Kuhnhenn Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine

Brewed by Kuhnhenn Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Warren, Michigan USA

Stud tasting 1.0 held at general_gaos. Thanks for putting up with us colin! Pours a brownish red with no head. Aroma is vanilla, oak, strong malts, and cherry. Flavor is up front celery, blood/minerals, sea weed, booze, cherry, foot, funk. Finishes boozy, warming, some tartness. I guess even at a stud tasting you get one turd. I think the other two guests enjoyed this one, so it was just me, not the bottle

A- Pours a ruddy, brownish hue with little to no head. S- Smell is absolutely phenomenal. Tons of brown sugar, hints of bourbon, fig. T- Wow. Before describing the taste my first thought is ... smoooth. Starts off slightly fruity, possibly hints of cherry mixed with figs, brown sugar sweetness comes in to balance. The end is an alcohol warming balanced exquisitly with very sweet, sugary notes. M- Thick with a good bit of carbonation left for a beer this old. D- This is another out of the park brew by kuhnhenn. I truly hope they produce more so I have another chance to drink this one. The main thing I truly loved about this one was the balance. It was huge yet seemed to balance the alcohol perfectly with rich sweetness that a lot of other "extreme brews" fail to do. Totally lives up to the hype in my opinion. Although there probably aren’t many bottles left in circulation, if you have a chance trade whatever you can for this one.

Tasted 4/5/08. 12oz bottle. Filtered and dark amber. Sparse ring of head. Aromas of fudge and wood. Dark raisins and port. Nice alcohol presence. Tingling nose. Another masterpiece from Kuhnhenn! Super full bodied and sticky. Huge palate! Big alcohol and tangy palate. Sticky and cloying. Flavors of apples and berries. Dried fruit and vanilla woody. Wonderful rolling palate.

Tap at Spuyten Duyvil: Muddy, headless amber pour. Nice color. Has a big bouquet. Fruity and sweet; boozy with tons of vanilla, maple soaked fruits (berries) and toffee. Rich body, kinda slick mouth feel. Huge sweet flavor. Rummy with lots of vanilla with toffee soaked berries and raisins. Residual maple qualities as well. A monster of a Barley Wine. Didn’t get much Bourbon, more rummy. A bit sweet in my opinion.

Had at the EBF in Boston. Dark reddish brown pour with no head. Amazing aromas of fruit, caramel, and hints of bourbon. Awesome beer along with all there others at the fest.

My favorite beer. Had it a total of 3 times, once at the brewery, once at Spuyten Duyvil, and also at EBF. All three times tasted just as good as the last which is normally very rare. For 14.5% Alcohol you would expect a bite but its more towards a sweet malty finish which works great.

Tap at Blind Tiger. I didn’t even really want to drink this, but I felt I must, it being so close to the top 50 and all. It didn’t disappoint, but it sure as hell was unexpected. I’m not sure if one would call this a unique take on a barleywine or just a barleywine gone wrong, but the intensely fruity nature of this beer was totally out of left field. Fruit sweetness was not cloying but still very sticky on the lips. Plum, cherry, molasses, with no bourbon or oak to be found. Throw some pineapple and candy apple in there and you’ve got this beer. Surprisingly drinkable.

On tap @ Spuyten Duyvil. Pours ruby with no head whatsoever. Very sweet and fruity aroma, though there’s no bourbon. Can pick up a bit of that 14.5% ABV in the smell. As far as taste goes, another winner from these folks. Very malt-dominated, with dark fruits coming out en masse along with a touch of tartness. Somewhat sticky palate with a lingering slightly bittersweet finish.