Third Coast Old Ale (Bourbon Barrel Aged)

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle from Santa. Thanks!
Pours a decent tea brown with an aroma of alcohol soaked raisin with a slight touch of peanut butter chocolate. Flavor is a nice blend of raisin, plumb, cherry chocolate, and a touch of white wine. Thick and full mouthfeel. Wonderful beer; wish I had more bottles to age...

Tap @ The Oak Cafe 3-1-08. Cloudy/muddy brown, film for head. Nice sweet bourbon aroma up front, vanilla, butter, caramel, and surprisingly some hop citrus in the background. Flavor is dominated by buttery/vanilla bourbon, caramel/toffee is very mellow. Big, thivk luscious mouthfeel. As it warms becomes way too easy a drink.

On tap @ Bells tasting. Hazy dirty orange pour with a yellowed off white head. Aroma of buttery bourbon, bready malt, earthy hops, butterscotch, and all other things heavy and decadent. Flavors of butterscotch, bready caramel malt, vanilla, booze...again a lot of big, heavy flavors. Thick body, buttery/boozey with a boozey/sweet finish. Good, but I tihink I prefer the regular version.

Growler. Poured hazy brown with a thin off-white head. Big vanilla aroma with some notes of oak, bourbon, raisins, and sweet malt. Sweet fruity malt flavor with noticeable bourbon. But not too much for me. Mild bitterness on the semi-sweet finish. Good warmth and medium bodied. 9/4/9/4/17

UPDATED: MAR 31, 2009 Sampled from a keg-filled handbottle shared by artusory. Muddy purple brown colored body with minimal head. Amazingly there was quite a bit of sediment that settled out of the handbottle (from tap!)... never seen that. Has a huge, rich, oak and bourbon filled nose, with sharp plum, leafy tobacco, some richly sweet dark fruits, mashed plums and red wine... really complex, unique, inviting, decadent and amazing aroma. Sweet flavor of maple, bacon, banana, bourbon, charred, woody plums, some resinous black cherry, more resinous oak, brown sugar, etc, you get the picture. Damn good.

At The Oaks. Pours a ruby brown in color with a short lived head. Smell is bourbon soaked dark fruit and malt. Taste is very balanced and complex. This could be sipped all day, I’m really enjoying this. I don’t know if the barrel aging brings out flavors in Larry’s beers that aren’t in the original beer, but they become more complex. Don’t get me wrong the beers are already amazing, but the barrel aging takes these to an unholy level.

Growler shared by goldtwins. Deep amber-brown beer with a thin head. Aroma is very sweet and fruity. Lots of rich bourbony oaky sweetness. Bright sweet vanilla character, a bit of brown sugar, oak and sweet toffee. Spicy and lightly herbal. The flavour is a little bit boozy but there is a soft toffeeish character. As it warms, the booziness fades and the beer really comes together.

Growler shared, thanks to goldtwins. Brown pour, a little muddy. Aroma is oaky vanilla, rich malt, and a little alcohol / bourbon. The mouthfeel is very smooth and soft for the intensity of this beer. Flavor is sweet malt, candy sugar, chocolate, vanilla, and some of the bourbon in the finish. A lot of different flavors, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Thanks to goldtwins for sharing this - growler - really hazy dark red beer - very spicy, oak and vanilla aroma, heavy on the bourbon, but not overpowering, with some cinnamon way in the back - the flavor is a bit too sweet, and very bourbon-heavy up front - some vanilla and toasted coconut - strong alcohol and spiciness on the back end, and the wood starts to come through, along with some brown sugar and chocolate - a bit boozy and sweet, but as it warms it gets a little more vinous, balancing out the sweetness and giving it a little more character - I think I prefer the regular third coast.

Cloudy dark brown body with a small creamy tan head. Sweet oak, caramel and molassas aroma. Very strong oak, bourbon and vanilla flavor with some caramel and molassas. Medium full body with low carbonation and a bourbon finish.