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BBC Beer Company (Louisville) partners with McLain & Kyne Distillery (Bardstown), maker of Jefferson’s Reserve to create a bourbon-barrel aged beer. “Bluegrass Brewing Co.'s Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout” is a true cross-over between specialty beer and bourbon.
a beer expert's blog:
http://potablecurmudgeon.blogspot.co...-bbc-beer.html
I tried one of these today at the Horse and Barrel in Lexington. Nice roasty character with chocolate tones and a slight lactic twang. The bourbon barrel notes were understated slightly, and it made for a well balanced taste. I really like bourbon barrel aged stouts and porters, but I don't care much for pale ales done in this style, ala the KY Ale Bourbon Barrel Ale. The barrel notes are overpowering in that brew.
OK, at the BBC in Louisville this weekend they had a Pappy Van Winkle stout on tap. When I asked why they had that and not the Jefferson's Reserve stout I was let in on a bit of inside information. Apparently the BBC brewery and restaurant (the original) is a different company than the BBC that bottles beer. There are some loose ties and they obviously share a name, but the beer you get at either of the Louisville pubs is different from the beers put into bottles and sold retail that bear the same names. Obviously done in the same style, but at a different brewery and by different brewers. Interesting.
Anyway, the Pappy Van Winkle stout was quite nice. A bit higher in ABV and a more pronounced bourbon character. I wouldn't have liked that so much in the Jefferson's stout, but I think it balanced nicely with the stronger stout. Anyone interested should consider a trip to the brewery during the Festival, about an hour from Bardstown.
As most of you know, I know nothing from beer. Still, when I saw Anheuser-Busch's Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale tonight while grocery shopping I thought, "At least it SAYS 'bourbon'!" and grabbed a 6-pack ($6.99).
"Ale aged on bourbon barrel oak and vanilla beans," it says. Six percent abv, which is within a whisker of making it a 'liquor' here in Tennessee and pretty high for a macro-brew(ery), isn't it?
Pours pretty red, fairly fine, moderate head. A lot more vanilla than oak in the taste, but plenty sweet. Probably too easy to drink at 6%, but I like it. Have it with your pumpkin pie.
As far as A-B's Bourbon Cask Ale goes,...what I don't understand is the wording on the claim, it is "aged on bourbon barrel oak."
Shouldn't that be "in" bourbon barrel oak?
And they add vanilla beans?
I do know that the sales talking points are about the vanilla taste.
I recently started sampling BBC beer here and there, pretty good
stuff I like it. Of course I forgot what flavors I`ve tried.
I picked up some of this because I really enjoyed the A-B Pumpkin Spice Ale in the Fall. But, I really didn't like the Bourbon Cask Ale. The vanilla was just too overpowering for me. I really hoped to be able to like it, like I did the Old Dominion. I have to give it two thumbs down, but unfortunately I bought a case. :banghead: So, I'll have to work my way through it. Or....my neighbors will!;)Quote:
Originally Posted by OscarV
JOE
I wonder if the aged "on", instead of "in", is an attempt to mislead the public, and it is not at all aged in used bourbon barrels.
Yeah, I guess it would be a heavy vanilla taste if they are throwing vanilla beans in it.
I would hazard to guess that they break down the barrels and put them in one of their large "bright tanks", then age the beer in it. Seems a bit more reasonable then A-B filling up hundreds of leaky barrels with their beer.
This turn of the conversation allows me to introduce my other obsession, the use of language, into the discussion.
If "on" has now become a term of art in regard to aging, then can "near", "around" and "beneath" be far behind? :skep: "Across from"? "In the same county as"?
My easily boggled mind boggles.
Yours truly,
Dave Morefield