My understanding is that they said BA Bigfoot was aged in "whiskey" barrels because they used a whole combination of bourbon, rye, and Scotch barrels, so it was just easier to use one word. I know the first batch (which I don't think was ever released due to its poor quality) was a mixture of bourbon and single malt Scotch barrels, wouldn't be surprised if the released versions were a similar deal.


I recently had a version of BA Narwhal that was aged in bourbon barrels with red and black currants, one of Sierra Nevada's "Trip in the Woods" bottles. That was an interesting experience, and tasty, but not my favorite fruited stout, and also not as enjoyable as regular Narwhal in my opinion. Unfortunately, it was at a party and I had already had one beer and a glass of wine before (along with some food), so my palate was not at its best. I remember it being thinner than regular Narwhal, with a mild but readily apparent fruity acidity/tartness, and just a hint of bourbon.

^Dang you're on a whole other level than I am of beer enjoyment hahaha. I was given a bottle of the barrel aged Narwhal for my birthday last year and it was delicious. (My [30th] birthday is tomorrow... maybe I'll get another one!)



I don't think it's seasonal so you should be good. Ya might should stock up on 'em anyways haha. I'm "kerrick65" on Untappd for anyone who's interested.



Nice. I haven't seen any for sale lately but I'll keep my eyes open for 'em.

I really lucked out there, I found it in a liquor store that occasionally gets good beer but is in an area of town that doesn't have high craft beer demand, so rare stuff sometimes sits on the shelf for longer than normal. Super-excited about opening my 2015 BA Narhwal too.

Also managed to find a solitary Bourbon County Coffee on New Year's Eve - that makes this the first year I've found all a year's Bourbon County releases. (I think the Rare they're selling is still from 2015, right?)

Bigfoot is released once a year, usually in January or February. And they didn't make Bourbon County Rare in 2016, so yeah that's a 2015. Unless it's a 22oz bottle, in which case it's a 2010.

Bought 4 more Bigfoot and stored them in my basement, and I will let them stay there.
The date on them says they were bottled 6 of january last year, so they are already 1 year old.

Now I am having a ''The Saints Whisky Beer'' from St. Peter's Brewery.
Interesthing thing, very smoked taste, maybe a bit too much.
I hope their Cream Stout will be available here someday, i'ts supposed to be quite nice.

Currently enjoying a glass of the best fucking scotch ale I've ever had. It's called Ralph Merry, from Microbrasserie la Memphré. It's a robust (10,5%) scotch ale, aged in bourbon barrel and it's out of this world.

Sounds awesome. Scotch ales are one of my favorite-ever styles so I try to drink them as often as possible.

It was truly awesome. Just a big wave of roasted malts, molasses, dark chocolate, bourbon, candied sugar, candied fruits, and hints of vanilla as it warmed. One of my favorite style too. I brewed one last week, my first attempt at the style... cannot wait to sample it.

Whoa has anyone tried anything from Sierra Nevada's Trip In The Wood series? They're all barrel-aged (I forget the specifics) variations of beers currently in production but with a twist. Example, the Big Foot barley-wine style ale is infused with ginger, etc. They're like $16 each for a 750 ml bottle which is a bit too rich for my blood... but I'm very curious nonetheless.

Alright, this bar has rotating Korean craft drafts (only two but whatever) plus a solid selection of imported craft stuff. Had an Anderson Valley Winter Solstice earlier and now I'm enjoying a New Holland Dragon's Milk. I'll be coming here often for sure.

Just a head's up, Sierra Nevada recalled a bunch of their recent beers due to defective bottles---there's a chance some of the glass might break off and end up in the beer. Check their website for more details.

^Oh dang! That is no good... At the moment I don't have any Sierra in my fridge but that's good to know so I don't pick up any more until they get that sorted out...



Right on; sounds like a legit place! That Anderson Valley one is tasty.

Sure is. Nothing they have is super exciting or new to me, but to have a decent selection at a good price at a place that also has legit pizza and a good atmosphere and is within stumbling distance....count me in for being a regular.

I had a bottle of 2008 Schneider Aventinus last night. That beer becomes absolutely amazing as it ages--at almost nine years old, it is every bit as complex as wine. Makes me wonder what Samichlaus would taste like after nine years in the cellar.

