Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer (Bottle)

Brewed by Belhaven (Greene King)
Style: English Strong Ale
Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland

amber colour, lotsa head, malt oak vanilla, good mouth feel but as has been said before not something i would have all the time.

330mL bottle from the LCBO. Pours a nice amber, with a good-sized slightly off-white head that fades relatively quickly. Leaves some nice, (if slightly chaotic) lace. No skunking, fortunately, but no beer should be in clear glass until it’s in my glass. The beer description on the bottle’s accurate - touches of citrus in the scent, with a definite toffee note. Not as much malt in the scent as I was expecting. Certainly appetizing, though. I don’t pick up much vanilla. Taste - quite unique. There’s a toffee note in the flavour. The malt is more under-stated than I expected, probably due to the barrel. The scotch influence from the barrel is, fortunately, not overpowering - I’m a single-malt fan, but I was afraid that this beer would taste like it’d been mixed with scotch. An unfounded fear, it’s quite subtle and pleasant. This one needs to be served at a slightly warmer temp, it really opens up with some warmth. A little bit of butter in the finish. Are there even hops in this? One of the least bitter beers I’ve ever had. Doesn’t show it’s alcohol content at all - probably thanks to the moderating effect of the barrel. Overall, it’s an amazingly delicious beer. Definitely recommended. I’ll be drinking a lot more of this. Addendum (29 Oct): Re-rated lower, as one of the bottles I picked up was light-damaged, which this beer doesn’t handle well. No more clear glass, please.

Amber beer with fluffy white head. Caramel toffee aroma with hints of butter, lemon, vanilla. Quite sweet with a complex wood, caramel, honey flavour.

Amber with frothy head. Hoppy aroma mixed with scotch whiskey. Well harmonized flavors of butter, oak, scotch and smoke with alcoholized aftertaste. Velvety richness throughout sampling. Always a favorite.

pours nicely with a nice high head that fades somewhat. Aroma: vanilla, scotch, butterscotch, wood. Taste: lovely scotch whisky with some woodiness and nicely hopped. This beer gets better each time I have it.

Aroma: Sweet vanilla, Skunk, floral hop character, diacetyl Appearance: Straw gold, tight bead that disappears quickly leaving little belgian lace. Flavour: Warming, hoppy, sweet malt and skunk, diacetyl, good bitterness Palate: Chewy, light bodied, prickly carbonation Overall: An interesting beer ruined by a poor cosmetic marketing decision. Skunk and diacetyl overwhelm the beer- the oak character is surpassed by skunk and diacetyl. As it warms the whisky character comes through, but it is fighting it’s way through the problems with this beer.

Bottle from LCBO. Clear copper colour with a medium white head that vanishes quickly. The aroma is earthy, with notes of cookies, caramel and wood. The aroma is similar, but with notes of vanilla and whiskey, but the whiskey is not as strong as when I first tasted it a year ago, it is milder that in my memories. Good brew.

Aroma is warm bread and sweet caramel with distracting hay notes. Body is a rich amber color and holds a lasting, two finger thick, white head. Fore is sweet malts and vanilla with ample wood and whiskey notes. It’s slightly light of body and the flavor concentration is not intense, but I liked it and I’d drink it again.