Barrel Runner
(has 1 batch)

Bottle from Whole Foods Slightly hazy deep golden color with a decent sized off white head that slowly recedes. Rum and tropical fruit on the nose mostly. The flavor is sweet malt underneath earthy oaky woody rum. The flavors clash horribly. Maybe with some time this will get better.

Pours a slightly hazy, golden yellow, with small, but lasting head. Aroma is very boozy, with notes of rum and oak blocking just about everything else. Flavor is booze, oaky, some citrus and tropical fruit. Not my favorite--I think the barrel-aging may have ruined a perfectly serviceable DIPA.

Rum, marzipan, honeycomb, oak, orange nose. Cloudy burnt orange, thin yellow head. Rum, overripe orange. Full body, easy carbonation, hot. Boozy as hell, distracting.

7/28/18. Capped 750 mL bottle from a Woodman's somewhere. Amber with a bit of a haze. Thin frothy tan head, decent retention. Aroma of booze, oak, vanilla, oniony hops. Weird, but not altogether bad. The taste is oak, booze, caramel, vanilla. Full bodied, hot, kinda flat. Like sucking on a oak stave.

Normally Founders has been top flight in their offerings. I spotted a four pack of Barrel Runner earlier today at The Cellar, saw barrel-aged and Mosaic on the label and was on it, The cap comes off the 12 oz bottle and I tilt into my favored New Belgium snifter. It shows a hazy gold-yellow liquid completed by a vigorous pure white head. The nose is a sweetish grain smell, a bit surprising. Let’s check out the taste. I like it, a definite alcohol influence from the barrels, Mosaic hops decidedly, grassy, pine, a bit of melon sweetness. Not strong on the IPA end of things but rather entertaining. No regrets for buying, don’t be afraid to show the love, people. 8/4/18

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 5/31/2018. Pours fairly hazy/cloudy golden orange/amber color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and rocky off white head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big rum, lemon, orange, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/zest, oak, honey, brown sugar, and toasted bread; with lighter notes of coconut, vanilla, caramel, toffee, nuttiness, pepper, pine, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Nice aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical hops, rum barrels, and bready malt notes; with big strength. Really boozy on the rum notes in the aromas, but not too bad. Flavors of big lemon, orange, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/zest, rum, oak, honey, brown sugar, and toasted bread; with lighter notes of coconut, vanilla, caramel, toffee, nuttiness, pepper, pine, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Light pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness; and rum/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of lemon, orange, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/zest, rum, oak, honey, brown sugar, toasted bread, coconut, vanilla, caramel, toffee, nuttiness, pepper, pine, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical hops, rum barrels, and bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance and rum/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and rum/oak/spicy alcohol. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a smooth, creamy/bready/sticky/tannic, and slightly slick/resinous balance mouthfeel that is nice. Lightly increasing warmth of 11.1%, with mild booze lingering after the finish. Overall this is a very nice rum barrel aged imperial IPA. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical hops, rum barrels, and bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mellowly bitter/tannic/drying finish. The boozy aromas had be worried it would be overpowering on the barrel, but the flavors were much better. Really well balanced mosaic hops, rum barrels, and bready malts. Not overly bitter, tannic, or drying. A very unique and enjoyable offering. Well made for what they were going for in flavor profile. Would like to see how it develops in 12 months.

$4.20 bottle, Wine Warehouse. Pours murky golden with a soft white head. Aroma is sickeningly sweet candied orange, resin, alcohol, flowers. Flavor is strange: floral hops, orange peel, perfume, rum, coconut. Overwhelmingly perfumey which totally kills this.

Bottle at Salud courtesy of staff, thanks very much! Clear golden amber color white head. Boozy phenolic caramel and citrus aroma. Taste starts sweet then earthy. Guy next o me thought it tasted like umami and that's not far off. Might pair well with sushi