Bourbon Barrel Oatmeal Brown Ale - Tasting

Last January I brewed up this Oatmeal Brown Ale to go into a second use Bourbon barrel with a number of other guys from my LHBS.  The beer aged in the barrel for more than 7 months prior to bottling it in November.

I am not a Whiskey drinker by any means but I have really enjoyed most of the commercial barrel aged beers I've tried.  Beer, whiskey, and oak are a really nice combination that compliments and enhance a beer's flavor.

With this beer, because it was going in a second use barrel, we started with a fairly low gravity to give what, we assumed, was going to be a more subdued whiskey and oak flavor more room to shine.  I think this was, in theory, a good choice.  This whiskey barrel had been used for a stout some months before we were going to use it and then was allowed to dry.  There were several attempts to re-hydrate the barrel to get it water tight again which initially failed due to the very cold weather we were getting last year.  I think this likely caused some additional oak and whiskey character to be stripped.  As a result, the whiskey and oak characters are somewhat subtle in this beer.

Additionally, towards the end of it's time in the barrel the beer started to develop what appeared to be a pellicle which suggested a possible infection.  The beer has a slight fruitiness to it that could potentially be the result of some infection but it really has no sourness that I can detect.  It's possible that the fruitiness is just from the oak and subtle whiskey influences.  All in all, I think this fruitiness is really a pleasant aspect of the beer.

The result is a beer that is, although not quite what I expected (or was hoping for), very interesting and quite tasty.

Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Slight caramel from the malt.  No hops.  Some vanilla aroma along with some whiskey (would call it prominent if this wasn't a whiskey barrel aged beer).  There is also a fruitiness on the nose as it warms which I find very pleasant.
• Appearance:
• Dark brown, almost black.  Pours with almost no head - maybe due to the cold temperatures down in the basement where this has, theoretically, been bottle conditioning.  Looks fairly clear through the edges when held up to the light.
• Flavor:
• Up front I get the oak and subtle whiskey flavor as well as a sweet (indistinct) fruity character.  The middle has a bit of alcohol.  The finish is a slight whiskey character and the fruitiness.  The finish is pretty weak actually and, what flavor there is, fades quickly.
• Mouthfeel:
• Light bodied (must have come down a few points in the barrel) and dry.  Smooth - no astringency.  Some warming alcohol.
• Overall:
• Reasonably complex beer with some very nice flavors.  The fruitiness and somewhat subdued oak and whiskey produce a flavor palate I haven't experienced before.  I think they're very nice.  Unfortunately the beer is a bit too light and, as a result, is ultimately somewhat unsatisfying as a whiskey barrel beer - lacks the bold flavors you'd expect from a beer aged 7 months in a barrel.  May have to just chalk this up to the difference in resources between the pros and us homebrewers (fresh barrels, lots of practice, and ability to blend multiple barrels).