Prairie Artisan Ales Okie

Brewed By: Prairie Artisan Ales in Tulsa (brewed in Krebs), Oklahoma  

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Fischman Liquors and Tavern in Chicago, IL; 2013  

Style/ABV: American Strong Ale/Wild Ale, 13.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

The world is a better place when the work week starts on Tuesday. That's the ripple effect, and the best part about a three day weekend. It's knowing that Tuesday is the new Monday, and mid-week is the day after, and before you know it it's Friday. I'm not in a terrible mood, so let's wrap up this weekend with a fun one. About Prairie Artisan Ales:

Prairie Artisan Ales are yet another brewery that began as a Kickstarter campaign. Founded in 2012 by brothers Chase and Colin Healey (nice beards), the duo have been busy making beer as Gypsy Brewers, but also have their own brew facility (complete with barrels!). You can check them out on Facebook here.

Hipster bottle art is cool. Okie. 

It looks like tonight's beer was Gypsy Brewed at "Pete's Place / Krebs Brewing Co.." You can read more about them in my review of the Prairie Somewhere. The Prairie Okie, which -- as with all the Prairie beers, features awesome bottle art -- is described as an "Imperial Brown Ale aged in oak whiskey barrels." There's not much else to go on here...but I love Brown Ales, I love oak, and I love whiskey. 

Prairie Artisan Ales Okie

This beer pours a surprisingly dark brown color, almost approaching black. It's almost cola-esque. The beer also kicks up two fingers of dark tan/light brown head. The head is creamy and thick, and suggests nothing of the 13.0% lurking beneath. In bright light, you definitely see some brown in this beer. Head retention is nuts on this beer. A pinky of creamy, dark tan head will not die on this beer. It's like the John McClane of beer heads. The lacing is top notch.

On the nose/aroma you get big whiskey, wood, and some fruity notes. I'm getting big raisin, oak, molasses, brownie/chocolate/caramel, and some toast? It's a subtle nose, minus the whiskey and oak.

I don't know what it is about the eve before work weeks...but I seem to really enjoy whiskey beers on those evenings. That or I've lucked into another fantastic whiskey-aged beer. This is just...fantastic. I mean, where did the 13% go? And this beer uses such a deft hand with the whiskey barrel. You get a lot of whiskey and barrel in this, with some oak goodness...and you also get some raisins, caramel, and molasses. But there's also a sweetness and lightness to this beer that I can't quite put my finger on. It really adds some lightness and levity to this beer, and it elevates what would otherwise be a heavy beer. It almost tastes like figs or pomegranate, and it reminds me of the He'Brew Funky Jewbelation. I'm also getting some hints of sweet brownie, chocolate, and some smoke/toast in this. 

At 13.0%, this has some heat and has some booze...but it's not bad. A lot of the heat come from the whiskey barrel flavors you get. It's definitely a sipper, but the mouthfeel still only pushes into the medium-full range. A lot of that is also the result of lots of supportive, creamy carbonation. Palate depth is good, and complexity ain't bad. This is a Brown Ale like the Kraken is a fish...and I wonder what yeast was used to ferment this. In the end, this is whiskey/barrel-forward. You get a kiss of pomegranate figs up front, followed by big whiskey/barrel/oak; that rolls into chocolate, brownie, raisins, molasses, more whiskey/oak; the back end is whiskey, oak, hints of smoke, and some toast. The finish is dry, sticky, and boozy. 

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. I don't even know what I would categorize this beer as, but this is a good beer. You get a lot of bang for buck with this beer, and this would be the perfect monster to sip on over the course of an evening. What I really like about this beer is the hint of sweetness that shows up. I don't know where that sweet fig/pomegranate flavor comes from, but it adds a much needed layer of sweetness to the big whiskey/barrel character that you get here. There's almost a sour/tart character at work here...maybe from some wild yeast. I would drink this as a dessert beer, or pair this beer with a dessert course. This beer would go great with vanilla ice cream, chocolate cake with fruit accents, a cheese cake...or you could pair this beer with red meats with a sweet sauce.

Random Thought: The more I drink this, the more I'm convinced that the fruity pomegranate note is coming from some wild or Belgian yeast. Hmmm...