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I am a sucker for a bourbon barrel-aged beer and I am also a sucker for a great beer name, so The Bruery’s Strange Case Of Dr. Elijah And Mr. Cacao is on point. It is their Monster Stout base aged in 18-year Elijah Craig Bourbon barrels for 12-months with both powdered cacao and freeze-fried cacao.
Since the SABInBev take-over of Goose Island, lo those many years ago, the annual Bourbon County releases have grown in number and in the amount of flavors they cram into each bottle. This year is different though. Only one of the six variants is in pastry stout land, a bananas foster stout which I will slide away from. But two (see below) really lean into what I think is the core mission of this program. Bourbon and barrel-aging.
2023 Bourbon County Brand Eagle Rare 2-Year Reserve Stout
“With a heritage rooted in authenticity and a commitment to craftsmanship, Eagle Rare captures the essence of American history with its Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. Just as bourbon is a uniquely American product, Bourbon County Brand Stout is distinctly Chicago. From the carefully selected American oak barrels sourced from Eagle Rare in Kentucky to the distinct combination of our unique climate and original imperial stout recipe crafted here; Bourbon County Eagle Rare Reserve Stout epitomizes a proud American legacy.
Aged for two years in extraordinary Eagle Rare 10-year-old barrels, each sip is a culmination of our passion, intricately woven together with the nuanced flavors imparted by these remarkable barrels. Eagle Rare Reserve is an incredibly complex and boldly rich stout that celebrates the essence of American brewing at its finest.“
2023 Bourbon County Brand Angel’s Envy 2-Year Cask Finish Stout
“Introducing the newest addition to the Bourbon County family: our first-ever “Cask Finish” stout. Inspired by the innovation of our friends at Angel’s Envy, we embarked on a journey to further develop the complexity of barrel-aged stout by introducing never-before-used finishing barrels. The beer starts in freshly emptied barrels that once held Angel’s Envy Kentucky straight bourbon. After aging in those for a year, the beer was transferred to a second set of Ruby Port wine barrels where it patiently matured for another year. By replicating Angel Envy’s finishing process, we refined and amplified the flavors of cherry, spice, and cocoa within this aged stout. Bourbon County Angel’s Envy Cask Finish Stout is a testament to our legacy as the originators of bourbon barrel-aged stout.“
First off, do not sleep on Firestone Walker’s Parabola but I want to talk about 20 years and the Parabola variant, Paraboloid.
P-loid was “aged in a special selection of premium 20-year-old Elijah Craig bourbon barrels.” From my medium low bourbon knowledge, bourbons over 10 years don’t necessarily translate into better than younger than 10 years. I do like “regular” Elijah Craig so, maybe, the 20 will be really good and will add the scrumptious sounding flavors that the brewery describes, “mellow hints of oak, fudge and chocolate brownie.”
Firestone Walker is a big campus in Paso Robles and the barrel-aging area is a sight to behold. Let’s throw another big deal out there…
Getting to 10,000 anything is amazing. Especially with a beer style like bitter that does not get a lot of traction in a brewing schedule filled with 805 and Mind Haze.
Usually, I am a little late to online beer sales. The beer goddesses smiled upon me this time though and I snared one bottle of this Sierra Nevada meets Buffalo Trace barleywine.
Here is the description from the brewery, “Brewers hand-picked vintages of Bigfoot already aging in bourbon whiskey barrels — for up to 7 years — and after a final year in E.H. Taylor barrels, the beer that emerged was simply unreal, and at 15% ABV, full of immense flavor.”
Using the same packaging as the E.H. Taylor bourbon is a great choice, that is some classy, handsome, rugged design. Having it caged and corked is another high-end look.
BBAB pours a dark brown color with a streak of red to it. On the nose, the bourbon is not super big which came as a bit of a surprise (not the biggest one, get to that a bit later). This very smooth with close to a caramel taste to it. The rough, spiky hop notes in regular Bigfoot have been completely sanded down.
The biggest surprise is that this does not taste 15% or anywhere near it. Not in aroma, viscosity or taste. This is not a beer that you need to pace yourself with.
Overall, this was really good but I was letdown by the lack of bourbon.
Now I do not need a fancy gift box to want to taste the Duvel Bourbon Barrel Aged version. In fact, extra glassware is more an impediment since their is a glass embargo at BSP HQ. I may have to buy and re-gift the glass.
Very lucky. That is what I am thinking as I slowly slip the re-incarnated Velvet Merkin (2013) that I received from Firestone Walker.
This is a near perfect beer. It falls into the category of beers that you could smell all day long. That you would bottle as cologne. A beautiful mixture of coconut and roast and bourbon and barrel melding together.
But you have to drink it, and it is velvety smooth. So that each sip lingers. It is under 9% in alcohol so you don’t get a burn in the throat. The bourbon really comes out in the flavor and just envelops the tongue. How Matt Brynildson does it, I do not know but this is simply a fantastic beer.
