Rackhouse Reserve (2020)
Alesong Brewing & Blending in Eugene, Oregon, United States 🇺🇸
Strong Ale - American Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.71
|
|
After tasting through our rackhouse of spirits barrel-aged beers, we selected a complex blend that evolves as you drink. Rackhouse Reserve incorporates ales aged in a variety of bourbon barrels for up to 18 months, culminating in a harmony of warm flavors reminiscent of caramel, toasted marshmallow, spicy oak and dark chocolate.
Bottle date: 09/2020
Cases produced: 650
Microbes: Saccharomyces
Barrels: 6yr Woodford Reserve bourbon barrels, 4-10yr Heaven Hill bourbon barrels & 6yr Four Roses bourbon barrels
(from label)
As our cellar of beers in bourbon and whiskey barrels grows, we’re fine tuning beer that highlights the vast array of flavors you find in fine spirits. In one barrel, you can find peaty, earthy, musky aromas, and in another barrel you’ll find some softer notes of vanilla and spice.
We brewed and blended Rackhouse Reserve to showcase the range of flavors we can get out of different brands of bourbon barrels, as well as the range of warm, decadent beers we age in them. That means oak and caramel, vanilla and chocolate, spice and cream, and a host of lovely flavors that lead to a rich, complicated beverage.
Because of that, Rackhouse Reserve defies typical beer descriptors. We wouldn’t really call this a stout, a barleywine or a strong ale. It’s like sipping the crema from fresh espresso, with a touch of caramel, but you’re sitting outdoors with that nice woodsy, autumn air all around you. Or like a roasted marshmallow over a fire, but the whole marshmallow is golden and you’re using a thin layer of dark chocolate on your graham cracker.
Using various years of bourbon barrels from Woodford Reserve, Four Roses and Heaven Hill, we got a great complexity of bourbon notes to shine in this beer, without the boozy heat you get tasting spirits. You’ll find a wide range of bourbon notes, none too overpowering or dominating.
Like we always say, the interpretation of this beer is up to you, but we really hope you sip, consider the harmonies of flavors, and as it warms up, experience the change in character that makes drinking this beer a real treat!
Cheers, and we hope you enjoy this tour of our rackhouse.
Sign up to add a tick or review
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
31st August 2023
Craft Beer Junction bottleshare. Thanks to Tips. Hazy amber beer, small pale tan head. Smooth palate, semi dry, good fine carbonation. Smooth malts, nice creamy sweet malts, salted caramel. Good ripe fruity bourbon. Mild spice. Just a layered and drinkalble BBA job. Goes down super easy.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle split at the 2nd CBJ tasting, thanks to Danny 31/08/23. Deep mahogany brown with a beige cap that thins to the edge. Nose is caramel melt, booze, sugars, barrel notes, spice. Taste comprises brown sugar melt, caramel, fruit cake mix, dates, figs. Full bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close with a balanced lick of bourbon coated booze. Solid kit.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Bottle shared in London. Cheers! Pours deep red with a foamy off-white head. Big sweet flavour, notes of berries, brown sugar, malts. Medium bodied with fine carbonation. Warming and sweet finish. Tasty.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Bottle at home. Pours deep ruby, nose is caramel, berries, vanilla, toffee, taste is juicy berry, raisin, caramel, chewy toffee, vanilla, oak, some coconut.
A deep dark reddish brown ale with a thin lacing mocha head. In aroma, sweet fruity caramel malt with loads of cinnamon, maple, alcohol warmth, very nice. In mouth, a nice sweet fruity caramel malt with dark fruits, light cinnamon, alcohol warmth, very nice.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Flaska från Hopt. Något mörkare kastanjebrun med beige krona. Mycket överslag åt barleywine än stout. Kola, torkad frukt, mycket smak från fat, lätt rostade toner, kolaremmar. Bra fatkaraktär. Mycket gott.
I, love, alesong, strong ales. So much bourbon, so smooth, also maybe cause they use a lot of heaven hill. Gotta get myself a bottle to compare. Perfect body, some heat but caramel chocolate bourbon galore. Wish I had another of this.