Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL
Purchased: 12oz bottle (Batch #90) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 02.??.2013)
Style/ABV: Bourbon Barrel Aged Wee Heavy/Scotch Ale, 11.0%
Reported IBUs: ?
Continuing with my previous review, The Murderous, and with Pipeworks' barrel-aged, The Jones Dog, I am wrapping things up with their barrel-aged Wee Heavy. About Pipeworks:
"Our Last Kiss Wee Heavy, brewed with fennugreek and vanilla, aged in Buffalo Trace Barrels."
In lower light this one pours into an opaque, cola-black body, kicking up one or two fingers of brown head. Bright light betrays this beer, which has a VERY dark ruby red body...you can see some carbonation streams steadily rising upwards towards the edges of the glass, and a centimeter of bready, brown head is hanging around for the long haul. There is lacing and legs.
The aroma here is very nice, with big bourbon/oak infused with chocolate, peat, and coffee coming to the front. I'm getting nice wood, oak, barrel, and chocolate....there's definitely some vanilla on the aroma, and the vanilla plays off the coffee in such an enjoyable way. It's almost as good asbanging stalking that cute little English major number who is working as a barista at your local Starbucks. The base beer here is solid, and the barrel character is present.
The taste isn't quite as prolific as the aroma, but you get a nice range of flavors. I'm getting a lot of whiskey/raisins up front, but as the beer ramps things up you get some of that nice peat/Scotch Ale base, a little coffee, some hints of booze, wood/barrel, and some ghostly chocolate. There's some hints of vanilla as well, and the beer finishes sweet and boozy. Very nice.
You know a beer is sweet when the spirit/bourbon cuts through the sweetness...this is full-bodied, sticky, dense stuff. You can put that in the books. Despite the heavy mouthfeel, this drinks okay for 11.0%. The beer is actually a bit thin at times, and the barrel character isn't too pronounced. Palate depth is good, and complexity is good. Nothing is world-class here, but this is probably an above-average offering. Up front you get whiskey, raisins, and sharp barrel; the mids hit the peat/smoke, you get some base beer, there is coffee, light wood/oak/barrel; the back end dials up the wood/oak/barrel, with some hints of vanilla and chocolate. The finish lingers for a very long time, which is nice, and finishes sticky, sweet, and boozy, with lingering sweet notes. Good.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average for this beer. It's a Scotch Ale aged in sexy Buffalo Trace barrels...you can't really go wrong there. There's a simple elegance to this beer, but yeah. I would definitely consider pairing this beer with a cigar, especially since the whiskey and hints of peat malt point in that direction. You could also pair this beer with grilled meats, or your dry chocolate cakes or creme brulee. The base beer is over-the-top and fun for the style, so it takes well to the barrel. I'm glad Pipeworks chose this one for the barrel treatment.
Reported IBUs: ?
Continuing with my previous review, The Murderous, and with Pipeworks' barrel-aged, The Jones Dog, I am wrapping things up with their barrel-aged Wee Heavy. About Pipeworks:
Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.
Like the previous two Pipework's barrel-aged offerings, this one was brewed back in 2013. You can read my review of the Last Kiss Wee Heavy if you are really bored...the tl;dr version is that it's a big, sticky, sugary take on the style. And that's okay. The beer is brewed with vanilla bean and fennugreek. The back of the bottle states:
"Our Last Kiss Wee Heavy, brewed with fennugreek and vanilla, aged in Buffalo Trace Barrels."
 |
| Pipeworks The Last Kiss / BA Buffalo Trace |
In lower light this one pours into an opaque, cola-black body, kicking up one or two fingers of brown head. Bright light betrays this beer, which has a VERY dark ruby red body...you can see some carbonation streams steadily rising upwards towards the edges of the glass, and a centimeter of bready, brown head is hanging around for the long haul. There is lacing and legs.
The aroma here is very nice, with big bourbon/oak infused with chocolate, peat, and coffee coming to the front. I'm getting nice wood, oak, barrel, and chocolate....there's definitely some vanilla on the aroma, and the vanilla plays off the coffee in such an enjoyable way. It's almost as good as
The taste isn't quite as prolific as the aroma, but you get a nice range of flavors. I'm getting a lot of whiskey/raisins up front, but as the beer ramps things up you get some of that nice peat/Scotch Ale base, a little coffee, some hints of booze, wood/barrel, and some ghostly chocolate. There's some hints of vanilla as well, and the beer finishes sweet and boozy. Very nice.
You know a beer is sweet when the spirit/bourbon cuts through the sweetness...this is full-bodied, sticky, dense stuff. You can put that in the books. Despite the heavy mouthfeel, this drinks okay for 11.0%. The beer is actually a bit thin at times, and the barrel character isn't too pronounced. Palate depth is good, and complexity is good. Nothing is world-class here, but this is probably an above-average offering. Up front you get whiskey, raisins, and sharp barrel; the mids hit the peat/smoke, you get some base beer, there is coffee, light wood/oak/barrel; the back end dials up the wood/oak/barrel, with some hints of vanilla and chocolate. The finish lingers for a very long time, which is nice, and finishes sticky, sweet, and boozy, with lingering sweet notes. Good.
I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average for this beer. It's a Scotch Ale aged in sexy Buffalo Trace barrels...you can't really go wrong there. There's a simple elegance to this beer, but yeah. I would definitely consider pairing this beer with a cigar, especially since the whiskey and hints of peat malt point in that direction. You could also pair this beer with grilled meats, or your dry chocolate cakes or creme brulee. The base beer is over-the-top and fun for the style, so it takes well to the barrel. I'm glad Pipeworks chose this one for the barrel treatment.
Random Thought: It's funny because when I picked up The Last Kiss and The Murderous at West Lakeview, there were a bunch of bottles of The Jones Dog just sitting on the shelf. As far as these beers go -- and doing an apples vs. oranges comparison -- The Jones Dog is definitely the best of the bunch. I would rank them The Jones Dog > The Last Kiss > The Murderous. You can probably pass on The Murderous @ $8/12oz bottle. It's just...very average. But definitely check out the barrel-aged Jones Dog and Last Kiss if you have the chance.
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