Reserve Ale - Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter - Cricket Hill Brewing Co.

ummswimmin

New Jersey

3.78/5  rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I really enjoy the head brewer (and I think owner) of Cricket Hill. He expresses the love of brewing/beers better than anyone else I have ever seen. I would look him up on Youtube.

I poured this into a snifter to maximize the presence of flavors in the porter and the bourbon.
My reward is a decent presence of coffee and roastiness off the top. At the edges I pick up sweetness, which I presume is from the bourbon aging.

The flavor is a little unbalanced. At the front I get the coffee and bourbon immediately and they don't play well. I still get the roast and malt on the backside.

Overall a pretty decent BBA beer. I think I will pick up another bottle to age for a year. I feel like the scores woudl improve with age.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2013 02:18:03 | More by ummswimmin

twenty5

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -7.1%

05-10-2013 17:00:30 | More by twenty5

buffcityx

New York

3/5  rDev -14.3%

04-13-2013 09:42:36 | More by buffcityx

MinorThreat

Colorado

4/5  rDev +14.3%

03-24-2013 15:16:19 | More by MinorThreat

WDJersey

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +7.1%

03-24-2013 05:36:19 | More by WDJersey

jsanford

Georgia

3.5/5  rDev 0%

02-27-2013 20:48:13 | More by jsanford

DudMan

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev 0%

02-07-2013 18:09:35 | More by DudMan

sjones5045

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev 0%

02-07-2013 03:58:36 | More by sjones5045

ScottP

New Hampshire

3/5  rDev -14.3%

01-16-2013 23:46:54 | More by ScottP

sneaks2210

New York

3.25/5  rDev -7.1%

01-09-2013 01:41:17 | More by sneaks2210

iemailjack

Florida

4/5  rDev +14.3%

01-07-2013 23:36:29 | More by iemailjack

beerman999999

New York

4.25/5  rDev +21.4%

12-30-2012 16:13:44 | More by beerman999999

magnusdave

New York

3.75/5  rDev +7.1%

12-24-2012 01:04:39 | More by magnusdave

twiggamortis420

Texas

3.48/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

22 oz bottle courtesy of lackenhauser pours a deep brown color with an airy tan head that fluffs about for a good while. Nice lace even though this one has been sitting in my fridge for about a year.

Nose is a fair amount of wood and bourbon but is surprisingly light on the malt. A bit of tobacco and fruit...overall pretty light on the aroma.

Again, it has a great wood and bourbon presence...but the malt has totally checked out of this motel. The mouthfeel is thin, obviously, but has a certain smoothness to it that is nice. This could be good, they just need to double down on the malt and get some chocolate and roast flavors to compliment the nice barrel treatment.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2012 03:00:51 | More by twiggamortis420

thegerm87

Connecticut

3/5  rDev -14.3%

11-11-2012 20:37:53 | More by thegerm87

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.18/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I'm usually a sucker for a bourbon barrel aged beer, so let's see how this one is.

Pours a slightly darker colored fluffy bubbly almost 1 finger head that fades at a med pace, nice lines of lacing, over very dark syrupy brown color, just a bit of mahogany light streaming through.

Nose brings some chalky cocoa, cocoa powder and a bit of dark chocolate, lots of wood dust, little barrel, light buttery oak, little acrid roast, hint of bourbon or a heavy booze, touch of vanilla as well. Little grassy like hops. Hint of possible sour infection setting in but that could be a light tangy aroma from the charred barrel and roast, but either way glad I didn't wait any longer to crack this.

Taste starts with bourbon juice, pure bourbon although that dies very quickly. then on to chalky cocoa powder again, it def has a dry chalky flavor and feel. Next up brings more barrel, little barrel char, some light vanilla and buttery oak, little saw dust as well, and perhaps a hint of infection setting in again but hard to tell. Next brings a bit of acrid roast and charred malt, a little tin burnt like, and hint of black patent like. Finish is chalky burn charred roast and little acrid as well, light barrel char and cocoa, vanilla, etc, somewhat dry but sticky syrupy.

mouth is med bodied, decent carb.

Overall not so great but at least decent. The barrel helped a bit I think, but the base beer doesn't seem great. I don't think there is an infection but more like acrid burnt flavors from over roasted malts and barrel char. Some bourbon juice in there is a nice addition, as well as the vanilla and buttery barrel but not too great overall.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2012 04:35:40 | More by jlindros

pjs234

Connecticut

3.5/5  rDev 0%

11-05-2012 21:41:55 | More by pjs234

Beeradelphia

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +14.3%

10-24-2012 06:22:45 | More by Beeradelphia

ONN8

New Jersey

1.75/5  rDev -50%

10-19-2012 01:31:25 | More by ONN8

CMalenda

New Jersey

2/5  rDev -42.9%

10-19-2012 01:29:54 | More by CMalenda

JohnK17

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +14.3%

10-09-2012 19:18:23 | More by JohnK17

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.28/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: Pours an opaque jet black in color with some light hints of reddish brown when held up to the light. The beer has a quarter finger tall light beige head that quickly reduces to a small patch of very thin film and a very thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light amounts of lacing are observed.

S: As this beer warms, strong aromas of bourbon come out with lighter notes of oak, vanilla, and alcohol.

T: Light flavors of roasted malts with very light notes of bourbon, vanilla, and oak. Slightly sweet upfront and minimal amounts of bitterness.

M: Light to medium bodied with light to moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly thin.

O: For a lighter thinner porter, it is tough to get the bourbon barrel aging to really come out as fully as other styles. This is a very average beer and probably did not benefit from the barrel aging.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2012 20:54:50 | More by dbrauneis

metter98

New York

3.53/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is essentially jet black in color—only the slightest traces of dark red are visible near the edges of the glass when it is held up to a bright light. It poured with a quarter finger high beige head that died down leaving a patch of bubbles on the surface and a collar around the edge of the glass.
S: As the beer warms up, light aromas of bourbon become noticeable.
T: Like the smell, the bourbon flavors in this beer take a long time to develop and really require it to warm up.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and a bit thin on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The bourbon barrel gaining definitely makes this beer a little more interesting, but it takes a lot of waiting for these to develop.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2012 13:12:57 | More by metter98

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle from recent Maine trip, glad to pick it up as an unknown. Bretty, a little sourish. A little coffee, would like more roast and hops rather than the bourbon, but I am a Canadian. Good looks as big bubbly head and lacey. Average mouthfeel. Old School porter. Overall so-so. Quaffable.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2012 04:15:56 | More by northyorksammy

billnet

Georgia

3.28/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Very dark colored with a nice tan foam. Huge bourbon aroma with a slight chocolate flavor. Bourbon comes thru on the taste but not much else. This beer goes great with a steak or grilled beef. If you like bourbon this beer is for you because thats all you get.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2012 19:31:46 | More by billnet