Schlafly Special Release Bourbon Barrel Ale

Brewed by Saint Louis Brewery
Style: American Strong Ale
Maplewood, Missouri USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Bottle from the Party Source. Poured clear brown color with an average to large frothy light brown head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate to heavy bourbon, malt and wood aroma. Moderate to full body with a smooth slick texture and soft carbonation. Medium to heavy sweet malt flavor with a medium to heavy bourbon sweet finish of moderate to long duration. My expectations where met with a complex beer.

UPDATED: JUL 2, 2010 This beer pours an amber-copper color with a medium and somewhat fluffy white head that recedes steadily. Sticky rings of lacing on the glass. Aroma of oak and vanilla plus some hops. Medium body with flavors of bourbon-infused malt, vanilla and hops. Some fruity notes as well. The finish is malty with a slightly boozy aftertaste. Above average overall.

Sample courtesy of Blazer06. Pours clear copper with weak off white head. The aroma is sweet with bourbon, vanilla, raisins, plums, molasses and a sense of wood. The taste is pretty smooth with vanilla and bourbon booze to go along with mild levels of dried dark fruitiness and then lingering vanilla into the after taste.

Thanks Zack, Blazer06 for the share. light brown, white head. caramel malts, light bourbon, touch of sweet vanilla. This one is quite easy to drink, lots of flavors with a touch of bitter hops on the palate. Retains moderate barley approach with the more hopped centered pale ale. Not over the top

Clear dark golden with a creamy white head. Sweet caramel bourbon and vanilla aroma and taste with a grainy finish.

12 oz. bottle from The Party Source. Pours mostly clear gold amber with a big off-white head. Aroma of vanilla, caramel, bourbon, sweet malts, and hops- just a really nice bourbon barrel ale nose. Nothing unexpected, but well done. The aroma is better than the flavor, which is made up of the same notes. Sweet, medium bodied, minimally carbonated, and a nice booziness. Admittedly, I’m a sucker for BA beers, and this is a solid, inexpensive, straightforward example.

Thanks blazer06 for the share. A sessionable bourbon ale... I love it! Pours orange-amber with a white head. Nose is vanilla, bourbon, slight booze, malt, caramel, slight raisin, barleywine fruit, and a bit of booze. Flavor is vanilla all over the place with malt, caramel, bourbon, some barleywine fruits, and a bunch of sweetness. Light to medium bodied ale with malt and vanilla.

12oz bottle. Pours clear amber with a thin off-white head. Malty nose consisting of caramel, bourbon, vanilla, tobacco and cat food. Creamy vanilla flavor with a boozy finish.

Pours amber / brown with a large off-white head. The aroma has lots of bourbon, caramel, vanilla, light spice and an English yeast - seems like a junior version of a barleywine. Medium body that’s smooth and has some sharper carbonation. The flavor starts with smooth caramel malt, light toast, vanilla, some bourbon and cream. The finish adds a bit of spice and some warming alcohol. This was much better than I expected and had well balanced flavors.

12 oz. bottle from The Party Source. The pour is deep golden amber with a medium fine off white head. The aroma has notes of caramel, vanilla, wood, and hints of cherries and dried fruit. Not as hoppy as expected from reading the label. Still bourbony, boozy notes offer a reminder of where this beer has been. Caramel flavor is equally as rich and dominant upfront in the taste as it was in the nose. Vanilla and well blended bourbon swirl around in the mouth and create a varying complexity of tastes. Near mid-palate the hops come in with a mild grassy, herbal taste. Very smooth from the bourbon barrel aging. The alcohol remains hidden for the most part behind the hop bitterness and sweet malt, but shows itself in the nice warmth it creates as you empty your glass. I would like to know what the abv is on this one.