North Coast Old Stock Cellar Reserve Brandy Barrel

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

A careful pour produces a frothy, fairly large bubbled, dirty, light amber tinged, tan colored head that dissipates fairly quickly. The beer is a concentrated, rich amber color, but shows a brilliantly clear, bright red, cranberry color when held up to the light. As I pour this beer ample notes of buttery oak greet my scent receptors. Upon closer inspection it is confirmed that the oak plays a major role here; ample butter oak notes dominate, but aromas of vanillin, deeply caramelized wood & malt, intermingling though somewhat subtle fruit and berry notes, as well as lightly spicy oak towards the end. Wow, the aroma is really growing on me; at first I was disappointed that it was so barrel influenced, but the particular barrel influence here is so smooth and enjoyable. The base beer definitely plays a supporting role here in the aroma (really contributing to the substantial caramelized notes), but this is the most fantastic smelling, barrel dominated beer I have ever experienced; I could go on smelling the beer for quite some time.

Chewy, substantial, but not overly viscous, for a beer of 14.7% alcohol this is down right light in body. A carbonic bite yields to a substantial fruity caramel note, which then moves to a spicy, clearly barrel influenced shot of Brandy character in the finish. Sweet flavors are here, but not in a sticky manner, in fact this is even a bit dry. Up front flavors of caramelized raisins and berry notes mix very well with oak components of butterscotch and vanillin. The finish is definitely quite warming in character (warm hues radiate down my throat after each sip), but not overly hot or aggressive. Brandied grape notes are definitely quite noticeable at times, but seem to mix / meld into the caramel / toffee and butterscotch notes pretty well. The hop character, that is so scathing in fresh samples of the normal Old Stock, plays a surprising mellow role here. The hops contribute a soft bitterness in the finish that is barely noticeable under the alcohol and barrel flavors, while the normally pungent hop flavor is all but a part of a movie extra here; hints of citrus, and a touch of pine is about it. This still has that leathery, substantial malt depth that I love in the original, in fact it is this malt character that really allows the Brandy barrel to really shine here.

The mix of caramelized malt / wood notes and butterscotch oak character in the nose is incredible. The barrel influence here is huge, but amazingly it marries extremely well with the base beer, or at the least it is not a harsh, overwhelming barrel character. Visually this beer was a bit disappointing with the quickly disappearing head, but when you take into account the alcohol percentage the head was actually quite substantial. I really like that the body of this brew is not overly thick, though this is most definitely a sipping brew; it could use / stand up to a bit more residual malt character though. This really is such a great, flavorful beer, but in the end it is the lack of extra malty oomph that keeps this from being the perfect marriage between barrel and malt. Still a fantastic brew, but at times it can even be a bit thin when compared to the ample brandy barrel notes. Don’t get me wrong though, this is a fantastically tasty brew. The fact that the flavors from the barrel are so well integrated and somehow not overwhelming despite being dominant really makes this an incredibly enjoyable brew (pick up the base beer flavors a bit and this would be perfect).

Thanks to Ken for this one. This was absolutely scrumtrulescent. Dark brown body. Aroma contains noticeable alcohol, caramel, and booze (brandy?!). Flavor is brown sugary, with toffee, butter, chocolate and vanilla. Incredibly worthy of the praise.

500. 2005. Thanks, Kim! Dark brown with caramel highlights and virtually no head or lace. Huge cherry, sherry, and port nose. Chocolate and raisins there too. Thick, sticky, creamy body. All the aromatics are back for the mid-palate. Long sticky dry finish. Amazing. Delicious. Complex. Huge.

(375ml bottle, thanks kmweaver) Medium beige head atop dark brown body. Aroma is moderately sweet, vanilla, caramel, some raisin. Taste is sweet, caramel, vanilla, some Bourbon, light raisin. Smooth medium-full body. Good stuff, but I prefer "unbarreled" Old Stock.

Sampled multiple times courtesy of mj and kmweaver. Hazy dark amber with a small off-white head. Port like nose with brandy, toffee, dark fruits and light pine. The flavor is moderately sweet, lightly bitter with tons of toffee, prunes, raisins, cookie dough and brandy. Full body is round with moderate carbonation.

375ml corked and caged bottle, with an enormous thank you to AgentSteve for this! Pours a cloudy (muddy) brown with a slight foamy head of large and lively bubbles that quickly dissipates down to a thin outer ring and eventually perfect stillness, no lacing. Aroma is incredible, with rich and deep profiles of brandy, caramel, plum, vanilla, toffee, candied dark fruits, oak/wood, and maple syrup (real, not the corn syrup stuff), all blended together in seamless harmony. Flavor nears perfection, with the aroma coming through nicely to the palate, also in fantastic balance, which is the key word on this one. Wonderful balance in sweetness, barrel-aging, flavors, aromas and on and on. Very well done, and my new favorite North Coast offering! Thanks again Steve!

Even better than regular Old Stock...which is fanastic. This is like drinking an incredibly potent port, or a very nicely aged brandy. Aroma is a complex cornucopia of deep caramel, dark fruits, molasses and subtle alcohol. Flavor is dark sugar, caramel, dark fruit, subtle dark chocolate, and a hint of brandy from the barrel aging. Oh man is it fantastic.

Great alciohol warmth wraps itself around the oak and caramel. Nice looking darker golden pour. Dark fruits mixed with a syrupy flavor make this slightly too sweet. Still enjoyable on all levels.