Fort Collins Barrel Licked Bock

Brewed by Fort Collins Brewery
Style: Smoked
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Pours clear amber with lasting tan head. The aroma is a mix of roasted to what seems like mildly burnt malts, some cherry and caramel sweetness as well as smooth smoky rauch malts. The taste is much the same with roasty malts and smoky rauch malts in full control of the flavor. In the background I get a supporting cast of cherry, plum and caramel sweetness. A pulse of cherry sweetness hits about midway and then fades as the smokiness takes this to the finish and deep into the after taste. I’m not sure it’s coming together for me that great. Still tasty stuff. Can that be right, 10.4% ABV. Tastes like 7%. Wow.

Bomber poured a clear reddish brown with a lingering ring of amber foam. Aromas of earthiness, burnt carmel, molasses, light oak and a hint of smoke. Palate was medium bodied and smooth with a lightly dry finish. Flavors of burnt carmel, molasses, earthiness, light oak, light smoke and a faint hint of whiskey with a smooth lingeringcarmely finish.

On tap at Taco Mac (during epic free shirt quest), along with a conversation with the guy next to me at the bar that started off as a nice discussion about beer but devolved into an awful racist rant and a list of his expensive audio and video equipment. Pours clear reddish brown with a small beige head. Nice smoky BBQ aroma with some dark fruit and oatmeal. Tastes the same but stronger- malty and scotchy. Full bodied with a smoky malt finish.

Dark brown with a thin white head. Aroma of roasted malt and smoke. Flavor is dark, rich and sweet with a hint of bacon and smoke. Not bad for a smoked beer.

Lets just say I am glad there is more to beer than just the aroma.. we would be in trouble here. The lager yeast is coming trough like green bottle skunky feet. Pours a nice Brown with a reddish tint to it. White head lasted a minute. To be honest I thought the carbonation and mouthfeel were quite pleasant. I felt it to be smooth and balanced and not watery at all..I really got into the flavor. Smokey and sweet with lots of vanilla. Can very much tell it has been ged in wood for a bit. The finish was a bit hot but the ABV is 10.2%. The flavor and mouthfeel was really nice.... just don’t smell it....

As this may sound familiar to other IT people I "took the plunge", i.e. I finally purchased this beer. Ok, so let me start with the aroma. Man, that is a nice smoke/jerky/wood/roast aroma. Just very clean aromatic and nice. A very pungent beer indeed. For me, the smoke beers can be very extreme, but this one is very good. A slight sweet aroma comes through as well. A very nuanced smoked beer. Very dark brown in color. Not much head on this thing. I would say that this has an average head. Holy schnikes, I did not realize the ABV was that high! Awesome balance between the wood and meat/smoke flavors. Just a very solid smoked beer. I wish it had a thicker palate, but still a very good beer. Sweet flavor comes out, but only slightly. Overall, a damn good smoked beer. Fort Collins seems to have a penchant and expertise for making smoke beers. Bravo!

bomber. Pours dark ruby, no head. The aroma is very rich with a clean vinous backbone along with vanilla and meat. The palate is slick and full with a chewy flavor hinting at more vanilla, wood, beef, and a rich fruity character. This is much better than the regular Fort Collins dopplebock, I was surprised to discover that. The light smoky notes here play flawlessly with the barrel aging. Superb.

On tap. Poured a dark amber brown, tan head. Smell is smokey malt, almost lik ham, with wood present. Taste is also smokey, toasted malt, and caramel. Some faint fruit present as well. Finish is smooth and smoked. Overall, an enjoyable full bodied smoke ale. Very nice and interesting smokey oak-aged brew.