Apple Brandy Barrel Olde Ale
Drake’s Brewing Company in San Leandro, California, United States 🇺🇸
Traditional Beer - Old Ale Regular|
Score
7.10
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
Bottle from KrausenJockey and Aspidites drunk on 5/10/17.
Pop of the cap yields a light hiss...thats good. Pours a lovely maroon-to-burgundy brown color with great clarity leaving the solidified sediment behind. A small ring of beige bubbles forms but disappears quickly.
Wow. A stunning aroma rises up free from nearly any oxidation, much to my shock and delight. Wonderful amounts of apple brandy perfectly wedded to toffee and caramel-like malt notes creates an amazingly elegant nose. Its rich but balanced and shows almost no booziness. Spice, wood, raisin, prune and other boisterous berry notes perk up a nearly juicy apple-vanilla character. Nearly a perfect nose and its hard to believe how this has somehow manages to escape the clutches of oxidation for so long.
Fruity, tannic and full of apple, fig, raisin and toffee in the mouth, its obvioiusly quite tired at this point, with low, loose carbonation and lots of earthy, cellar-like qualities. Yet again, almost no oxidation present with a supple maltiness and tons of spicy apple brandy notes to balance. A bit of alcohol, inescapable at this abv, is noted, but it warms gently without any aggressive character to it. Clean and balanced and obviously masterfully crafted, its one of the few dark ales Ive had thats survived to still be enjoyable.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Bottle from Freakin’ Frog, Las Vegas; brewed Sept 2005, 3 years old; barrel aged for 11 months
Hazy red-brown color; generous head. Nice wood aroma, light dust, Brett and cobwebs. Medium bodied, it has a good caramel flavor, woody, with a light sourness from the barrel, quite strong bitterness, and an increasing alcohol presence; roasted nuts too in the end. As a comparison, it reminds me some BFM, but with less character. Good and interesting, but I would prefer less alcohol and more sweetness.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Midget bottle thanks to Blutt59 via bu11zeye. Barrel aged series 3. Aroma has some funk, apple brandy, cinnamon and a touch of cumin (odd spice for a beer). Taste is cedar, some spices, carmel and a bit of harsh calvados. Syrupy mouthfeel light bubbles. 3.6
2005 bottle 6+ years later. Clear amber with a surprising and lasting tan head. Aromas of brandy, apple, Calvados, rich toffee, brown sugar wood, hardly any oxidation if any! Some trace esters, bubble gum mostly. Really nicely balanced. Flavors are of apple brandy and deep caramel with light smoke. Very mild oxidation, much less than expected for the age (let alone these bottles). Bitterness from tannin and/or whatever else is pretty strong, but the 6oz beer is still plenty feisty. Medium(plenty) carbonation, tannic, burnt frappachino mix. Lightly warming. Verdict: not past it’s prime at all... Probably near peak, but still has some life!
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
6 oz nip bottle courtesy of alohaC. Brewed in September 2005. Pour is cloudy brown-orange with a tan head that fell quickly. Aroma of BIG Apple Brandy. Underneath that initial apples is the woodiness. Taste is herbal, woodsy, a bunch of green apples and heat. This was very warming, very much like sipping Brandy. As it warms, it picks up a decent full maltiness I didn’t sense at first. The aftertaste features a bit more heat, and some flat cardboard which makes me think this may be a touch past its prime. Not too far past though, this was a good one. Thanks Christian, every beer from that trade has been great.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Pours a murky brown with tan head. It looks dirty. It has a huge aroma of an old oak tree going through a wood chipper. Hidden behind the pile of wood chips is a mild fruitiness made up of dates, prunes and figs followed by a hint of alcohol. Smells yummy. The taste is full in flavor. I get a dryness to start with a mild tart tannin note followed by a smooth mixture of dates, prunes and figs. Behind the initial flavor the woodiness begins to flourish. It ends somewhat as it started. I get mild fruitiness and muted wood into the after taste as well as a faint dryness.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Original rating 7/19/2007. 6 oz Bottle from Hollingshead Deli! Nose of apples, a little tartness, woodiness, dark fruit, and spices; lightly hazed rust color with a medium beige head that lightly laces the glass; flavor is oaky with some caramel and a brandy; body medium with an alcohol finish. Maybe time will cool the alcohol down so I will put my second bottle in my collection with all my other Drakes nippers! This from 7/19/2007 6/4/2019 Last bottle from Ledgers Liquors 8/2007. Nose is raisins, apples, and hints of vanilla and brandy. Hazy purple like a light red wine and almost no head. Flavor is silky smooth, fruity, slightly sweet, and a hint of brandy.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
6 oz. bottle. Aroma of apple as the cap leaves the bottle. In the snifter alcohol is added. Deep amber color with a head that quickly filmed. Woody notes apparent as the liquid approaches the lips. Medium bodied. Moderately carbonated. Starts caramelly sweet, quickly followed by astringent oakiness. Some lacing appears in the snifter. The finish is oak, alcohol, and some bitter. Whether the bitter is from wood or hop is beyond me. I think another year in the barrel might have mellowed it. As is, it’s a bit harsh around the edges. Rough on the throat. All that being said, it is an interesting effort to contrast with flemish sour ales. More than one route to a particular goal.
Appearance - 2 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5
Murky dull brown with no carbo. Looks like ass. Heady, appetizing aroma...well the apple brandy part is appetizing anyway. The apple brandy basically blurs out a somewhat oxidized-earthy-chewy old ale. Muddled character of way too old ale covered by a nice woody, appley, alcoholic note. The finish mixes chewy, caramelly sweetness with pleasant appley alcohol. The good elements are really good, but the lack of cohesion really hurts...it needs a malt base specifically geared to apple brandy aging in order to reach full potential. Thanks Mike!
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Bottled. An unclear brown beer with a brown head. The aroma is sweet malty combined with notes of caramel, alcohol, and wood, as well as light notes of apples. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of apples, seemingly giving it a slight acidic touch, combined with notes of alcohol and wood. A very complex flavor but very nicely in balance.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
(Bottle 18 cl) Courtesy of aspidites. Very unclear, reddish amber golden with a small, creamy, off-white head. Lightly tart, apply notes. Medium body, very dry and alcoholic - almost vodka-like! Notes of apples and an earthy, fusty edge - before the dry alcohol resurfaces in the finish also. Not overly thrilling. 280507