North Coast Old Stock Cellar Reserve Bourbon Barrel

Formerly brewed at North Coast Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Fort Bragg, California USA

Very deep reddish-brown in colour with a very thin beige head, very light to little lacing with a bit of alcohol legs. The aroma is of light bourbon, chocolate, caramel, some alcohol, sugary sweet, some butterscotch. The flavour is of chocolate, vanilla, oak, caramel malts, noticable alcohol, sweet and chewy. Warming mouthfeel, medium body, medium carbonation. Finishes a little hot with a lingering sweetness.

Incredible aroma, the alcohol really doesn’t come into play until the finish but even then its never really a problem. Very good.

375ml bottle obtained in a trade with TheCheeseMan, thanks Dan.
Opened on December 5, 2008.
Vintage 2005.

Sampled from bottle at OT, Stockholm. January 25, 2009.
2005 vintage
Nice clear copper to brown color, smallisg off-white head. Scent and taste are both dominated by vanilla oak, though the taste is also malty sweet and eaissins. Warming alcohol, but not too much. Smooth mouthfeel, medium bitterness.

Thanks to Mike for bringing this! Poured murky medium brown with almost no head sticking around. The aroma was hot and very bourbon-ey with toasty caramel and lesser fruit at the core.. peppery alcohol, vanilla, and caramel on the back.. burned the nostrils a bit, which got in the way. The flavor had a sweet base of tres leches and caramel that was surrounded by lots of strong bourbon and sweet vanilla notes.. the barrel presence was kind of overwhelming. Heavier-bodied and syrupy on the palate with too heavy of a footprint from the bourbon.

Another great cellar find at the North Coast shop, this is a rich Barleywine aged in oak whiskey barrels. Nose of caramel, dried fruits, cherries, with a upfront flavors of caramel, vanilla, and traces of hazelnut, oak earth and dried fruits in the finish. Very warm and rich throughout, but a dry, bitter and roasty finish.

Deep beautiful clear body, big bubbled head; Huge intense nose that is good but lacks depth and complexity; Big soft textured body, to big to sharp carbonation, it is way to lively; Lots of aroma in finish, here the texture is wrong. Not enough love has been put into this confused brew.

Grabbed this gem in a trade with Solomon420 a few months back. 375mL bottle poured into a snifter. Pours a dark hazy caramel brown with a small cream-colored head that hangs around as a decent collar for a while and doesn’t leave much lacing. The first aroma out of the bottle was the bourbon which remained the dominant smell throughout. There are plenty of other things in the nose with some caramel sweetness, figs, raisins and molasses. On top of all that is the vanilla from the barrel. The taste followed the aroma but with more of the underlying beer coming out. The sugary sweetness comes out more aggressively and the bourbon plays a more supporting role (which is a positive for me). The mouthfeel is sticky sweet and medium bodied with minimal carbonation. There is a slight alcohol burn through the finish. This is a great, great beer and very drinkable given the ABV. A (very) small notch below the Brandy Barrel, but that’s pretty good company. Big thanks to Damian for sharing this rarity.

Bottle. Pours an amber body with an off white head. Lots of alcohol latent fruits, plum, cherry, raisin. Sweet brown sugar, light oakiness, vanilla, and of course loads of bourbon, to much for most, but just right for me.

Deep, rich brown color. Aroma is boozy and strong. Bourbon barrel aging is very prominent. Flavor is very bourbon-forward and very strong. Not bad, but a little to boozy and harsh for me.