Bourbon Barrel Aged Baumé - Half Acre Beer Company

MasterSki

Illinois

3.96/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

On-tap at Goose Island Stoutfest. Served in the accompanying taster glass.

A - Nice tan foam settles to a near-complete cap and thick collar. Dark brown body that is mildly lighter at the fringes.

S - Smells is great. Delicious vanilla, oak, bourbon, roasted malts, a kiss of rye. Reminds me a little of BA Black Sun in the barrel flavors.

T - The taste isn't quite as successful. The vanilla and the roast are still there, but the finish has some of the excessive char and astringency that tends to accompany Half Acre's dark beers. Still, solid balance of base beer and barrel-aging flavors

M - Medium body, pleasant carbonation, minimal alcohol. Tannic, oaky, and dry finish. Not quite as silky as the Rye version either.

D - I like this better than regular Baumé, but it's not as good as the Rye Whiskey version. Would try again if I came across it on tap, but wouldn't make a special trip. Easy to drink, but I preferred the aroma by a significant margin to the flavor.

Serving type: on-tap

03-25-2013 18:17:11 | More by MasterSki

jaasen64

Massachusetts

4.04/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

On-tap at Lord Hobo, served in a tulip. Reviewed from notes. This is a 7.2% bourbon-barrel aged rye porter..

A- Jet black with a finger of light mocha head that has great retention and slowly recedes to a very thin layer, decent carbonation with nice consistency.

S- Fairly heavy bourbon presence that definitely makes itself known but is also balanced nicely with dark chocolate, coffee, and some rye. Fairly aromatic, bourbon fades a bit as it warms.

T- Smooth creamy dark/milk chocolate, some lightly spicey rye, finishes with sweet bourbon and a nice balance of chocolate and coffee. Coffee comes out a lot more on the aftertaste. Nicely flavorful with decent balance, surprisingly though the flavors dulled a bit as the beer warmed up.

M- Smooth, nice carbonation, a bit on the thin side.

O- This was another very nice beer from Half Acre however I found as I let it sit and warm up a bit the less I liked it, it seemed the flavors faded a bit. The bourbon presence was a little bit on the heavy side and made it seem a bit boozey for the 7.2%, but other then that the beer was very nicely balanced and the chocolate, coffee, and rye still came out nicely. I would love to revisit this in the future and definitely recommend checking it out.

Serving type: on-tap

03-23-2013 23:25:57 | More by jaasen64