David Brockington's Tasting Notebook

Napa Valley Bourbon-aged Barleywine

The Napa Valley Brewing Company
1250 Lincoln Avenue
Calistoga, California

Initial Impressions:

This is the 50th review that I have posted to rfdb since I first started writing reviews in this format. To adequately mark the occasion, I decided that I should review a special beer for the 50th submission. The beer that I have selected is not commercially available, although I think that it should be. While I had some qualms about reviewing a beer that is not commercially available, it was brewed on the premises of the Napa Valley Brewing Company by their brewmaster, Randy Gremp. I believe that this beer is indicative of the brewing ability and imagination of the brewery, so the fact that this actual beer is not available does not disturb me in the long run. If you happen to find yourself in Calistoga and visit the Napa Valley Brewing Company, you should drop a note to Randy that this beer _ought_ to be commercially available.

The beer itself is based on their normal (and excellent) barleywine recipe, with a couple of twists. First, the gravity has been enhanced to a generous 1.114 OG. Second, and intriguing, the beer spent a year aging on staves from a bourbon whiskey cask. Bourbon whiskey, by law, requires aging in virgin American oak barrels. Meaning, whenever a given cask of Bourbon has completed its aging process (a minimum of four years, but occasionally as high as 12 or more years), the barrel needs to be discarded by the distiller. Many make their way to Scotland and are used in the production of my second love, Scotch Whisky. However, many are also discarded. Randy Gremp found his way into a pickup truck full of such casks broken down into staves.

While they make excellent kindling, Randy decided that they should also find their way into the production of beer. To experiment, he brewed a special batch of his barleywine. He cut some of the bourbon staves into smaller pieces, shaved off the exterior portion of the stave (the part which constituted the outside of the cask), and dropped a bunch of these stave "chips" into a five gallon corny keg. Enough of the special barleywine was transferred into the keg to fill it up. Following a year of resting on these chips, the beer was transferred into another keg, where it aged for an additional year.

During our beer tour of Northern California this past August, I had the occasion to meet Randy Gremp at a party thrown by Charlie Gow. We had mentioned that we were touring microbreweries and brewpubs, and he mentioned that we should visit Calistoga on our way out. While Calistoga admittedly was not on our agenda, we made a minor adjustment. We had a fine lunch at the brewery, and tried the full range of beers. Save for one beer, the full range was very good to excellent. (That one beer, named "Golden Lager", is certainly not a lager -- a fact which Randy readily admits to. The owners of the brewery apparently insist on naming it a "lager" for marketing purposes. Why, I don't know; Randy mentioned that they have enough trouble brewing for their existing demand. But, I digress.) As we were sampling the product line, Randy invited us to try a couple of special beers. The first was their standard barleywine which is actually on tap (but not advertised -- you have to ask for it) and an excellent (****) representation of the style. The second special treat was this bourbon-aged barleywine.

The beer itself was a deep amber in my brandy snifter. A slight tan head had formed and slowly dissipated.

Nose:

The beer had a rather sophisticated aroma. The first note evident was a very deep maltiness, the sort of maltiness remniscient of a good vintage Thomas Hardy or a Samichlaus. Vanilla and oaky aromas added a very nice touch to the bouquet. Finally, the unmistakable scent of bourbon whiskey was evident.

Flavor:

The high expectations raised by the bouquet were carried through by the flavor profile of this beer. The first flavor was a deep, full- bodied maltiness suggested by the aroma. This was followed by a distinct alcoholic warming effect. A perceptible, yet balancing, hop bitterness was evident in the middle. The finish was dominated by oaky-vanilla, and fruity- estery notes. The experience of sipping this beer is capped off by a lingering alcoholic warmth.

Final Analysis:

Simply amazing. This beer is remniscient of a fine vintage port. There are so many different flavors competiting for attention it makes the palate spin. Yet, no single flavor dominates; instead of a solo performance by any single note the resulting beer is more a well-balanced orchestra. It was a joy to allow this beer cross my tongue while I attempted to identify the different flavors dancing about.

This beer is also presents a challenge to my rating methodology. While I generally judge a beer against accepted stylistic parameters, there are not many bourbon-aged barleywines available. So, the below rating is more a subjective response than an objective judgment. I hope that Randy decides to make this beer commercially available, although if he does it wouldn't be pouring for a couple of years. Until then, visitors to the Napa Valley Brewing Company are limited to their already excellent standard barleywine in addition to their very good line of ales.

Rating: *****

(5-star scale)

Next Up:

Anheuser-Busch Faust Lager
Anheuser-Busch Black & Tan Porter
Oasis Nileator Doppelbock
Wharf Rat Blackfriar Stout
Copyright 1995 by David Brockington, all rights reserved.
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