In this issue we will be reviewing Bourbon Barrel Aged (BBA) Beers in the Chicago area. While just about any style of beer can be aged in a Bourbon Barrel, we will focus on the two styles that in my opinion gain the most from being aged in a Bourbon barrel: namely Imperial Stouts and Barley Wines.
PRIMER ON TASTING BOURBON BARREL AGED (BBA) BEERS
Let me start with a little primer on tasting BBA beers. The first thing about these beers is the base beer, Imperial Stout or Barley Wine, is a very substantial beer and in my opinion is the key to great BBA beers. Both are made with triple the malts than are used on typical beers. This tripling of malt is what leads to a much more intense taste and a higher alcohol level in the base beer. With Imperial Stouts the base beer is filled with deep roasty, coffee like flavors, as well as some chocolate, toffee and even licorice notes. On the other hand Barley Wines base has that great bready malt flavor blended with some assertive hops leading to a taste explosion. Then all this flavor is put into a Bourbon barrel which does its own magic on each of these beers. Both pick up flavors such as caramel, butterscotch, vanilla, an oaky spiciness plus bourbon. The fusion of the base beer and the barrel create a truly magical alchemy which changes based on the type of barrel used. In the end you have a very complex and intense flavored beer, with ABV levels often above 14%. These are difficult beers to master as its easy to end up with a sweet syrupy mess with the Stout and a hot alcohol bity beer with the Barley Wine. The best brewers avoid the mess and create a masterpiece. We review four of the best in this issue.
STRAIGHTJACKET BARLEYWINE
Brewery: Revolution Brewing
Location: 2323 N Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60647
Style: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Barleywine ABV: 15.8
Review: Dark opaque brown color, the nose is a blend of bourbon and vanilla. Medium to low carbonation. First sip strong caramel with stone fruit hints, mouthfeel is very noticeable as buttery and creamy. Mid beer the stone fruit flavor increases, molasses flavor enters and buttery finish continues. As you aclimate to the beer the stonefruit, vanilla and buttery molasses blend very will together and it begins to have a black licorice finish. There is no alcohol bite, only thing to suggest such a high ABV is some heat on your tongue. This is a world class barrel-aged barleywine. Seek it out.
Rating: 5 mugs
2022 BOURBON COUNTY SIR ISSAC STOUT
Brewery: Goose Island Brewing Company
Location: 1800 North Clybourn Ave., Chicago, IL
Style: Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout ABV: 13.9%
Review: This year as part of the Bourbon County series of stouts, Goose Island brewers added 10,000 pounds of Black Mission figs to a Bourbon aging imperial stout to create a new variant called Sir Issac Stout. Color is almost black, with some brown laced head. Nose is stone or dried fruit, molasses and maybe a hint of cherry. As you get deeper into this beer the blending of the roasty stout combines with some citrus, oaky and even honey like flavors from the barrel. Again for me a background cherry flavor is there. When you get to the back end the desired result is achieved - a bourbon flavored stout with the taste of figs and a little graham cracker to boot. Excellent to World Class effort.
Rating: 4.5 to 5 mugs
FUEGO RESERVA (GOLD MEDAL WINNER AT FOBAB 2022)
Brewery: Cerebral Brewing
Location: 1477 Monroe St., Denver, CO. 80206
Style: Bourbon Barrel Aged Specialty Strong Porter + Stout ABV: 13%
Review: As regular readers of our newsletter know, we generally only review Chicago region beers, but as our readers know their are always exceptions for an amazing world class beer and that is the case with Fugego Reserva.
As a Bourbon barrel aged beer reviewer I certainly have some bias and prejudice. The picture at the top of these reviews hints at some of my bias. The picture is of 2010 Bourbon County Vanilla Stout, still my favorite Bourbon County to this day. A little sidebar here. My son and I went to our first Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beers (FOBAB) in 2010. We knew Goose Island was releasing a Vanilla Bourbon Aged Stout that year. We got in a line the minute we entered the festival and the line already had 40 or more people in it. We finally got to the serving table and the pourer announced they had run out of the Vanilla stout. Lets say my son and I were more than a little disappointed! A few weeks later when Goose released bottles of the Vanilla Stout, my son and I scoured the Chicago area and captured at least 10 bottles of this alchemic gold! We drank all but one. The picture at the top of this article is our last bottle, safe in our beer cellar today. At 12 years old we do not plan to drink it, but it is still our prize possession! So back to my bias, I like Bourbon Aged beers with vanilla flavors, especially if aged in Woodford Bourbon barrels which enhances this flavor. In addition I love what raspberries do to a BBA Stout. Finally I like stouts that put some pepper flavor in there. So there you have it, my bias, which of course leads to this review of one of the best BBA Stouts I have encountered in a long time.
The color is the classic almost black of all BBA Stouts. The head is brown and lacey. The nose is very complex - notes of vanilla, peppers, and sweet bourbon. First sip you may think, “oh this is a great Woodford ages stout with classic Woodford flavors of vanilla, caramel, smooth bourbon” but then in comes the peppers, not intrusive, not overwhelming, not hot, but beautifully complementing all the other flavors. Mouthfeel is excellent, not syrupy, not to light just assertive enough. As you get to the finish line and with the blending of all the flavors a final addition comes through, and it is raspberry. I think the brewers called it a “fusion of raspberry chipotle jam.” Every BBA Stout flavor you could every ask for. This is a World Class beer seek it out!
Rating: 5 mugs
BOURBON BARREL-AGED BEHEMOTH
Brewery: Three-Floyds Brewery
Location: 2323 N Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60647
Style: Barrel-Aged Barleywine ABV: 13.6
Review: Color is brown and cloudy. Strong fig nose, brown sugar with burst of hops. First sip is a great blend of figs, vanilla, coconut and bourbon. Mouth feel is creamy, with mild carbonation. Mid beer the caramel, oak and vanilla come through very strongly. The bourbon and alcohol warmth complement the flavors in the beer. Finishes very smooth, some liccorice notes with a great malty bourbon background. This is an Excellent BA Barleywine.
Rating: 4.5 mugs