Stewarts Bourbon Strong Ale

Brewed by Stewarts Brewing Company
Style: English Strong Ale
Bear, Delaware USA

Bottle... O-Town Christmas Gathering ‘07... Cloudy, dark, Longhorn-orange ale with a small, creamy, off-white head. Notes of sour mash, resin, oak and toffee amount to the aroma. Full-bodied and biting with restrained carbonation. Mostly sweet and malty, the flavor provides rich essences of vanilla, caramel and bourbon. Moderately acidic. Mid-length, lightly tangy, very drying finish. Vastly underrated. Thanks to jayg for bringing this beer along to share!

On tap at the brewery...Listed as a bourbon stong ale. Poured into a snifter, not much head. Dark red in color. Nice aroma of tobbaco, light touch of smoke. Taste is close to the nose, lots of malt, light tobbacco, smoke. Low carbonation level. Overall a solid sipping beer.

Courtesy jayMFg. The body is a hazy, dark caramel brown. A small, foamy, off-white head leaves behind some sudsy lacing that mostly rejoins the body. The aroma shows darkly toasted caramel malts, light bourbon, vanilla, and a touch of ripe cherries. This one smells really nice, with a touch of cream smoothing out the light booziness from the bourbon. The flavor mostly follows suit, though things are a bit more muddled. The cherries aren’t as pronounced on the palate, moving more towards a non-descript, general fruity component. Medium bodied and fairly smooth. Short finish. This is a pretty solid brew. Surprised to see that it’s 9% ABV. I would have guessed lower.

Poured a lightly hazy, amber color, with a small, off white head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of bourbon, vanilla, oak, nutmeg, and raisins. Taste of citrus fruit, oak, vanilla, caramel malts, toffee, and a dry, bourbon finish. Pleasant carbonation.

Bottle acquired via BA trade. Reminds me of Alpine Great. Flavor dominated by bourbon. Wonder what this beer would be like if it weren’t barrel-aged, because there’s really not a lot of beer qualities to it, only bourbon. Needs some age to cool down a little bit.

Copper colored with some head and lacing. Aroma is yeasty with a hint of sourness. Flavor is yeasty with a spicy sourness.

22oz bottle shared courtesy of egajdzis. Poured a deep mahogany color with a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of whiskey/bourbon, wood, vanilla, caramel, and some dark fruits. Tastes of bourbon, wood, vanilla, toffee, and dark fruits. The bourbon and wood were definitely stronger in the aromas but still very present in the tastes. Medium alcohol finish.

Bottle from brewpub. This one poured hazy brown with minimal head. The aroma was huge on the bourbon, with some malt and fruit apparent also. The taste was on the dry side with a lot of bourbon flavor coupled with some malt and figgy fruit. This one has one of the more prominent bourbon flavors of any barrel aged beer I’ve had.