Stoudts Old Abominable (Whiskey Barrel Aged)

Brewed by Stoudts Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Adamstown, Pennsylvania USA

Pours with a mahagony touch with slight redding, a very cloudy mideval look. Head is tan and tightly wound, pours at about a half inch and fades into some very spotty lace. Quite the nose on this and the reason I love barley wines. That big sweet toffee caramel malty goodness. A very nice toasty oak aroma sticks out laced with vanilla, than a hint of bourbon. From the nose seems Stoudt’s barrel master did a really good job of integration with this one. Sweet candies prunes, rum soaked raisin, dried smyrna fig, and more of that vanillan oak. This is a damn fine aroma. This is just a damn good beer and an excellent example of barrel aging and what it can do. Really tamed this barley wine and brought everything to a land of calm serenity. Milk chocolate covered raisins with malted milk balls, brown sugar, and a maple fig reduction. Caramel blended with vanilla and a slight bit of diacetyl. The toasty oak flavors tamed the sweetness and made the drinkability of this as good as I’ve ever seen for a barley wine especially a barrel aged one. Only minor flavors of bourbon that bring out the toffee, caramel tones. Very feminine in style and full of finesse. SLightly creamy yet a little thin mouthfeel but it fits this beer to a tee. Thank God I have another bottle of this. Not sure how well this one will hold up for the long haul but looks like my other will be getting drunk sooner than later regardless as I really can’t see this beer getting any better

Draft. Orange-brown in color. No head. Grapes, apricot-orange. Citrusy but not sharp or acidic in taste. Like drinking a melon. Sampled @ American Beer Fest in Boston

750 ml bottle. Pours a hazy orange brown with a medium beige head. Spotty lacing. Aroma of sweet caramel, orange juice, toffee, light vanilla and oak, and light whiskey. Taste of oak and vanilla, orange juice, caramel and toffee and a slight whiskey finish. Pretty good overall, but I was expecting a bit more.

25 oz bottle, via BA beerbeing. Pours a clear dark copper body under a one finger creamy beige head that had pretty good retention. Some very sparce spotty lacing. The aroma is very well balanced between sweet caramel and toffee malts, light whiskey, slight oak tannins, a little vanilla, alcohol fumes, and some herbal notes. Flavor is pretty mellow for a BA Barley Wine. A very restrained malitiness with a fairly subtle barrel character. The whiskey is fairly light, which is nice for a change. Not overly sweet or sticky, which I especially like. The alcohol is fairly well hidded in the flavor, but emerges more on he finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a nice sturdy but not sticky texture. A little on the high side with the carbonation level that lent a slight fizzy prickly feel to it that I didn’t especially care for. Quite warming on the finish. Overall, I think that this was a really nice effort, as was the BA Fat Dog. Both were much more subtle than I expected, and that’s a good thing.

750 from HimerMan - thanks! Not having had the regular Old Abominable, I can’t engage in comparison. But this is an above average American barleywine. Less of a hop presence than one might expect, but not quite enough of a malt personality to compensate. Particularly when you take the barrel aging, this is a bit too anonymous. Pleasant but not distinct enough to merit special attention.

Bottle provided via trade with hopdog. Pours sparkling amber-tawny with an average frothy light brown head, somewhat lasting, spare lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (cookie, caramel, toffee), average hops (perfume, herbs), average yeast (dough, musty) with notes of alcohol and vanilla. Full bodied, oily texture, average carbonation and a bitter finish. Long duration, moderate sweetness, acidity and bitterness; bourbon-vanilla and oak flavor.

Bottle shared at the Columbus Tasting V: Orange pour with an off white head. Aroma of oak, orange zest, caramel malt, some vanilla. Flavors of oak, caramel malt, light yeast and vanilla. Medium body, finishes a bit boozey but also warming.

Bottle: Deep caramel, reddish hues, fairly thick and hazy, moderate frothy sand colored head, mediocre lacing.   Sweet malty nose, very slight vanilla and oak.   Some aspects of caramel and over ripened cherries.   Somewhat spritzy on the tongue, young, but not overly green.   Not that much of a malt bomb as I had thought based on the nose.   Very soft caramel malts, slight astringency too.   Hop bitterness is mild but apparent.   While not that hop oriented, it seems somewhat green.   Body and mouthfeel are moderate, a little spritzy and airy however.   The malts don’t carry this beer through.   A little thin on the exit.   Great nose, great start, but falls short on the backside.   Stil quite enjoyable, with the Whiskey aspect being noticeable but quite minor overall.   Warming at least, without any real hint of the 9% ABV.   As it warms it just seems to lose its weight and mouthfeel.   Good, but this one could be oh soo much better.   Thanks Paul for the bottle!