Bourbon Barrel Bock - Welde

Bourbon Barrel Bock
Welde
0,33l
6,6%
IBU: 28

From the same brewery as the last entry, I saved this baby for a while. A friend had mentioned it to me months ago as one of his favorites, alas I have saved it because nowadays I'm not too grand to digest stronger brews anymore. It's kinda fitting that I'll use my Widmer Brothers glass again as they used to make an almost similar brew.

Ratebeer goes pretty high on that baby as far as I can tell.

Funnily enough, Bock used to be the poison of my choice when it was served in a local pub I used to frequent many, many years ago, nowadays I often dislike the sweetness of them, which is automatically coming with the higher percentage.

Anyways, according to the information on the label itself and on the web, the brew rests 3 months in Bourbon, Rum and Tequila casks, thus making it a Cuvée. The hops used, namely Green Bullet seems to be a New Zealand variety and according to my research is nothing special.

The label again has 2 parts, the front label showing a barrel and the name and some general information, while the back has ingredients etc. I like the labels though they are minimal.

As mentioned above, I will use the same glass as the last time, a Widmer branded tulip I brought with me from the US.

Now I had the beer in the fridge overnight, till I just saw that they recommend 12° Celsius for it. As we got 35° outside and 7° in my fridge I will have to settle for a bit colder than usual experience though I took it out to acclimate itself a bit.

I kinda dread to venture outside to take my usual pictures because I react to the sun like a vampire ... but I shall undergo extreme trials for you, my readers.

It pours a bit thickish with a nice copper red cloudy color, clearly being not filtered. A medium amount of head can be produced with small to mediocre sized bubbles, which dissipate fast.

The aroma is very rich, floral tones mixed with freshly picked berries and the distinct barrel smell of liquor and faint honey and cork.

Now the taste.... my mouth is watering from the aroma...
It starts thick and syrupy, the carbonation could be better, the barrel taste is definitely there. Sweet, medicinal tones, vanilla and the alcohol being recognizable in the aftertaste together with faint bitterness. The bourbon tones are definitely there but so far I must admit I am not a huge fan. I will let this get a bit warmer and then try again..... stay with me...

Still the wood/barrel overpowers the brew. I like my Whisky smoky and peaty and woody... but with beer I am not as convinced as I maybe should be. I can sense a grand brew under the layer of wood but it is buried too deep for me to find this grand.


Prost!
DMW