The Bruery Bourbon Barrel Aged Levuds

Brewed by The Bruery
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Placentia, California USA

750ml bottle from a trade from awhile back. shared with masonjer, drewbeerme, and holdenn....lost my notes for this one so bear with me...pours a semi-trasparent light golden brown with little to no head....sweet aroma of vanilla and toffee with emphasis on the sweet.... flavors boasted a similar profile. lots of sweet candied sugar and bourbon with a slight hint of carbonation.... better than the regular levud but still leaves a bit to be desired.

Bottle #175 from Brandon. Bourbon has taken over the aroma of the regular Levuds, with only the lightest hint of fruit remaining. The flavor has some vodka, vanilla, bitter asian fruity. Mostly just overwhelmed by bourbon. A shame.

Bottle # 175. Poured a mostly clear amber color with minimal head. The bourbon dominates the aroma, but not in a bad way at all. Vanilla and alcohol notes. The flavor is a nice mix of bourbon and sweet malt. Some phenolic notes/spices on the finish. Good warming sensation.

Hazy orangey colour with no head. Large bourbony aroma with light pear esters. Leaning towards boozy. Sweet vanilla dominates. Only a light representation from the underlying beer. Very bland, and kind of flat, which doesn’t help.

Waxed cap bottle, @ kp party. Coppery-orange, with slight haze and hardly any head. Hot aroma has some vanilla custard notes. Flavors are better and more complex and include coconut as well as vanilla. Soft mouthfeel and very low carbonation.

750 ml bottle shared by notalush. Pours a mostly clear gold that is a bit darker than the un-oaked Levud’s, again with virtually no head. Pleasant aroma that is predominantly oaked bourbon and vanilla with a few notes of sweet citrus. The flavor is again mostly about the bourbon with some vanilla and just a hint of sweet citrus. I like this better than the un-oaked Levud’s, but I find this version a bit one-dimensional. I’m picking up very little of the base beer, although perhaps in this case that is a good thing.

Thanks to bgramer for the bottle - nearly still golden pour - huge oak, coconut, and vanilla in the aroma, but it smooth and mellow despite its intensity - the taste is much the same - a lot of coconut and soft oakiness - the bitterness from the original is smoothed out by the oak - the alcohol is also not as potent as the base beer - oak is all over this, and it adds a lot to an otherwise mediocre beer.

Bottle shared at a Bruery tasting. Deep golden orange beer. No head really. Aroma is quite sweet and oaky. Lots of rich vanilla and oak with a nice soft caramelly sweetness. A little bit of sugary flavour and a light bourbony sweetness. The flavour is much more bourbony than the aroma might suggest. Chewy oakiness and a soft sweet caramelly bourbon/vanilla flavour. The presence of the barrel in this beer completely changes the base beer. Lots of toasted wood and even a bit of soft caramel coated fruits. This beer really works well.