12 Beers of Christmas: Founders Backwoods Bastard Bourbon Ale

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

12 Beers of Christmas: Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale

On the 9th day of Christmas, Frank About Beer drank for me - well, uh, something not so great.

So today's selection has greatness written all over it - Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. I mean, it's from Kentucky, the state which is renowned for bourbon, and an ale that's aged in used, oak bourbon barrels for six weeks while it leeches every ounce of distilled goodness leftover in those barrels.

Except it's not.

This pours a light gold with okay carbonation, and smells really boozy. The taste has a very slight vanilla hint to it, but is a very light, thin beer with a dry finish. Overall, though, it simply tastes like watered-down bourbon. The one positive is it's high, 8.7% ABV alcohol content (typical of barrel-aged beers).

Look, I like bourbon with a little water, but this was too thin to keep a good flavor. I'm not sure if it's the particular distillery they're sourcing from, or a change in the recipe, but this one just isn't what it used to be. 

We definitely respect the hard work and love that goes into making craft beers, but this one, unfortunately, is a miss.

Check back tomorrow for the next beer in our #12BeersofXmas series.

Cheers!

Christian & Eric