North Coast Old Stock Cellar Reserve Bourbon Barrel

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

Dark clear bronze with a minimal head. Dark fruits, oak, subtle bourbon and an odd tinge of chlorine in the nose. Flavor notes of caramel, wood, vanilla, raisin, fig, bourbon, brown sugar and earthy hop character. Pleasant level of sweetness. Full, round body with a medium level of carbonation. Very good.

Bottle from Amorphiss. To be honest, I did not have as much expectation as I had with the brandy version and it might have something to do with the fact that I enjoyed this one better than the Brandy one. Dark mahogany color with tan head that leave thin lace all along the tasting. Strong aroma and flavor of caramel, vanilla, bourbon and somewhat maple. As with its brandy counterpart, the body is thin and the alcohol gets a little overwhelming but the fact that the beer has some complexity and depth makes it very enjoyable to sip in a cold winter night. Thanks Peter!

Dark bronze colored beer. Very nice aroma showcases notes of chocolate, brown sugar, caramel, maple and sweet bourbon. Flavor is very complex, but still a touch hot and slightly too bourbon accented. Still has some serious malt depth to it, with notes of melted caramel, chocolate, cocoa and toffee. Very nice natural carbonation. These BA Old Stocks are beauties.

Bottled, thanks Marsblursi! Cloudy mahogany colour. Woody whiskey aroma. Sweet and full bodied. A bit sticky with some syrup and lots of alcohol. Sugar and vanilla mingle with caramel and prunes. They’re a bit hard on the booze though, so the alcohol burn gets a bit overwhelming. I prefer the regular Old Stock.

(Bottle thanks to Thecheeseman) Pours dark brown with some red hints. The aroma is syrupy and oaky with a good deal of fruity alcohol. Tones of caramel, butter, toasted nuts, wood, brown sugar, brown syrup, tobacco, cherries, rum raisins, dried fruits, brown sugar and vanilla. The flavour is fat caramel, malty and heavily bourbon-like with undertones of dried/dark fruits, white/brown sugar, nuts, vanilla, wood, earth and wet tobacco. Some peppery alcohol. The mouthfeel is syrupy and clean. Medium to heavily sweet and light bitter. Medium to full bodied.

2005 vintage courtesy of Darkelf. Pours brown and virtually still. Smells of bourbon, oak, dark fruit, vanilla, spice, some warming alcohol. Tastes overly sweet with a subtle alcohol bite and some oaky character.

bottle from the cheese man! thanks! Holy hell did this pour THICK!!! Cloudy brown and THICK, with next to no head. Aroma is very complex! THe 1st thing is bourbon, and some hard liquor alcohol. The oak and vanilla really come though, and there is some really nice sweet bornw sugar, and molasses. Flavour is ALL oak, and wood, it’s the 1st thing to hit you. Then comes the vanilla nuances, and some really nice sweet molasses. No hops to speak of, the finish is not bitter at all, it’s actually very sweet with a nice woody note, with a slow warm alcohol burn. Wow, one of the most complex beers i have ever had. So much fin to dissect, excellent stuff!

Bottle at Sune’s (T+M thanks Mikkel). Clear reddish - white head. Vanilla, bourbon, wood, berries, red berries, sweetness, tobacco, roasted, high malty. A bit thin body and finish.