Innis & Gunn Original

Brewed By: Innis & Gunn Brewing Company in Edinburgh, Scotland (brewed at Wellpark (C&C Group) in Glasgow)

Purchased: 11.2oz single from an I&G gift pack bought at Malloy's Finest Wine & Spirits in Naperville, IL; 2013 

Style/ABV: English Strong Ale, 6.6%

Reported IBUs: ?

Wrapping up with the threesome of Innis & Gunn beers and capping off tonight with a twofer, we have Innis & Gunn's original. About Innis & Gunn:

Innis & Gunn are a brewery based out of Edinburgh, Scotland. The brewery was founded in 2003, but began when Dougal Sharp walked into his father's brewery and decided to become a brew master at the Caledonian Brewery. In 2002 the William Grant distillery asked Dougal to flavor barrels for their cask reserve whisky. The brewers noticed that the barrel-aged beer was delicious, so they started aging the beer in the barrels. You can read more about that story HERE. In 2003 Innis & Gunn was born. 

The Innis & Gunn Original is the OG beer, aged in oak barrels, dating back to around 2003 just after the brewery accidentally discovered that putting beers into oak yields sexy results. Belgium did it first, but shhh. As an added note, this one uses Crystal and Raw Wheat malts, Super Stryian hops, and is aged for 77 days in bourbon casks and over bourbon-infused heartwood.

Innis & Gunn Original

This one pours into a hazy, vibrant, golden-orange body. The color is very nice, and the beer kicks up two fingers of off-white, orange/amber-tinted head. In bright light the beer looks much the same, with visible carbonation rapidly ascending, and some nice lacing forming as the head settles. It's a good looking beer. I still hate the clear bottle, though.

The aroma is all about the malts, with some oak in the mix as well. I'm getting toast, nuttiness, a little toffee, some big vanilla, BIG malted barley (like the aroma when you walk into a brewery), a little wood and oak, and some treacle, raisin sweetness. I'm not getting assertive bourbon on the nose, so any aroma of bourbon is super faint if present at all.

This isn't a knock on the Innis & Gunn Original, but this beer is par the course with the last two beers I've had from Innis & Gunn. You get toast/bread, raisin sweetness, hints of toffee, and grains and malts up front. That rolls into some big vanilla and oak, with hints of bourbon on the way back finish. The finish is pleasant, mild, subtle, and nice...with prominent oak and vanilla. It's good, but it's not some world class, life-changing beer.

So yeah...this is rich, medium to full-bodied, with good carbonation, and an expansive mouthfeel and good palate depth. Complexity is moderate, with lots of front-loaded English Ale stuff: bread, grains, toffee, raisins...the middle is more raisin and toast and grain...and then you get hit with a nice wave of vanilla, oak, and faint bourbon. The finish is good with vanilla and oak, and the 6.6% is elusive but slightly warming. It's not a barn burner, but it's somewhere between average and above average. 

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this. It's riding that Above-Average line, but to be honest, I found both the Bourbon Stout and the Rum Cask to be a bit more complete in terms of base beer + oak barrel + complexity. That's not to say that this beer isn't very good...it is...I really enjoy the light and drinkable sweet malts, and the oak and bourbon is very balanced. This is a very drinkable beer, and would pair well with pub food, English food, fish and chips, burgers, and things like that. I would recommend buying this, but stay the fuck away from any clear bottle that has been sitting naked on the shelf. 

Random Thought: And that's all folks...time to get into bed, I have to wake up early tomorrow to unfreeze my car.