I like Carling and Peroni. Recently I decided to try Keystone light and Bursh light

The Aventinus is phenomenal beer. Might be my favorite actually. I've never seen it here in the US.

I have a 2007 Samichlaus Helles waiting for this coming holiday season. Not the same as the regular Samichlaus and I haven't had it that long (think I bought the four-pack in 2013 or 2014 along), but should be a good indicator of what my regular Samichlaus' will taste like in 2024 I think. When I last opened a 2007 bottle it was delicious; think it was in 2015.

Not really sure what Samichlaus has to do with Aventinus though, very different beers.

Bought my first "growler" here (giant 2L jug of specialized beer). Although the combination sounds weird - a raspberry and chocolate stout - it's surprisingly really good. In fact, it's a little addictive. Sadly it's limited (apparently this was the first and only time it was brewed), but hats off to Muskoka for creating a fantastic stout. Now if I only had guests to share it with...

Well, both are dark bocks and both are at fairly high ABVs for beers with not much in the way of special production techniques. Aventinus is supposedly frozen to get the high ABV, but I'm not sure if that's just how they came up with the idea originally. Both are from more or less the same brewing tradition and both are very strong, specialty beers from a time before specialty beers and craft beer were such a huge thing as they are now. I take it Woolie_Wool was referring to the Eisbock, not the regular Aventinus.

Speaking of bocks, that beer/pizza bar I menioned earlier keeps Celebrator in stock. It's not super cheap ($11) but nice to have available. My regular staples these days have been Boddington's (best convenience store beer) + one or two more interesting beers if I'm drinking at home (some Flying Dog or Duvel or something) or, if I go out, the two bars I frequent both have a decent IPA by a Korean brewery called Platinum Brewing on draft for an ok price, so mainly I drink that and some of their imports. Weather's been right, so I've been having a lot of Brewdog Santa Paws, New Holland Dragon's Milk and The Poet, and Founders Dirty Bastard. The last one especially - it's the same price at the bar as it is in the store.

While it's still a far cry from what I'd have available in even a pretty standard beer store back home, the selection here just totally obliterates what I could get in any pub in my previous city. Now, if only there were something as good as that Galmegi Brewing place in Busan...

Growlers are great, as are the smaller, or squealer versions over here. I'd sure as hell drink it with you, but y'know the whole Canada/Australia distance thing is a slight problem. That, and I'd probably freeze to death in a heartbeat.

'Growlers' in NZ are only 1.2L

On a very fancy beer note, just had Sierra Nevada's Maillard's Odyssey aged in bourbon barrels for the second time. Ridiculously priced but so, so damn good. Definitely my favourite beer of all time.

Other than that a bunch of often very tasty, but unremarkable pales, stouts etc. Coopers extra stout and Little creatures Pale, mostly. Lot of longnecks. God I love summer in Australia.

Oh! Oh one weird old pint I had was a saison/some type of sour ale made with seawater. So basically a big, sour, salty beer. Was on tap and very cold. Not really sure what to make of it- me and the wife shared it and the general consensus was "this is quite refreshing but I have no idea if I enjoyed that or not". You could almost imagine it being a health drink or something. Anyway worked as an experiment but then I had another IPA, and then about 5 more IPAs so no prizes for guessing what I prefer.

Got a bunch of new beer this week:


The liquor store got some Narwhal stouts back in stock so i ordered 4. Two days after they cant be ordered anymore
2015 version.


The ''Svartekunst'' is from one of my favorite breweries ''Kinn''.
This is a 2014 version.

Nice! Those Narwhals are great. I had a Bigfoot or two last weekend (along with some Oskar Blue's Old Chub which is a very nice Scotch ale).

Wow that is quite the description on that Svartekunst. I've never heard of that one before but it sounds pretty dang good.

You understand Norwegian?

I have literally never studied Norwegian in any capacity and I'm pretty sure I understand at least half of that. I swear I haven't used Google or any other translator:

Svartekunst is a potent brew made of dark smoked coffee, dark chocolate, some sort of fruits and wine notes. (something about how you should drink it - lager it to age it before drinking?). Store at 12-16 degrees in a dark cellar.

Ingredients: water, two types of brewer's malt (normal and roasted?), sugar, yeast.

Can be cellared for up to 20 years. Best after 2015.

