Carlyle Bourbon Barrel American Strong Ale

Brewed by Carlyle Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Rockford, Illinois USA

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Quite a change from the regular ASA! Hazy light brown body. Thin tan head. Sweet bourbon and fruity cereal aroma. the falvor mixes strong bourbon fruit with chocolatey caramel and a toasty finish. The barrel took away all but the caramel sweetness from the beer and replaced it with bourbon. You be the judge on that bit.

tap at brewpub-pours hazy amber/carmel with great lacing from start to finish. Big oak/burbon notes with the undertone of buttery vanilla. Vanilla, currants, dark cherries, some alcohol blend together very well. alcohol is somewhat present, but adds sweetness and rounds everything out. Palate is lush, thick and quite sweet. Palate verges on cloying. Well done and definately worth a try! I drank this with TannerTavernboys and we rated together.

tap at brewpub-pours hazy amber/carmel with great lacing from start to finish. Big oak/burbon notes with the undertone of buttery vanilla. Vanilla, currants, dark cherries, some alcohol blend together very well. alcohol is somewhat present, but adds sweetness and rounds everything out. Palate is lush, thick and quite sweet. Palate verges on cloying. Well done and definately worth a try!

Looks exactly like the non BA version. The spices are much less apparent in the flavor and aroma. The Jack Daniels (or so was said) barrel they used on this mutes most of the delicate and nice spiciness that was apparent. Still, it is quite good.

On tap at brewpub Hazy brown with medium head initialy and then to nothing. THe nose is greatly faint and difficult to smell. There is some delicate malts. The taste is stronger in general more malts and some bourbon. On exhale it is stronger with more of that bourbon out the back and some sugar. Hops here and there with some plants like vanilla but more sugar. Ovearll interesting, I wish that there was more beer in this than bourbon. Little bits of grain as well more towards the front.

On tap at the brewpub.
Pours a perfectly lovely opaque cloudy dark amber, forming a densely packed medium head that eventually settles to a small layer and stays there, leaving gorgeous rings of lace on the sides of the glass with each gulp. I don’t know how Carlyle can make such intensely flavorful beers with such faint aromas, but this is another such beer. However, concentration while sniffing reveals a beautifully fruity aroma with woody vanilla, sweet malt and a bit of hop spice. Flavor is a kick of bourbon first, then some vanilla, big delightful apricot, mild hop bitterness, sweet malt and hop spice -- sometimes in that order. Smooth, creamy & disappointingly thinnish palate for a beer this big. Still, this is a supremely excellent offering; it could be Carlyle’s best yet. Imagine a sweeter, maltier, unfiltered Pyramid Apricot Ale aged in bourbon barrels. It works a lot better than one might imagine.