but eventually becomes less noticeable (although still present). Bourbon is subdued but is present with a hint of vanilla also coming though. The base beer is well integrated with the barrel, adding roast, chocolate, char and a touch of coffee.

M - Medium, almost full body with a massive chew. Silky smooth. Light carbonation.

O - I expected this to be a bourbon bomb after having the Pinot Noir barrel version that tasted more like a wine than a beer. But this was the opposite. Unfortunately, the biggest component of the barrel that came through was an astringent oaky flavour that was distracting throughout.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 14:39:09 | More by TheSevenDuffs

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.55/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

On cask at Volo. Dark and below middling mouthfeel. Chocolate, roast, and woody from the barreling. Glad it wasn’t substantive bourbon. On the flip side it looks like they kept this to pleasing more people and not going to any extreme of passion in making it. Might be livelier on tap, less watery in the bottle. Drinkable but a fair IS at best.

Serving type: cask

01-04-2013 03:39:31 | More by northyorksammy

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

3.6/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5

On cask at C'est What, into a full pint glass to the dome.

Almost black body with a deep brown head, rocky retention and good lacing. Nose of brown sugar, oak, vanilla, bruised banana. Bourbon isn't overt. Taste has chocolate, brown sugar, caramelized bananas, watery bourbon, oak and sweet malts. Heat on the back end with roast into the finish. Sweetness is almost overwhelming. Medium full feel, low carbonation which feels appropriate for the beer. Odd flavours, and not really what I look for in the style. Wasn't confident the base beer was a good candidate for barrels to begin with.

Serving type: cask

01-17-2013 17:13:06 | More by liamt07

jrenihan

Ontario (Canada)

3.78/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Beer is black with a smallish tan head that fades fairly quickly. Good lacing.

From the smell, this has obviously spent some time in a barrel. Bourbon, vanilla and oak. Somewhat sweet.

Bourbon is quite strong in the flavour, along with a lot of oak and vanilla. Roasted malt, some anise. The stout flavours are a little obscured, but not to the extent of the Winey Bastard.

Full bodied, though not overly heavy. Slick, quite smooth. Low to moderate carbonation.

Overall, pretty decent. Not being a huge fan of the base beer on its own, I think this is an improvement on it.

Serving type: on-tap

01-12-2013 21:43:27 | More by jrenihan

peensteen

Ontario (Canada)

3.78/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Deep brown-near black colour, ring of tan head with no lace to speak of here. Smell has a good deal of roast and chocolate, fudge, bourbon is quite light but leaves behind quite a bit of vanilla, oak, fudge and banana which was quite odd actually. Taste is a little more bourbon forward but still rather subtle, vanilla, oak, chocolate, roast malt, moderate sweetness, caramel and maybe a hint of banana but not as present as in the nose. Lightly carbonated, full syrupy feel, quite a nice body here. This was pretty good but not all that memorable, I would certainly revisit this though if I saw this again.

Serving type: cask

02-07-2013 14:52:34 | More by peensteen