Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bourbon barrel aged version of a (Colombian) coffee-flavoured Belgian strong dark ale called Nordhunn Thor, developed for Beer Vikings, a webshop in Limburg run by a zythologist; apparently another Nordhunn variant, Freyja's Love Øl, was also created (as an APA). Longneck bottle bought from - obviously - Beer Vikings. Pale greyish white, dense and foamy, very thick, pillowy, shard-lacing, small-bubbled and firm head on a misty amber-bronze robe with 'dirty' burgundy tinge and lots of fine strings of sparkling. Aroma of candied figs, vanillin from the oak wood (very clear), yellow raisins, dried apple peel, halfripe banana, ripe pear, blue plum, caramel sauce, some light bourbon but not overpowering anything and remaining subtle - yet adding a very faint smoky touch, marmite, cashew nuts, some background solvents (wood glue) but nothing abnormal for a BBA beer, 'Koetjesreep', faint background touches of damp earth and - in contrast - lavender soap. Sweet onset but not too sticky, ripe pear, red apple, fresh and dried fig as well as some blue plum, slight sourish edge (blackberry), softish to moderate carbonation with smooth, sufficiently full but nicely 'fluffy' mouthfeel. Sweet-sour fruit effects, by now a tad passionfruit-like, continue through a brown-sugar-filled but still not sticky, essentially caramelly maltiness, with a somewhat fruit loaf-like effect but also something vaguely metallic (iron) in the background. Earthy hops in the finish as well as a more yeasty or even bacterial earthiness (damp earth), immediately followed by drying oaky tannins (paired with retronasal vanilla) and rather astringent, but not overly boozy bourbon; all the while, this sweet-sourish fruitiness continues unabadated and together with the alcohol gets the last word. Coffee, if used in this version in the first place, is all but unnoticeable. The bourbon is present enough without overpowering - I can literally feel it at the back, but it could just as well have been some other kind of liquor; the wood does its job well and the sweetness is kept somewhat restrained. The sourish aspect and retronasal damp earth scent does worry me a bit - both seem to hint at a budding bacterial infection, so I wonder what would have happened if I had kept this bottle till, say, next autumn, when this kind of beers seem more appropriate than on a benign spring day... Never mind - I had it in the state it was in, as a snapshot in time, and enjoyed it, for being easily (in this case dangerously) drinkable, balanced and still colourful. There is worse in this segment, but that said, it cannot be denied either that it does not quite reach the high levels of the La Trappe Quadrupel Oak Aged (the 'OG' barrel aged quad), Chimay Barrique or Straffe Hendrik Heritage series - which in itself is not an issue for me, there is not much sense in trying to simply copy those anyway. Better than expected from this brewery, to be frank - and decent publicity for the sympathetic Limburgian webshop that is Beer Vikings.
great appearance and taste
nice tequila taste