Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer (Bottle)

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

Clear glass bottle, good lasting head and lacing. Mild tste of fruit, mild alcohol. The only comparison I can make is Unibroue’s Raftman? well done.

Foamy head rusty brown pour. Very strong skunky scent with mint!?! Yes definate mint! Mint in the taste as well. This is not a good thing. Watery with high carbonation, some bitterness with a very clean finish. Horrible taste, I think the bottle may have been off, actually near certain of it... I have purchased another bottle and will re-rate at some point.

Clear 33cl. Delicate light auburn, filtered, raising a lasting egg shell film. Initial faint skunkiness quickly fades to leave a rather balanced oak-malt show that if anything, could be a little less grainy. Like seemingly always, the maltiness seems a bit thinned out from the maturing process, though the imparted oak flavors are well integrated, making for an original vanilla laden nose that contains a minty aspect that shares its nature through both the hops and wood derivatives in a pleasant way. Warming, it develops soft nutty fruitiness, slightly husky at that. It seems as if the basic reipe might be extremely sweet to begin with. Sea air, oranges, barrel notes grow slightly astringent and tart as it warms. Minor alcohol warming, mostly subtle hops. Rather dull textured, likely pasteurised and thin, though the carbonation sustains the little rotting honey dry-out effect there is.

330 ml clear bottle, at Cardinal, Stavanger. Beautiful golden brown colour. Large and creamy off-white head, long lasting, decent lacing. Unusual aroma and flavour, very woody, Scotch whisky elements, but also notes of toffee, vanilla, cinnamon - and even shrimp and the dark meat of crabs(!). Relatively sweet, but the finish and aftertaste are woody, dry and hoppy. Something out of the ordinary, and I have trouble deciding how well I really like this beer. Definitely worth a try!

An orangey amber with a decent head of off-white foam. Aroma is strong caramel, vanilla, and toasted oak. Flavor is lighter than expected as well as a relatively thin body and some overbalancing acidity. WEAK!!

Beautiful clear amber color with great head. Slightly watery with a fine taste of hops and malt.

Surprisingly uninteresting. Oak can dominate the flavor of the beer, so can a whiskey keg. The result is a beer with almost no complexity. Slightly skuniked in the nose, maybe from the clear bottle, but also sweet and fruity. Taste of vanilla and oak, sugar and skunk. A little thin ... On balance, the nose was the best part.

Poured from the bottle, amber with a little carbonation and a large pillowy and airey head (which displayed some lacing). Very much a smokey and peaty aroma similar to whiskey, but there is a beery sweet maltiness beneath this as well. Definite oak on the palate, but also sweet caramal and dry finish. I acknowledge the distinctiveness of the beer they have created, but not being a great appreciator of whiskey, I am unable to rate it any higher than average.