On the 11th day of Christmas, Frank About Beer drank for me - Backwoods Bastard from the Founders brewery.
As you may recall (take a look through our last few posts), we tried a barrel-aged ale a few days ago that was really underwhelming.
Today's beer is another barrel-aged ale that's really everything the other one wasn't.
Backwoods Bastard pours out a dark reddish brown with good carbonation. Founders starts with roasted malt, making for an already great beer, then ages it in used bourbon barrels. The result is that you get an aroma of bourbon, which gives you a heads-up about its high, 11.6% ABV alcohol content.
But it's the taste that's going to make you fall in love with this one. Sure, you get a not-too-heavy bourbon flavor, but you also get a slightly smokey, sweet flavor from the malts. Combine that with some big vanilla (and maybe a little coconut) and subtle raisin flavors, and this easily becomes one if the top beers in this category.
You really want this one. I mean, you REALLY want this one. Beer geeks will love it, but even casual craft beer fans will find all kinds of things to like about it. Plus, it's really smooth and drinkable.
Check back tomorrow for the next beer in our #12BeersofXmas series.
Cheers!
Christian & Eric
