Flossmoor Station Wooden Hell

Brewed by Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Flossmoor, Illinois USA

22 oz bomber. Very dark brown pour. Aroma is caramel, toffee and light bourbon. Some dark fruit and spice as well. Flavor has a baked sweetness. A lot like baked goods are creme brulee, with a subtle bourbon flavor. Vanilla and smoke abound, as well as a bit of alcohol. Palate is heavy and thick. The bourbon barrel in this one is perfect. An awesome beer.

FOBAB 08’. Poured a dark hazy brown. Aroma was rich caramel and dark fruits. Taste was caramel, rum cake and vanilla pudding with nice distant hop character. Well rounded and balanced flavor. Good stuff.

Draft (or cask maybe) at the restaurant, leftover from FoBAB I think we were told. Cloudy brown pour with an oily tan head. Smells pretty nice - bourbon, wood and vanilla, of course. Baking spices, caramel, toffee, candied citrus. Really nicely balanced and so clearly barrel aged at the same time. Flavor is almost exactly the same, with more of a cooked sugar component. Super.

FoBAB 2008. Pours a murky brown with a tan head. Bourbon flavor emerges as well as some vanilla. It is incredibly smooth and easy to drink, which would be dangerous if I had a bigger glass. I thought this was great.

FoBAB 2008. Poured a murky brown color with a khaki head. Lots of booze and vanilla dominated the aroma, but there was also some toffee. Full bodied and sweet with plenty of barrel-imparted flavor, notably vanilla and bourbon, which did not overpower the beer. I also tasted dark fruits, orange liqueur, caramel, and brown sugar. Delicious.

FoBAB 2008 offering: #305 - The legendary Wooden Hell, a beer that needs no introduction and one that I had yet to taste. Pours a dark murky brown with a small offwhite head. Aromas of Woodford, malty sweetness. Taste is largely sweet bready, biscuity, toffee maltiness. Woodford bourbony notes compliment well in the finish and aftertaste. Touch of raisin and deep malty, bourbon finish. A bit sweet, but really good. Hard to session. Notes read: "Brutally good, sessionable at this point.". Cheers!

Fobab VI. Ah, the fabled Wooden Hell, winner of Fobab V (I think). Managed a very good showing. Nice, dark brown beer with a nose of more than bourbon, which can be hard to come by. Vanilla comes out, as does wood, sweetness, frosting and cupcakes. There’s also a very nice backbone of some dry grain in there. Syrupy thick and rich, this is a sipper. Damn fine.

Light brown colored ale, with an outstanding nose and quite a bit of depth. Bourbon soaked wood, vanilla, coconut and interesting traces of the original beer as well. Taste packs a nice punch, with an array of layered flavors. Everything I look for in a barrel-aged beer. Heavy mouth feel, balanced but bold flavors of the barrel, but the base beer delivers quite a bit as well. I like it a lot, but I like sweet barrel aged beers.