Drakes Apple Brandy Barrel Olde Ale

Formerly brewed at Drakes Brewing Company
Style: Old Ale
San Leandro, California USA

Murky dull brown with no carbo. Looks like ass. Heady, appetizing aroma...well the apple brandy part is appetizing anyway. The apple brandy basically blurs out a somewhat oxidized-earthy-chewy old ale. Muddled character of way too old ale covered by a nice woody, appley, alcoholic note. The finish mixes chewy, caramelly sweetness with pleasant appley alcohol. The good elements are really good, but the lack of cohesion really hurts...it needs a malt base specifically geared to apple brandy aging in order to reach full potential. Thanks Mike!

Nip sized bottle acquired in trade with tever (thanks!). Poured a deeper and cloudy brown color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of wppd. apples, caramel, and some brandy. Tastes of caramel, apples, wood, and some dark fruitiness. Definitely apples in there. Some alcohol in the finish, but not 10+%. This was OK, but there really wasn’t anything there that made this one stand out to me.

6.9oz - thanks aspidites - Aroma of apple cider vinegar, oak and caramel malts. Pours muddy brown with a small head and good lacing. Flavor is astringent, sour apple, leather, caramel malt and alcohol. Palate is sticky and tart. I really liked the aroma but the flavor was a bit too medicinal for my tastes. The nipper bottle was the perfect size.

Aroma is a wicking dry, with vinous and Brett-like notes. Some wild wood and spiced earth brew creep north into the sinuses, eliciting a epicenean sensation. Faint floral alcohols blend with a subterranean apple core. Mild soapiness. Nice and calm. A core of mildly muddled florid mahogany, pale. Rims in white. Enters the palate fairly brightly, with a scorching waft of higher alcohols. Effusions then a slow burn into malt intricacies. A whole coughing miasma of apple breaths, in both Apple Jack, Tobacco and Brandy. This comes mid-taste, then the long hop fade pulls out some toothsome grain notes and bits of sherry and cardboard. Stylistically typical oxidation pulls up outside and a fragrant burst of aging citrus relaxes on the front porch. Really not too hot for the percentage, nor the style. Oak barrel dryness shows heavily, making it mildly acerbic. And there’s a characteristic purine content that signatures these Drake’s small bottles, be it the high gravity yeast or the barrel character. A rather impressive construct. Seemingly classic.

Bottled. An unclear brown beer with a brown head. The aroma is sweet malty combined with notes of caramel, alcohol, and wood, as well as light notes of apples. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of apples, seemingly giving it a slight acidic touch, combined with notes of alcohol and wood. A very complex flavor but very nicely in balance.

Courtesy SoLan. Very thick and rich looking. Pours a caramel brown wih a small white head. Smells of a mixture of apple and caramel. Very malty aromas fill the air. Good dose of some brandy too. The taste is pretty complex. Get a lot of smooth caramel, with hints of the apple citrus and dark malts. Lightly sweet on the lips with a noticeable bitterness in the finish. Still had decent carbonation for an 11 month aging process. Definitely get the big alcohol in the aftertaste from the brandy barrel. Interesting brew. Pretty good.

(Bottle 18 cl) Courtesy of aspidites. Very unclear, reddish amber golden with a small, creamy, off-white head. Lightly tart, apply notes. Medium body, very dry and alcoholic - almost vodka-like! Notes of apples and an earthy, fusty edge - before the dry alcohol resurfaces in the finish also. Not overly thrilling. 280507

6oz bottle courtesy of aspidites. Thanks, Mike!! Pours a murky, brownish color with yellow edges; fluffy, off-white head with fine-bubbled lacing. Boozy fresh apples and light spice in the aroma; lightly toasted vanilla. Medium-to-full, boozy mouthfeel: dense, alcoholic apple cider upfront, with a pleasant, dried fruit maltiness (dark fruits, boozy fruit leather); slightly off-putting at first, but with a fruity, dense fullness that develops more after the first sip; boozy and mildly acidic; generous. Lengthy, apple and dried fruit finish; hints of citrus hops.