Bell's Bourbon Barrel Best Brown - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

cfrances33

Illinois

3.73/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

On tap at the Eccentric Cafe on 8/13/12, served in a flute-like glass.

Pour: A hazy dark brown with a quarter finger white head that recedes to a rim. Light lacing.

Smell: Great bourbon nose. Really strong on the vanilla and caramel. A little bit of booze keeps this from be a 5.

Taste: Really powerful bourbon up front. Almost like a whiskey on the rocks after the cubes have melted. As it warmed, the vanilla and caramel came out.

Mouthfeel: A lot of heat up front. A LOT. Gets a little bit better as it warms, but not much. Otherwise, light and splashy, which is a complete disconnect.

Overall: This beer was all over the place. Flavors were great but it was so damn hot. Personally, Best Brown does not have the body to support whatever barrel aging program Bell's put it through. Perhaps a blending of the base with the barrel aged version might tone down the heat.

Serving type: on-tap

08-26-2012 23:13:27 | More by cfrances33