Shorts Bourbon Barrel Wizard

Brewed by Shorts Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Bellaire, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter

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Dog Days of Summer Gathering. pours darker brown, tan/mocha head. roasted malts and caramel with a more chocolate approach. There is some lingering vanilla that complements the barrel aging that at times might seem too present. Palate is thick with a mild bitter barrel note. Alcohol is definitely present.

Handbottle, courtesy northernbrews. The pour yields a clear, dark mahogany body with a copper tint at the outer edges. A wispy, khaki colored film sits at the surface, giving spotted lacing that mostly rejoins the body. The nose is very chocolaty for a barleywine, showing notes of syrupy cocoa, dark caramel, and toffee, all with a huge, vanilla-laden bourbon oak component. There seems to be a very light toast on the bourbon barrel, as the sweet vanilla component truly is intense. There’s almost nothing in the way of hop aroma. Flavors follow suit, resembling an imperial stout more than a barleywine, again based in sweet chocolate and caramel, with a massively oaky, vanilla-driven bourbon influence. It manages to keep from being overly cloying, despite the big, sugary malts that dominate. The palate is slick up front and lightly carbonated, with a slightly deficient body for the style, and a bit of a sticky finish. Overall, this is a very nice brew. Tasty as hell, despite it’s inherent simplicity.

Thanks cloudskipper. Poured dark reddish brown, bourbon, caramel, dark fruits, vanilla, little chocolate.

Thanks to cloudskipper for sharing this, pours dark ruddy brown with no head. Nose is full with mostly bourbon with some caramel and toffee. Full flavor, a bit heavy on the bourbon until it warms, then it opens up nicely with more dried fruits and toffee. I think the previous raters that had this at the RBSG just drank their one or two ounces while cold and ticked. Too bad. It’s a good beer.

RBSG Tasting. Sweet caramel plus too much bourbon= just a bit too much to be drinkable.

From a Handbottle brought back from RBSG I am thinking....

Appearance: Pours a cola brown with a beige gathering.

Aroma: Super sweet bourbon, graham cracker, caramel, vanilla.

Taste: Sweet bourbon notes, very faint roast. A little chocolate/cocoa.

Mouthfeel: Slightly sticky low carbonation.

Overall: A nice treat, quite a bourbon bomb at the moment.

[From the keg at RBSG] Pours dark brown with a small tan head. Huge raisin aroma with some chocolate notes mixed in. Taste is ashy, with a blast of alcohol, chocolate and coconut. Not bad. Good mouthfeel and has a long finish. Too hot, too ashy, and a raisin bomb. Not awful, but really not that great either. Regardless, thanks go to Shorts for supplying it!

Shorts ba wizard off the keg @ rbsg... Pours a dark reddish cola brown with lighter edges and thin light beige head...aroma of sweet toffee and caramelflavors are big bourbon presence with deeper caramel and toffee. Sweet through the middle and finish. 7/4/7/4/15

Sampled at the RBSG ’10 Grand Tasting. Thanks to Shorts and the organizers for setting this up for us. Poured a slightly murky dark brown with a yellowish brown head that dissipated to the edges. Aroma was very bourbon forward with caramel and toffee backing the bourbon and maybe just a hint of pine. Flavor started with caramel and toffee with bourbon growing towards the finish.

Sampled at RBSG ’10 (Grand Rapids, MI). Pours a nice darker brown, some reddish tinge, decent translucent pour, tiny tan head dies to a few loose bubbles at the edges. Aromas are heavier bourbon, sweet caramel and toffee malts. A touch of raisin, sweet toffee, not bad. Initial is sweeter, a bit heavier bodied, caramel and toffee, light dark fruit, hotter bourbon and vanilla tannins. A bit sweet, coca and toffee, sweet, dark prune and raisin, a touch of licorice. Sweeter than anticipated but a pleasant more full bodied beer with decent complexity and interesting flavor palate of toffee, bourbon and vanilla, a touch of cocoa and dark fruits rising in a lighter wave behind of raisins and biscuity malts.