Rock Bottom Chicago Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Red Ale

On tap at the Great Taste of the Midwest (8/9/08) as Clare’s Commando: Pours a transparent dark copper with a thin-lacing off-white head. Aroma of fresh grapefruity hops and decent bourbon oaky balance. Body starts with good fullness, sweet caramel and fresh grapefruity bittering and flavor hops along with a touch of bourbon before a drier bittersweet finish. Nicely balanced and enjoyable.

DLD ’08. Cask. This definitely didn’t sem to be that big of a beer, but it definitely was interesting. Nice balance of hops and malt, not overly caramel like most reds that I’ve had. Minimal bourbon in the nose, mostly a soft floral character, taste is much the same. Nice and pleasant. Drinkable.

FoBAB 2008: hazy mahogany color, nice white head with lacing. nose of bourbon with floral notes. flavors of creamy caramel, vanilla, wood and bourbon. medium bodied, dry finish. interesting.

Name: Clare’s Commando
Brewery: Rock Bottom Brewery
Date: 08/09/2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Great Taste

Appearance: hazy burnt orange, creamy beige head, lots of lace,
Aroma: sweet caramel and vanilla aroma,
Flavor: sweet caramel candy flavor, lots of vanilla sweetness, light balancing bitterness,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

GTMW 08 - Pours copper / orange with an off-white head. The aroma has vanilla, bourbon and nothing else that I can detect. Medium body. The taste is about like the aroma. Not really anything to expand on here ~ very one dimensional and over bourboned. I don’t like bourbon, therefore I don’t like this ’beer’.

GTMW ’08. Poured a clear dark orange-copper color. The head was off white with an orange-ish tint. Fruity and malty aroma including the likes of fleshy fruits, dark toffee, malty caramel, and fruit filled danish. Medium bodied and sweet with toffee, black tea, vanilla, and big whiskey. Very boozy with a lot of emphasis on the barrel-imparted flavors. Good, though.

Pours very murky, dull pinkish/brown, looks like BBQ sauce with a thin white head. Sweet floral hop, huge bourbon, and sweet rye. This stuff burns your throat going down, soooo boozy! A bit glassy, light caramel sweetness, nice rye flavor. The bourbon in this is insane. Medium bodied, a bit creamy with light carbonation. Fantastic if you like rye and whisky.

GTMW! Amber red with a thin tan head. Flavor was dried fruit and bourbon, some cherry, caramel, vanilla, and celery rounded it out. Finishes boozy, heavy bourbon.