Innis & Gunn Original Oak Aged Beer

Innis & Gunn
Brewed at Belhaven (Greene King)
Style: English Strong Ale
Edinburgh, Scotland

Serve in English pint, Trappist glass

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UPDATED: OCT 29, 2006 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.

Vanilla, caramel, honey and a slight hint of whisky. Quite superb beer with a long aftertaste.

Heavy dose of vanilla, which reminds you right away that this is a beer from the land of whiskey. Light copper tone of an IPA. Woody, smokey and vanilla, reminiscent of spiced rum. Body is pretty light in spite of the syrupy feel of the beer. Heavier versions of this product are far better; this one’s body doesn’t balance with its bite.

12 ounce bottle that poured a light yellow color, aromas of oak, and rancid cream soda. Flavor is the same, slammed the beer so I wouldn’t have to drink it over time. This was mostly a horrible cream soda that went bad.

A really nice beer with a delicious taste of oak and a great golden color. Great bottle.

I must admit this is something different. That’s for sure. Still, I don’t find it very nice. If you like vanilla flavours in drinks with already a fruity character and if you enjoy whiskey.. Probably you’ll like this. Light/medium body, nice head that dissappears quickly. Not my kind of beer, yet I admit it’s different from others. Prost!

A pretty nice flavor of cask and well rounded. Light amber in color with a white head.

330ml bottle. Small head with low retention. Clear orange colour. Hopy-grassy-oak barrel nose. Sweet taste, very sweet, with vanilla, caramel and toffee. Doubt I’ll want to try it again.

clear bottle, so it comes autoskunked. stupid stupid stupid. coppery with no head. amazing mix of flavors. vanilla, toffee and rum are strong. slightly woody. mild carbonation. would love to have this on tap or in a brown bottle.

A clear golden colored beer, with a small foamy white head. The aroma of hops with fruits like citrus and orange. The taste of sweet fruits, bitter hops and some caramel.

On draft at the Morris Tap & Grill. Honey colored complexion. Very smooth and silky palate. On draft from a newly tapped fresh keg. Easy to session.