New Glarus Unplugged Bourbon Barrel Bock

Formerly brewed at New Glarus Brewing Company
Style: Doppelbock
New Glarus, Wisconsin USA

Pours amber. Aroma of bourbon, vanilla, butter, fruit, caramel. Taste is a bit funky, kind of buttery, vanilla and bourbon too. Pretty good, I’m glad I found this. I think the bourbon barreling goes better with this style than Imperial stouts or barley wines.

Delectable aromas of bourbon, vanilla, caramel, dark fruits, chocolate, and a touch of earthy brett. Poured a nice copper color with a thin head. Flavors initially of some hot bourbon followed by bready caramel and chocolate, some lightly tart dark fruits, and a soft funky earthiness in the finish. Full bodied with a mild warming effect. A pleasant alcohol/funky finish. I really liked this one.

As suggested by the brewer, I did find a treasure of vanilla, oak and carmel notes in the brew. Light on the hops though, but that’s ok. Rich body, with a bit of syrup stickiness at the end. A alcohol or yeast strikes an initial wonderful impression, but I don’t know which of the two it is.

12oz Bottle. Wow. Funky cherry, brett, and wildness nose. Coconut. Interesting malt to funk development. Pours a clear red/orange, with white head. Flavor is complex. Higher alcohols, brett, and brown sugars. Interesting, but malt complexity is lost. Still a very pleasant flavor. Bits of caramel and dry leafy hops. Interesting, balanced, but safe like other New Glarus renditions. Filtered, certainly.

12oz bottle thanks to schneid (BA site). Pours a dark rust color with no head. Nose is of bourbon and malt. Taste is of bourbon, fruit, oak and spice. The taste is the best characteristic of this. Mouthfeel is medium-to-heavy and a bit syrupy with alcohol warmth at the finish.

Pours a translucent amber color with a white head that quickly dissipates and leaves no lacing. The aroma gives me a wonderful scent of bourbon; vanilla and dark fruits beneath it, with just the tiniest bit of barnyard funk. Immediately I pick up bing cherries meshed with sweet caramel; bourbon flavors and some vanilla join in quickly and it finishes with a touch of oak. Lighter on the carbonation, but still noticeable; body is full and smooth. Alcohol is well hidden and this one has been improving since release. I look forward to trying this one many times along its journey.

Bottle. Pours a clear garnet color with an initially effervescent cream colored head that dissipates slowly leaving minimal lacing. Toffee and vanilla aromas with a hint of bourbon and a tinge of bretty hairspary- I didn’t even know to expect brett in this beer, cool. Big caramel flavors with more vanilla and lots of bourbon. Drinks a little sharp right now. There seems to be some very strong tannins as the beer sits on your palate. Lingering finish that dies out with a sort of plastic note. This may be the closest thing to a let-down that I’ve seen from NG (I’ve loved most everything I’ve tried thus far and came into this with very high expectations), but then again, I’ve never seen a BA Bock with Brett before so I’ve got to hand it to them for brewing outside the box.

Pours a toffee amber with a thick tan head. Big bourbon, oak aroma. Taste is smooth malty with hints of bourbon, vanilla, & oak. Nice smooth bodied drink, just a hint of alcohol burn. Very tasty, a nice sipping beer.