Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL
Purchased: 12oz bottle (Batch #107) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 04.18.2013)
Style/ABV: Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine-style Ale, 11.0%
Reported IBUs: ?
I'm really excited to have tracked down this beer, especially after really enjoy Pipeworks' barrel-aged The Jones Dog. About Pipeworks:
"Our Murderous, English style barley wine, aged in Elijah Craig Bourbon Barrels."
This one pours into a hazy/murky dark-brown, golden raisin color. It looks like your typical Barleywine that has spent some time in a barrel, with deceptive dark brown darkness that is actually more golden raisin in color. The beer kicks up a finger of amber-tinted head, but that gives way to a ring of off-color lacing and some hazy cauldron effect action. There's some glossy alcohol legs to boot. It's not a pretty beer...but then how many barrel-aged beers are.
The aroma here is nothing spectacular, with straightforward bourbon/whiskey, some raisin sweetness, and hints of cherries and fruits. I'm getting mild oak/wood, and the underwhelming Murderous backdrop.
This is okay...I'm getting raisins, light wheat malt character, apples, and mild whiskey sweetness. There's a hint of bourbon/oak/vanilla, and tons of sugar....I'm getting sweet raisins, cherry cola, toasted grains, light nutty, hints of toasted coconut, and lingering grain/coconut in the back.
A couple thoughts...the barrel does improve the base beer, but I still think the base beer could be made better. This is okay, but it's very much par the course, I think. The mouthfeel is medium-full to full-bodied, with good palate depth and low complexity. At 11.0% this is actually fairly drinkable, with non-obstructive barrel AND low levels of residual sugars. This is really a beer in two parts: up front are raisins, fruits, wheat malts, apples, alcohol sweetness, sugar; the mids hit some of those sweeter, English-style Barleywine notes; and the back end dials up the toasted grains, nutty notes, and hints of toasted coconut. The finish features lingering coconut/toasted grains, some boozy warming, and moderate levels of residual sugars for the style. The barrel character could be more involved, and the base beer could be better.
Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Decent Average on this. I think this is going to be my least favorite of the Pipeworks' "Tales From The Oak" series. Having said that, this is still an enjoyable English-style Barleywine, and this is better than the base beer. At around $8/12oz bottle, this may not be the best investment out there...but how many barrel-aged Barleywines are readily available? You can pair this beer with a myriad of desserts, namely creme brulee. I think this is a good attempt from Pdubs, but I really want to see a Murderous 2.0. Or maybe that's just me.
Random Thought: Up next....The Last Kiss.
Reported IBUs: ?
I'm really excited to have tracked down this beer, especially after really enjoy Pipeworks' barrel-aged The Jones Dog. 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.
Tonight's beer was bottled back in early 2013. I reviewed a batch of the Pipeworks Murderous (the base beer), and found it to be just okay. I really think the fusion of the bourbon barrel can greatly improve the base beer, so I have high hopes for this beer. The back of the bottle states:
"Our Murderous, English style barley wine, aged in Elijah Craig Bourbon Barrels."
 |
| Pipeworks The Murderous / BA Elijah Craig 12 |
This one pours into a hazy/murky dark-brown, golden raisin color. It looks like your typical Barleywine that has spent some time in a barrel, with deceptive dark brown darkness that is actually more golden raisin in color. The beer kicks up a finger of amber-tinted head, but that gives way to a ring of off-color lacing and some hazy cauldron effect action. There's some glossy alcohol legs to boot. It's not a pretty beer...but then how many barrel-aged beers are.
The aroma here is nothing spectacular, with straightforward bourbon/whiskey, some raisin sweetness, and hints of cherries and fruits. I'm getting mild oak/wood, and the underwhelming Murderous backdrop.
This is okay...I'm getting raisins, light wheat malt character, apples, and mild whiskey sweetness. There's a hint of bourbon/oak/vanilla, and tons of sugar....I'm getting sweet raisins, cherry cola, toasted grains, light nutty, hints of toasted coconut, and lingering grain/coconut in the back.
A couple thoughts...the barrel does improve the base beer, but I still think the base beer could be made better. This is okay, but it's very much par the course, I think. The mouthfeel is medium-full to full-bodied, with good palate depth and low complexity. At 11.0% this is actually fairly drinkable, with non-obstructive barrel AND low levels of residual sugars. This is really a beer in two parts: up front are raisins, fruits, wheat malts, apples, alcohol sweetness, sugar; the mids hit some of those sweeter, English-style Barleywine notes; and the back end dials up the toasted grains, nutty notes, and hints of toasted coconut. The finish features lingering coconut/toasted grains, some boozy warming, and moderate levels of residual sugars for the style. The barrel character could be more involved, and the base beer could be better.
I'm feeling a Decent Average on this. I think this is going to be my least favorite of the Pipeworks' "Tales From The Oak" series. Having said that, this is still an enjoyable English-style Barleywine, and this is better than the base beer. At around $8/12oz bottle, this may not be the best investment out there...but how many barrel-aged Barleywines are readily available? You can pair this beer with a myriad of desserts, namely creme brulee. I think this is a good attempt from Pdubs, but I really want to see a Murderous 2.0. Or maybe that's just me.
Random Thought: Up next....The Last Kiss.
No comments:
Post a Comment