Fitgers Ole Redbeard Barley Wine (Bourbon Barrel)

Brewed by Fitgers Brewhouse
Style: Barley Wine
Duluth, Minnesota USA

Serve in Snifter

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(on tap at the brewpub) Pours dark reddish-brown with a light medium tan head. Aroma is very strong, with a significant bourbon presence, coupled with vanilla, wood, and light strawberry jam. Warming provides some notes of soy sauce as well, along with a significant amount of booze. The taste is brown sugar, possibly raisin and caramel as well, but it’s really hard to discern the flavors as they are quite muddled. Another factor contributing to the muddled character is that within the mid-palate there lies a significant musty and earthy presence that overrides all of the sweet flavors. Another flaw with this beer is the finish, which is very boozy, full of astringent, tea-like hops, that finishes out with an inordinate amount of charred wood that drags on long after sipping. The mouthfeel is nice, as the beer is none too chewy, and the carbonation is restrained, but the flavors in the finish put a damper on these positive qualities. I was pretty surprised by this beer, as the other barrel-aged offerings I’ve had from Fitger’s have always displayed a superb integration of barrel to the base beer. This beer, however, is a rare miss.

Not the only beer at had at Fitgers last night, but the only one I feel very compelled to rate. Pours a slightly hazy copper, with spare diminishing head and pretty nice lacing. Served a bit too cold, so I let this one warm up a while and took my time with it. Aroma is big and bourbon-y, with lots of vanilla, some floral hops, and some floral honey. The wood pokes through just a bit. Sweet smelling, with caramelized brown sugar throughout. A bit of raisin and other dark fruit show up as well as it warms. Taste starts with pine, moves to caramel and other sugars, than vanilla and bouron, then floral honey, and finishes with a dry oaky bourbon bitterness. Seriously a very complex beer that blends well and has interesting bourbon stages without being overdone. Mouthfeel is silky smooth, though not oily at all. A bit of alcohol warmth comes through at the end as it drys out. The best beer I have had in a great while. I know this rating is higher than many on here, but show this beer some love. Very complex, wonderful aroma and taste, and a pleasure to drink.

[On-tap at Fitger’s] Hard to judge the look of this one because it’s so dark in the pub but it looked like reddish brown in color. The aroma was nice but not too complex I thought. Very heavy caramel scents and you could definitely smell sweet bourbon/vanilla which was nice. Unfortunately I thought the bourbon flavor was not balanced well at all and completely took over the beer. It was hard for me to tell I was drinking beer and not bourbon. The palate was taken over by the alcohol lacing that you’d get from... you guessed it... a bourbon. Surprisingly, I liked this one the best out of all the Fitgers beers that were on tap at the time but I didn’t really care for any of the others and couldn’t actually bring myself to finish a 10oz glass.

Draft sample at FOBAB 2010. Pours a mostly clear amber color with a small beige head. Notes of raisins, brown sugar, caramel malts, vanilla, bourbon, wood, earth, and sweet dough. Medium-full bodied, with a sweet malty mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. I couldn’t handle more barley wine at this point; sweet and boozy and I think this was my last one of that style for the day.

tap at FOBBABAB. didn’t nail the balance like on the ole fitgers barrel impy stout. this was decent. a bit too sweet. boozey nose. fruity, earthy, caramel herbal taste witha doughy bourbon kick. good not great.

Sampled from the tap at 2010 FOBAB. Poured a near clear caramel amber with small bubbly off-white head that dissipated quickly to the edges. Aroma had a light fruit note with strong caramel, biscuit and sweet grain as well as a somewhat strong bourbon. Flavor began with light apple with growing sweet grains and caramel with a bit of bourbon.

Tap. Brown/red pour. Huge aroma and taste - very complex, and I’m picking out some green apple on the taste. Very interesting brew.

Hand Bottle at Paul’s: Still headless copper appearance. Huge sweet aroma of honey, booze- a stinging vanilla and bourbon burn in the nostrils. The body burns as well. Slick, alcoholic, astringent peppery ethanol. Lots of honey and bourbon. Perhaps a fusel presence. A painful choke down.

UPDATED: FEB 22, 2010 Hand bottled. Pours mahogany body with a bubbly lace, most of the carbonation is lost. Butterscotch, wet wood, obvious notes of oxidation. Nail polish remover heavily boozy soy noes and some maple. Maybe i shouldn’t even rate this 2.8. I will bump my rating to the current average in view that this was probably a bad hand bottling. 3.5

[On-tap at Fitger’s] Pours reddish-brown with a decent tan head. Aroma is raisin, alcohol, a little strawberry jam, a touch of vanilla, alcohol and barrel. Taste is similar with raisin, alcohol, lots of barrel influence. Great mouthfeel, smooth, perfect carbonation. Okay, so my notes sort of sucked for this one, since I forgot a pen and paper and was having to tap out a memo to myself on my phone, but overall it was a disappointment. Too hot, too much barrel, really not much going on with it, and not that enjoyable. I know that Fitger’s knows how to make an excellent barrel-aged beer, so I won’t hesitate to try their next ba offering.