BridgePort Bourbon Barrel Old Knucklehead

9/27/2009: BridgePort Bourbon Barrel Old Knucklehead (No 12)... Aroma: Cherry-vanilla bourbon with some caramel maltiness. Appearance: Bright reddish amber; collapsing beige head. Flavor: Caramel, prune, vanilla, hint of bourbon; decent hoppiness. Palate: Medium-bodied; mellow; cask-like mouthfeel; creamy. Overall: Decent attempt, but the regular Old Knucklehead is better.

22 fl. oz. bottle shared by alexsdad06. Thanks Brad! Rating #82 for this beer.

Lasting soapy head on medium cloudy golden body. Expecting it darker, really. Bourbon aroma. Above average mouthfeel. A bit drying and boozy. But essentially, this is ale conidtioned in wood, it works, though it is one dimensional.

Bomber. Poured a rather clear, rich medium amber with a swirly cap of off-white head. The aroma picked up aged caramel spiked by some alcohol.. bourbon and vanilla rode up the sides of the nose and this was quite strong when it all came together.. oak and a bouquet of redder fruits showed as it breathed a bit. The flavor opened with tangy oak and whiskey on the tip of the tongue, with sweeter aged caramel not far behind.. berries and redder fruits hit more on the latter half.. finished dry and spicy with a warm impression. Heavier-bodied with low carbonation on the palate.. lots of residual sugars and oaky character at the end.. solid stuff, but not great.

Courtesy of fishingnet, you know what I like. Pours copper with tan head. The aroma is a bit bourbony to go along with pine, malt sweetness and fresh wood. The taste has yummy rich sweet malt notes mixing with wood, a couple of dashes of vanilla and a moderate thick layer of caramel. Pretty damn good stuff.

2008 Bottle #12 - Pours a beautiful ambery brown, slight off-white head, Brown sugar dominates the aroma, tastes of dried fruit, Redman and booze. There is a definite alcohol presence, but isn’t the burn that alot of other fortified brews have. Pleasant bitterness balanced with a malty goodness, I will drink this again...

Bottle. Pours a clear amber color with a small off-white head Has a sweetish malty slightly hoppy aroma wit hsome hints of bourbon and caramel. Fruity malty caramel and vanilla flavor with some oaky hints and also some hoppy bitter hints. Has a sweetish malty caramel and vanilla finish with some hoppy hints in the aftertaste.

22oz bottle courtesy of msubulldog25 and I am surprised that the label doesn’t feature the current knucklehead’s image. This is a decent looking specimen of a barleywine, ruby red with a huge off-white head that quickly becomes a smattering of bubbles. The first whiff from the bottle suggested juicy fruit gum but it is quickly gone. The aromas from my glass are straight alcohol fumes and a very subtle orange-rind smell with some notes of wood. Whoa, very bitter flavor at first that bites my tongue, then some oakiness but not quite bourbon with a prickly feeling from the alcohol. The more I sip the more I taste wood and then some fruity gum flavors pop up. It has an astringent yet interesting mouthfeel. This is a very good deal for $4.50 considering it is barrel-aged and not widely distributed. I actually think this may improve with about six months, hopefully taming the fumes and astringency but I don’t see anything about bottle conditioning on the label. I love breweries like Bridgeport and Full sail that put out bombers of barleywine for less than $4. Oh yeah, if you read this far, make sure you let the beer warm up a bit before drinking it. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 02-28-2008 03:17:07

Dark orange pour, some red hints. Bourbon nose, caramel. Taste is less bourbon than the nose. Slightly boozy. I love a boozy barley wine. Nice.