Draught pint at Redbones on 9/1/06.
Thin, beige head is not long retained, fading in to the edges, with no lacing. Liquid is highly unfiltered, near-black and opaque.
Before even picking up the beer, the bourbon wafts up. Strong and deeply bourbony, it certainly seems to be dominant. Closer inspection and there really isn’t much other than bourbon. Granted it’s not overly harsh, tannic, dry wood notes alongside it, but it barely smells like beer. Some light chocolate sweetness, fresh yeast and a bit of roast plunging through the bourbon...but mostly bourbon. And to its credit, the bourbon smells lovely, but I didnt order this to delve the deep depths of a bourbon nose. I wanted a beer.
The flavor, then, is not surprisingly overdone with bourbon. Wood is lightly dry on the end, but otherwise not harsh and tannic. Chocolate and some light ashiness/chalkiness are contributed from the roasted barley, but the extremely low carbonation, and more English-like watery, sessionable texture/body certainly don’t hold up to the heavy bourbon. Some peanut skins, coconut and light vanilla sit on the end. But it’s just too much for too easygoing a base beer. Odd, as Berkshire is usually very dedicated to balance.