Taps WBL (Wine Barrel Aged Lager)

on tap at c;est what? during spring beer fest. Well i’m definetly getting the oak, and red wine notes. The beer is kinda wattery though, nose is quite woody. I think there is too much oak, and not enough red wine grapiness, pretty unbalanced. meh.

12 oz bottle shared with MDS and Goldorak, pre-Montreal YeHa 2006 tasting, from a McAuslan glass. Hazy-yeasty-looking gold with little head and no lacing....tart, tannic and woody nose, not exactly pleasant but fairly distinctive; somewhat like a cheap Bordeaux I guess with a really faint dry hop presence....on the tongue, also dry and woody, thin and somewhat sour, faint pale malts, only a light winey character....um, not horrible I guess.

Gold in colour with a touch of pink. Strong carbonation. Aromas of cherry hard candies, fat cereal grains, and a bit of spicy German hop. There is a definite oak barrel flavor to this one, along with some acidic red grape and apple qualities. There is also a sharp finish which is drying, but prevents any sort of aftertaste from sticking around. I think the oakiness and the acidity gives the beer a slight lambic quality, even though it’s not at all sour. An interesting experiment to say the least, but I think the wine barrel treatment might be better suited to a different style. The beer was probably a bit too thin to start with, and the strong carbonation isn’t doing it any favors. Many thanks to pootz for the sample!

The barrel ageing did impart a wine aroma, and some colour to the sight of it. Sourish acidic mouthfeel and on the thin mouthfeel side. Worth buying to encourage experimentation, and probably well consumed locally. crwills brought this one, so thanks craig!

Draught. Yellow-orange with a small white head. The aroma is a bit dry and has signficant cereal graininess as well as some cherry. Flavour is sharp, dry, and fruity - the finish felt vinous and alcoholic. Thinnish hollow mouthfeel.