Kuhnhenn Bourbon Barrel Fourth Dementia Old Ale

Formerly brewed at Kuhnhenn Brewing
Style: Old Ale
Warren, Michigan USA

Dense, mostly opaque chestnut and mahogany body. Barely visible but steady carbonation rises up through a muddy looking, thick, semi-oily liquid, but never manages to form a real head. Lacing is sparse but thick and gobby. Aroma is comprised of heavy caramel malt, mild oxidation(but a pleasant variety, from extended barrel aging no doubt), cocoa, nutty malts, some light tinges of fruit. Bourbon in the nose is elegant, heavy and smells of quality. Tannic notes and dark citrus mingle with vanilla and alcohol, bouncing wildly off each other with each whiff. Toasted malts come to light as the glass warms. This certainly tastes like barrel aged 4th Dementia, but it also seems like it spent too long in the barrel. Sweet, sugary caramel and vanilla are the predominant tastes, backed by more citrus and fig notes. Very tasty, but the standard offering was much more exciting. Palate is oily and unrefined with biting tannins. Mouthfeel is succulently full. Finishes moderately sweet, then leaves a lingering semi-dry barrel and toasted caramel twang behind. The thing about this beer that stands out the most is how much less life it has than the standard 4th Dementia...some things are better left as they were intended originally.

Courtesy boboski. Ugly, dark multi brown pour, no carbonation. Nose of roasted caramel, big time old woodsy oak, cocoa powder, dark dried fruits, subtle bourbon alcohol, graham crackers, toasted almonds, light vanilla. Flavor of chocolate nougat, roasted caramel and vanilla, same old woodsy oak, rich cookie/graham cracker malt, light dose of bourbon, fig, toasted almonds, fresh tobacco, and just a bit of resinous hops towards the finish that also hang around in the aftertaste. Full body, smooth, viscous, a little carbonation. This beer is a lesson in barrel aging, providing compliments to the rich malty brew instead of stealing the show. Excellent.

A good beer from a great brewery I never get to. I will regret that one day. But this beer...goes down solid. Heavy bourbon taste. Only drawback: you will taste that bourbon for the next day or two. It will stick to your tongue like a bad memory.

Bottle shared by leopoldStoch at Columbus tasting 6 - Pours brown murky with a small offwhite head. Aromas of bourbon caramel, oak soaked in vanilla and some slight hops at the finish. Flavor is equally as good with lots of bourbon but not overpoweringly so. Caramel, Oak notes, and a good amount of vanilla. Warmth on the back of each sip but very smooth and low carbonation. This is an awesome beer..

#700---Big props to leopoldstoch for sharing this at C-bus 6. Lots of sweet malt scents with some bourbon. Dark brown body with little head. Medium to full palate offers a great mix of sweet, sugary tastes mixed with some roasted malts and caramel malts. A hint of the alcohol shows up--but nothing that detracts from the experience.

Thanks to Styles for the bottle!! If you like the regular 4th dementia...this one was great. Some bourbon in the nose with lots of sweet caramel and chocolate malts. The taste is melded very well with the sweet caramel sugars, the slight roastiness of an old ale, the bourbon, and some oak/woodsy characteristics as well. Very good brew, and I am very glad I got the chance to try it!

Draugh at EBF on 2/10/07
The base being my favorite beer at Kuhnhenn, I was pretty eager to see how this one turned out.
Tan head is small to moderate in size, fading fairly rapidly to partial cover and leaving blotchy lacing/film on the glass. Clarity is low on the dark blackish-brown body.
Being served extremely cold certainly did not help, but as with the regular beers (which is also served very cold at the brewpub) patience is the key. A bright fruitiness folded in to lush chocolate and caramel malts with a strong amount of oaky-finish is quickly noted. Creamy-sweet vanilla mixes with almost a cherry cola note that is further supported by light pineapple and coconut notes. As in the base beer, the booziness is extremely controlled for its size and lends only a touch of sharpness/heat on the finish. Coarse wood tannins take the dryness level up a notch on this usually quite sweet beer, while dark fruits and light coffee notes add further complexity. Very high strength of aroma. The barrel goes very well with the beer, though I think it could have been taken off a few months earlier than it was. Lots of oak, coconut and pineapple make for quite a different beer, though I won’t say in a bad way.
Dark chocolate supported by creamy-sweet malts produce a chocolatey flavor with bits caramel. Redolent of brownies soaked in dark rum, with some moderate saltiness and dry toffee emerging. Vanilla and spicy, very dry bourbon notes are quite apparent and it’s a bit strong on the wood tannin sharpness, contributing some acidity that dices up the malt to the point where there is some over-thinning on the body. Raisins, plums, light cherries and vanilla are all plastered to the palate, while the deep, chocolatey malts seek to recover their former dominance. In the end, it’s certainly flavorful and enjoyable, but I find it a bit too heavy on the barrel character. Still, it’s very close and probably only a matter of preference. It’s not like they went crazy on the barrel. Rich, warming, without any syrupiness or tacky sweetness. Low carbonation. I think the aroma benefited the most from this experiment, but I’ll still take the regular stuff.

Secret small keg at EBF. Thanks to Eric for hooking me up with a few samples. Pours a dark woody almost muddled brown and a thin head. Aroma of the usual thickly sweet caramel and toasted malts found in the regular 4th, with more wood character and light bourbon, but it isnt overly bourbony or oaky like some other BA aged beers. Great full flavor loaded with caramelized sugar and malts, dried fruits, light apricot, some vanilla, light oak, moderate bourbon. Silky smooth mouthfeel and the same great texture as the normal 4th. Obviously a great beer, if you like the regular version.