Arcadia Bourbon Barrel Shipwreck Porter (2011)

Brewed by Arcadia Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Battle Creek, Michigan USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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Bottle. Strong sweet vanilla and overpowering bourbon aromas, and some spices.Thin translucent brown. The alcohol hits immediately, then sweet maltiness floods the palate. Some bourbon in mid palate. Medium-thick body. Satisfying stuff, though the bourbon really is a bit too much.

12 ounce bottle into snifter, early 2011 bottling. Pours fairly pitch black color with a small fairly dense tan head with good retention, that reduces to a very thin cap that lingers. Some light spotty lacing clings to the glass. Aromas of big chocolate, caramel, bourbon, toffee, molasses, vanilla, oak, roasted malt, light clove, and light dark fruit. Fantastic aromas with great balance and complexity. Taste of big chocolate, caramel, toffee, molasses, roasted malt, vanilla, oak, bourbon, toast, light clove, and light dark fruits. Lingering notes of chocolate, roasted malt, toffee, caramel, molasses, vanilla, oak, bourbon, and light fruit on the finish for a while. Fantastic flavor balance and complexity; with a great barrel character without being overpowering. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a nice creamy, slick, and slightly oily mouthfeel. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a small warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is an outstanding barrel aged porter! Great balance of the barrel characteristics; with good complexity and smooth sipping. Awesome stuff.

Aroma is vanilla, bourbon, almonds, coffee, and booze. Taste to me is very heavy on spirity booze taste. The beer takes a back seat to a shot of watery bourbon when I take a sip. The finish however is nice with vanilla, and ashy burnt coffee and dark fruits.

Wow this is awesome. Thick creamy body with a great bourbon barrel characteristics. Tastes a lot like barrel aged blackout stout

Bottle at Mondial de la Bière 2012, June 7. Pours dark brown, almost black with a spare diminishing frothy light-brown head. Aroma has that barrel-aged smell big-time, too much so for me: lots of vanilla, wood and bourbon along with chocolate and roasted malt. Flavour of roasted malt, chocolate, vanilla and bourbon. Full bodied. The barrel-aging is too intense for my liking, I found it just good.

[4460-20120607] Bottle. Barrel roasted malt and roasted dark fruit steak sauce aroma. Black brown body with a medium-lasting creamy light brown head. Thick steak sauce sweet roasted malt flavour has a significant lingering roasted fruit aftertaste. Full thick body. Crazy roasted, really interesting to sample. (8/4/7/3/14) 3.6
(@ Mondial, Montreal, QC)

Rating 600. Poured very dark brown with 2 finger head; lacing stuck to glass. Aroma is definitely bourbon and oak barrels, maybe with something sweet like vanilla and cocoa. Taste is light sweetness, light bitter. Goes down really smooth and then hits with a oaked bourbon bomb for the aftertaste. You can tell this one was aged in bourbon wood for while. This right up my alley. I can sip on this again and again. Would go good with cigar.

Thanks to my bro in law for providing the opportunity to taste. Pours a deep reddish brown border lining on black. Complex aroma of oak vanilla and aged spirits. Seems almost too light at first but all of a sudden the favor explodes with intense maltiness, big burbon flavor followed by a smooth finish and a residual alcohol burn. Very good.

UPDATED: JUN 19, 2012 12oz bottle with red wax. Dark black pour, thin tan head, becomes just a ring in the glass. Roasted malt, dark chocolate, molasses, burnt toast, bourbon, and hot booze. Decent, but unfortunately for this beer I had LA track 6 on the same day, which was far better. A little too hot.

Bottle
Aroma alcoholic warmth with solid depth. Hint of licorice with lighter sweet malts behind. 7+
Appearance black brew with medium beige cap.3+
Flavor and Palate : Full bodied. barrel treatment up front paired with noticeable clean alcohol buzz. Good balance for such big ale, even refreshing. Nice brewing work!