Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter - Barley Island Brewing Company

BAbaracus

Texas

3.8/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pitch black pour with Dr. Pepper edges; no discernable carbonation, minimal head that dissipates quickly but leaves 1/4-finger foam. Lace settles quickly back down into head. Cinnamon, molasses, brown sugar, toffee, coffee, hint of chocolate in the nose. Would rate higher except for faint whiff of medicinal aroma. Mouth is chewy, aerated. Chocolate and roast coffee up front on the tongue, slightly bitter malt/hops, brown sugar at finish with slight intionations of bourbon. Seems well blended overall if a tiny bit shrill on the back end. Has a minor tart aftertaste that I could do without (hard water used?). Otherwise pretty well done. I imagine a cask conditioned sample direct from the brewery (if available) would hit the spot.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2006 20:11:08 | More by BAbaracus

hopdog

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle acquired in trade with atpayne (thanks!).

***When I opened this one, a foaming tan head came gently rushing out of the bottle.***

Poured a dark brown color with a large sized off white head. Aromas of bourbon, whisky, light vanilla and wood. Tastes of whisky, bourbon, light coffee, and light chocolates. Lively and somewhat over carbonated body for my tastes. I was really looking forward to this one as I am somewhat of a sucker for barrel aged beers but found this to be somewhat of a let down.

Notes from 7/8/05

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2008 01:20:02 | More by hopdog

weeare138

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to hopdog for throwing me this requested bone...
Appears a dark mahogany brown bordering black with a 3 finger tan head that slowly fades out. Spotty lacing is left behind.
Smell is slightly tart, with black grapes, raisins, roasted nuts, dust, and light American Oak, along with mild cocoa...where's the bourbon I was hoping for???
Taste is of black grapes, raisins, nuts, and cocoa without anything complex going on. If I dig deeper, there are hints of cola and a touch of vanilla and caramel.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a light sweetness highlighted with vanilla cream, and cocoa sticking to the tongue. Semi-dry finish.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2006 21:02:16 | More by weeare138

HardTarget

Texas

2.63/5  rDev -23.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Aroma: Strong bourbon nose, burning alcohol and wood. Smells like bourbon and water.

Appearance: Brown amber glass shows a ruby edge and a good cover of tan that left some clumpy lace.

Flavor: Bourbon! Too much bourbon. BUR-BON. Some wood, very little in the way of “porter” or really “beer”.

Mouthfeel: Rich sticky texture, fizzy carbonation, medium body.

Overall Impression: Just not for me. Too much bourbon (as you might have guessed), too little beer. Maybe this just needs to age out for a decade or so, or I’m not enough of a bourbon drinker (I do enjoy the occasional nip).
Thanks to Rick and Betty for the hand carried bottle from the heartland.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2006 16:59:06 | More by HardTarget

Pegasus

Texas

4/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Massive tan head tops a clear deep ruby body, the lacing is abundant, there is fairly profuse carbonation as well.

Aroma: Profound bourbon or whiskey aroma, with notes of wood caramel, molasses and alcohol.

Taste: Profound notes of chocolate and coffee at the open. Midway through the taste, herbal hop notes manifest, with a spicy, woody bourbon undercurrent. Finishes with lingering citrus hop notes, a woody twang, and slight alcohol.

Mouth feel: Smooth, soft, and full, quite pleasing.

Drinkability/notes: While the porter characteristics are a bit overwhelmed by the bourbon and wood notes, this is still quite intruiging. Would be pleasing as an apertif or after dinner selection and especially in cold weather.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2006 02:49:08 | More by Pegasus

Jredner

Florida

3.8/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Chocolate malt and lots of oak in the aroma. Extremely woody smelling. Deep black with a huge mocha head. Fore is again quite oaky and runs through all flavor ranges along with a smooth chocolate flavor and hints of vanilla, cream and bourbon. Finish leaves a ligering cream/wood melange.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2006 19:20:34 | More by Jredner

shbobdb

Indiana

4.05/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Does anyone here remember Ol' Dread? 3F's Dreadnaught aged in Ol' Grandpa barrel? See, that was a case of GOOD BEER mixed with BAD BOURBON.
While this particular offering isn't exatically the polar opposite, it is the BA spiritual opposite of MEDIOCRE BEER mixed with EXCELLENT BOURBON. Mmmmm, Buffalo trace.
The porter itself is light for a porter. Thin in mouthfeel, a pinch of chocolate, and that's it. Actually, I could really see digging this beer, I could see sessioning it, if I were wont to session porters. But we don't live in a world hobbled by mule transportation, so I'll never need to. Instead, I'll view porters as an occasional treat where one of them is enough.
But, this session style porter is perfect for blending with buffalo trace. The two mingle perfectly, the carbonation works well with the bourbon flavours, and the crisp, chocolatey backbone blocks out the lingering pain of a bourbon aftertaste. They compliment eachother well.
As a lover of both bourbon and beer, I gotta say this rocks. I want to try their porter. Never though of the style as terribly sessionable, but they managed it. The bourbon works with this. Tastey, tastey, tastey.

But . . . . at the end of the day, this beer leaves me longing for a bell's porter and a finger-or-two of buffalo trace. It is a sum of its parts, no more, no less.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2006 21:07:34 | More by shbobdb

meathookjones

Virginia

2.33/5  rDev -32.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

Reviewed from notes taken on 1/12/05 from a 22oz bottle. This has a huge head that erupts and takes a bit of effort to pour. Body is dark brown with a tall tan head that dies quickly leaving little lace. Roastiness and smokiness seem to dominate the aroma to an unpleasant degree. Not much sign of a porter under all that. Quite a bit of woodiness was present as well. The taste was quite similar with roastiness being the only taste that wasn’t woody or an off flavor. I am guessing this beer was really ravaged by the bourbon barreling. Mouthfeel is quite fizzy and this was very hard to drink. I basically had to chug the second half to keep from dumping it. Thanks goes to quarre as the Secret Santa for the sample.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2005 19:12:35 | More by meathookjones

mikeys01

Colorado

4.22/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Being a big fan of barrel aged beers, I was prepared to enjoy this beer and I was not disappointed. Served froma fairly nondescript 22oz bomber, the Bourbon Barrel Aged pours out sucha deep brown, it's almost black.Swelling on top of the beer is a burgeoneing gravely mahogany colored head that gradually settles into the depths. Aroma hints at some bourbon, but has some nice chocolately and roasty notes as well. Taste brings out the bourbon barrel flavor right away, nice and oaky, just about the right amount of bourbon flavor. Nice that the bourbon doesn't overly dominate. Underneath the barrel are some nice classic roasty porter flavors, a bit of cocoa as well. Mild bitterness in the finish, quite smooth overall. Mouthfeel is a bit more than medium, but this is quite drinkable. Finish brings out a bit of alcohol and a lingering hint of vanilla....nicely done.

Serving type: on-tap

07-10-2004 01:06:32 | More by mikeys01

winomark

Missouri

2.68/5  rDev -22.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Deep black with a vigorous medium brown head. Lots of CO2 hits the nose first, covering up everything but the faintest aroma of vanilla. Lots of bourbon flavors; smoke, vanilla, and lots of charred oak. Everything else is quite muted. Slightly alcoholic on the finish. Needs more beer flavor, IMO. Rich mouthfeel, but not too heavy. Coating, with a lingering finish. Interesting concept, but I wish the flavors from the bourbon barrels weren't so strong. I won't try this one again.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2004 14:30:43 | More by winomark