Recently tried Gonzo Beer. It has Hunter S. Thompsons name on it, but I'm not sure how close the affiliation is. I like it, but its an acquired taste for sure. Usually I don't like the black stuff, but this is good.

All of Flying Dog's stuff is Hunter S. Thompson inspired, or at least the brewery is as a whole. That's been their schtick for a while. Gonzo is great!

Not bad, a nice translation!

How you should drink it says: Drink small mouthfuls on dark evenings.
Will for sure crack it on a dark stormy evening

Nope, I was just referring to the "foreign extra double imperial Russian export stout porter."

I'm a fan of my company's "beer thirty" beliefs. Come 4:00 on Fridays, it's time to crack open a beer. I was handed a Lagunitas Little Sumpin' which while it's not quite my style, it's still pretty good.

Well, that's (obviously?) a pisstake on how breweries tend to put labels in front of stout/porter while describing (almost?) the same thing.

I've tried everything by them that I can find. Never disappointed.

Addictive is right, I drank my growler of that in two nights. Normally wouldn't want fruit anywhere near my stout but they really pulled it off.

Beau's Iron Shirt is really interesting. It's a pale ale infused with ice wine grapes and aged in vodka barrels. The vodka aftertaste is maybe a bit harsh, but definitely one of the most distinct beers I've ever tried.

Much as I'm normally into relatively strong and experimental stuff, I've never tried a beer aged in anything other than bourbon, whiskey or scotch barrels. Tequila, vodka and wine barrels seem to be most common for that second grouping. Guess I'll have to try those sometime.

Also, I think Evil Twin's Imperial Biscotti Break might be my new favorite non-BA imperial stout. Super-smooth and rich, but despite the name it's not overly sweet or fake-sugary.

What the fuck is a "vodka barrel?" If it's a grain vodka, by definition it becomes whisky or whiskey when aged in a barrel. If it's a potato or grape vodka, by definition it becomes a type of brandy when aged in a barrel. If it's vodka derived from a sugar solution, beet sugar, or molasses, by definition it becomes rum when aged in a barrel. "Vodka barrel" does not compute.

As for unusual barrel types, I've had a few beers aged in rum barrels with varying degrees of success. I would say they give a very "bright" flavor compared to bourbon, rye, or whisky barrels. I've had two beers aged in tequila barrels (a gose and an Irish dry stout), both of which actually worked surprisingly well considering I hate tequila with a white-hot passion. Most sours are aged in wine barrels, with the Belgian lambics using heavily scrubbed/treated barrels to remove all wine flavor and the American sours typically using minimally treated barrels to retain the flavor of their former occupants. I've had wine-barrel stouts and a quad or two, the vinous flavor is pretty subtle.

I've had a quad (La Trappe BA Quad) aged in a mixture of wine and cognac barrels which was outstanding, and a barleywine aged in calvados (French apple brandy) barrels which was nothing to write home about. However, the base beer for that, JW Lees Harvest Ale, normally takes about 8 years of bottle-aging to taste good, whereas it was only aged in the calvados barrel for a few months---and since my bottle was about 5 years old, it was at an awkward stage where the beer wasn't old enough to taste good but was too old to taste much of the barrel influence. Honestly, after also having the whisky and sherry variants, JW Lees is best on its own, sitting in a basement for a decade. As for La Trappe's barrel-aged quad, the barrel types change drastically with every release, so good luck finding another cognac-and-wine batch.

I second Biscotti Break. Also, the barrel-aged one is ace as well if I'm remembering that night correctly. I wish to god I could find four-packs of Biscotti Break and Maple Jesus. If you want an excellent non-BA, non-flavored stout/porter from Evil Twin, I highly recommend Lil' B. Excellent stuff.

I'm admittedly clueless about this, but I assumed it was a barrel used to store vodka? All I know is I talked to the guy from the brewery (he was there at the liqour store since they were having a special event for their beer) and he told me that it was aged in a vodka barrel. Beats me.

Then basically that's just a vodka distillery that wants to market their sole whisky/brandy/rum product as a vodka, so they can appeal to (generally young) vodka drinkers rather than (typically older) whisky/brandy/rum drinkers.

I'm a little surprised there aren't label laws against that sort of thing to be honest. Vodka distillers are notoriously litigious about the definition of vodka.

Starka?