Drakes 15th Anniversary Bourbon Barrel Lager

Formerly brewed at Drakes Brewing Company
Style: European Strong Lager
San Leandro, California USA

Beautiful super clear deep amber body with a very nice red shine, not to big or beautiful big bubbled but lasting head; Beautiful deep complex very settled nose; Soft smooth body with a little biting carbonation, sweet, bitter and alcohol warm, complex, settled and super balanced; It finishes way to short with not enough aroma and not to much fill, it has some special almost raspberry fruity aromas, but most present and overpowering is the alcohol burn.

Nip from IrishBoy. Licorice and brandy aroma. A touch of buttery oak. No head on the pour. Creamy, very fruity flavor, cherry and oak and some really tasty non-sweet desert type notes (vanilla, banana, that kind of stuff). Quite well balanced and mellow for 14%. This could probably age for years more, although it’s great right now.

Bottled. An unclear brown beer with a thin tan head. The aroma is sweet with notes of alcohol and malt as well as light notes of bourgon. The flavor is sweet malty with strong notes of caramel, as well as quite a lot of alcohol, that leaves a slight burn on the tongue, combined with light notes of bourbon, prunes, and wood.

(Bottle 18 cl) Courtesy of Degarth. Pours a cloudy, muddy light brown with a small, rough, off-white head dissipating in no time. Distinct, sweetish bourbon aroma. Very rich body, a bit flat with lots of sweetish caramel and then all the characteristic bourbon notes of oak and vanilla. This is almost like drinking a shot of bourbon - and I love bourbon! If all European strongs were like this it would be my favourite style... 280507

Bottle courtesy of stoutlover72!!! Pours a cloudy, dark ruddy amber color almost devoid of any head. Aroma is sweet caramel malts, oak, bourbon, alcohol. Flavor is bourbon, vanilla, oak, brown sugar, burnt caramel, perhaps some dried fruits. Palate is full bodied, very little carbonation, finishes swwet and boozy! I’ve had this one sitting for a while and I’m glad I did as I think when I first got it I would not have appreciated as much now due to my palate not being what it is today. This is truly wonderful stuff. Sweet and boozy, very complex, fantasitic sipper! Love all of Drakes stuff!

6oz bottle, vintage 2004 from IrishBoy, thank you Richard! Pours a lightly hazy orange caramel with a thin film of beige head. A small creamy head does rouse a couple times, though they’re short-lived. Aroma definitely has some bourbon, vanilla, and oak up front, brown sugar, scorched caramel, maybe even a hint of cherry and old wet tobacco. So far I think this will be pretty strong. The flavor is much the same, though the booze does become more apparent. Bourbon, vanilla/oak are the strongest here, and some spicy tobacco and caramel come through, though more in the background. I can no longer tell if there are cherries, but there is some raisins and something else fruity. There is some lightly stinging alcohol on the tongue, and the finish is dry. Full bodied with almost no carbonation. I wish a had a couple more of these so I could see how much the alcohol mellows in a couple more years.

Thanks to footbalm for the bottle of this magnificent brew. The pour is an ugly muddled brown with a small white head that barely stays around the ring of the glass. The aroma includes notes of sugars, molasses, brown sugar, fruits, a little bit of vanilla and some oak. There is also a lot of alcohol and booziness in the aroma. The palate is very smooth and slick. the flavor has some contributions from thew wood, the bourbon, some fruits, and some other things as well. The alcohol is not really noticeable for being such a strong beer. Most of these BA Drakes have had a big presence of alcohol in the taste, but this one was different. Overall very good! Thanks Eric!

Bottle couresty of frumptydumpty (ryan) at the carolina tasting. Very suprised to see this one. Nose and flavor were very sweet but surprisingly pretty well balanced. Very similar to bourbon barrel barley wine. Only had about a 1oz sample so my rating couldmean shit.