Do a Barrel Age

I've only become familiar with just one brewery in or outside the Pittsburgh area that has pulled-off a well-known barrel-aged beer. That would be Full Pint in North Versailles with Rye Rebellion. I'm not the world's biggest fan of this sub-style, but I'm curious to see when some of the local breweries try do add one to the growing arsenal of oak/bourbon infused brews. I was able to try a bit of Anderson Valley's Wild Turkey Barrel-Aged Stout not too long ago and I actually enjoyed it. The barrel it was aged in didn't overpower the other aspects of the beer.

I was excited to discover earlier today that another local brewery is taking a whirl at this creative process. It just so happens that it's just a few miles from where Full Pint is located. I'm fairly sure that this brewery hasn't tried this before, but please correct me if I'm wrong!

We're excited for our bourbon barreled oatmeal coffee stout! Are you? (Available in bomber bottles late February) pic.twitter.com/sfD4HlusbM
— Rivertowne Brewing (@rivertownebeer) December 28, 2013

Monday Rant: Beer Trends

I think that even if you're a casual observer of news and happenings in the beer community you can still notice some of the fads and trends that come and go. There are quite a few that pop up now and then as well as those that seem to stick around for a good portion of time.

We had that STUPID shaker pint debate that lasted a mere two weeks. Excitement for national beer day Untappd badges appeared to be a something popular that lasted for about six months. The last two years, it kind of felt like brews aged in whiskey barrels seemed to be one of those things that people also flocked to. Sometimes it just seems as if some of us just get bored with what's "in" and consistently want to move to something else. Does beer lower the attention spans of some people?

It's getting to that time of the beer calendar in which some of the popular barrel-aged beers will start to appear in our local bars (if they're lucky enough to come across one of them). It might be just me, but since we began our trek through 2013 it seems as if there's been plenty of excitement in the department of beer and wine hybrids. A perfect example of this is an article on Victory Brewing's website pertaining to a new version of Golden Monkey called White Monkey.

Dogfish Head came out with the Noble Rot beer/wine hybrid not too long ago, but as far as I can recollect that brew wasn't aged in wine barrels like this Victory concoction will be.

One can only hope that this can be one of those things both craft beer and wine aficionados can share some ground on. That's if this does indeed end up being the next big trend in craft beer. There's quite a good chance that it might.

Beer Review: Uinta Oak Jack Imperial Pumpkin (2012)

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 10.3 percent

Appearance: Oak Jacked Imperial (there's that word again) Pumpkin pours a deep and dark ruby red and has a strong sense of thickness to it. the head is thick, frothy and is an off-white color. The best way to describe it is as a cream color. It will leave a ton of ample lacing on the inside of your glass.

Smell: I noticed some ginger and cinnamon in the aroma of this brew as well as some notes of pumpkin and graham cracker, but I'm sure you can guess what was really noticeable. Yes, the oak and booze. For however long this beer was aged in barrels, it really took on the characteristics of said barrel. Those two flavors are very pungent.

Taste: All of the flavors mesh sort of well together. The ginger, cinnamon, pumpkin and graham cracker hints give off an essence of pumpkin pie. The oak and booziness of this beer was just a little too overpowering for me. As the beer warmed those two flavors made it a bit of a struggle. That doesn't take away from the pleasant experience this one provided up until that point, though.

Overall Rating: 

I've never been the world's biggest fan of oak aged beers even though that's the next big thing in the craft beer movement. Sometimes the essence of oak, bourbon and alcohol that gets  soaked up by these beers becomes a bit too powerful for my taste buds. It's calmer as the beer is first opened and the slight presence of that flavor is actually enjoyable for me, but as it warms that flavor takes over the beer.