Kuhnhenn Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine
Big N Bold aged in bourbon barrels.
4
394 reviews
Warren, United States
Community reviews
Even by the strong standards of the Barleywine, Kuhnhenn’s barrel-aged ale is some unholy beast. At 15% it’s dangerously potent, but it doesn’t drink like a huge beer. Dark brown pour. Butterscotch, toasted malt, molasses, and vanilla aromas. Taste profile consists of dark fruit, caramel, coconut, and malt sugar. Alcohol heat is tucked away under the full-bodied malts. This is one hell of a way to be introduced to Kuhnhenn. This’ll put you right on your ass.
(Thanks, Cory! "BlowOffTube")
Bottle.
A- Coconut, vanilla, cherry, oak, booze.
A- Mahogany color, clear liquid, beige head.
T- Cherry, oak, boozy, coconut, butterscotch.
P- Full body, average texture, average carbonation, complex finish.
O- A little hot and boozy but overall a hell of a lot smoother than one could expect going in. Well balanced and complex. A bit of time on this and it’s be swell and mellow.
12os bottle 2014 vintage pours clear ruby dark red with half finger fizzy head. Nose and taste have lots of big gooey caramel and sweet raisin, plum, fig and various dark fruit, touches of light vanilla spice, bread, cherry and big malty sweetness. Very good but not quite as good as BB4D.
Massive amounts of caramel, sweet and lightly roasted malts. Sweet vanilla cream and oak blend nicely. Moderate heat front the alcohol but really walk balanced.
F*cking epic barley wine! Has some stout and chocolate notes. Incredibly complex beer. I wanna try this back again :o
12 oz bottle, 2015 edition. intense caramel and hard candy. Oak vanilla toffee. Lots of spirit but not boozy. Some heavy and flavorful stuff, tastes every bit of the advertised 15%. Thick stuff for a barleywine.
Pours a dark brown with a thin white head. Aroma is dark fruits, oak, caramel, toffee, butter, and vanilla. Flavor is very similar, with the oak less pronounced, replaced with a boozy heat. Sweet and thick-bodied. This is terrific.
Où, Quand, Comment : Bouteille. Mondial de la bière.
Visuel :
Couleur : brune ambrée.
Apparence : claire.
Arôme :
Caramel toffee, sucre brun, fruité (léger prunes, raisins) notes d’alcool, fût de chêne liquoreux, notes rôties
Goût :
Entrée de bouche : fruité (raisins, dates figues), boisé (fût de chêne)
Dominance de caramel toffee léger rôti, alcool réchauffant, notes de sirop d’érable, notes terreuses et de chocolat
En bouche :
Corps : Rond.
Effervescence : moyenne-basse.
Texture : sirupeux et liquoreux.
Finale : longue, légèrement amère d’alcool et de rôti, fruitée
Caramel and dark fruits and molasses and bourbon and vanilla and this is basically exactly the English BABW you’d dream of.
12oz bottle from Kuhnhenn. Pours amber. No head. Aroma is very pleasant caramel corn, brown sugar, molasses and alcohol. Flavor is hot, metallic, caramel and bitter with a very thin body. Bourbon barrel is imperceptible, except in the hot, biting alcohol. It should be noted that this is a 2014 and drinking very young. Overall, hoping this beer improves with age. Will re-rate. Did not finish the bottle between a tasting group of five. BB4D blows this beer out of the water.
Bottle, kindly donated by my Secret Santa, many thanks Clownoisseur. Shared with my daughter. Amber brown color with minimal white head. Honey, sweet malt, bourbon, nuts, wood.Taste, sweet malt, honey, bourbon, raisins, walnuts, coconut, sherry, dates, wood. Strong alcoholic finish. Tasty.
2014 vintage. Pours a deep mahogany. Copper hues. A small tan head that fades to a ring. A bit of leg creeps up the glass. Aromas of roasted malt, wet oak, whiskey and dark fruit. Hot! Taste follows the nose with the barrel character being very prominent. Rich roasted barley, dark fruits and some earthiness carry the body, but ultimately, it is the wet oak bourbon that leaves the final impression. Good stuff, but a bit too barrel-forward at this time.
Bottle. Pours slightly cloudy amber. Aroma is mega butterscotch, bourbon, sweet orange, honey. Taste is butterscotch, bitter orange, fruity coffee, mild roast, cherry, honey. Prickly carbonation. Very sweet.
bottle at Coles Barleywine Contest. Must have been a bad bottle. BAD, undrinkable. will rerate
Bottle: Have had on tap many times, but the bottles always taste better to me. This is a 2010 vintage, labeled at 15.1% ABV & around 3 years old. Solid, slightly red-tinted color with pretty nice clarity. Barely any head, just a small beige collar that outlines the edges. Aroma fills the room as the cap is popped. Sticky caramel & toffee factory laced with undertones of prunes, dates, raisins, maple syrup, mild oak, vanilla, warming bourbon, & a rich brown sugar aspect. So strong, robust, sweet, decadent. Huge body; viscous, chewy, sticky. You could cut this with a knife. Incredible toffee & caramel backdrop; sticky sweet & rich. The bourbon is more forward than the barrel, but plenty of woody vanillin & lightly toasted oak is still present. Dark fruits, dates, prunes, mild anise, maple, there is just so much to enjoy here. Incredible. Amazing. One of my personal favorite barley wines.
Draught at CBC 2014. Clear ruby liquid with a medium off-white head. Aroma of bourbon, wood, raw sugar, toffee and caramel. Taste is light to medium sweet and light to medium bitter with notes of bourbon and wood. Medium bodied with low carbonation. Really good stuff.
Bottle thanks to Matt. Pours a clear copper with no head. The aroma is strong booze, wood, roast. Thin mouthfeel with raisin, booze, candy sugar, sweet finish. Good.
"vanilla, bourbon, oak, sweet light and dark fruit...superb aroma and incredibly smooth for a beer of this strength. my first kuhnhen beer is a doozie!!"
Keg at the Copenhagen Beer Celebration 2014, red session. 03/05/2014. Red/ amber coloured oour with a halo of cream head. Aroma is bourbon vanilla, oak. Flavour is Full bodied, unrefined sugars, brown sugar, hot alcohol. Some dired fruits. Palare is full bodied with fine carbonation.
Draught at CBC 2014. Dark brown colour with an off-white head. Aroma and flavour of toastedmalt, caramel, dried fruit, vanilla, oak, bourbon and alcohol.
12 oz bottle from 2013 Winter Solstice coming in at 14.0% ABV.
Aroma is failry rich and malty with lots of dark caramel and toffee with some lighter roast and medium light chocolate to balance the caramel. Some medium light bourbon notes with some light alcohol spice. Medium light raisins, figs and prunes. Faint hop notes.
Pours dark brown with some lighter brown and amber hues on the edges. Small, somewhat thin, tan head recedes fairly quickly to the edges where it lingers for a bit. Medium light lacing and fairly long legs.
Flavor has a light sweetness with some moderate dark caramel and toffee notes; not as super sweet as a lot of barley wines which is nice. Some light roast and medium light chocolate notes. Medium bitterness with faint pine hop notes. Medium bourbon character with light oak and medium light alcohol spice.
Mouthfeel is medium to medium full bodied with medium carbonation. Low astringency and medium alcohol warmth.
Overall a really nice barley wine; I really enjoy that it has a slightly darker malt profile and avoids the overly strong burnt sugar note that lots of barley wines have to them. Well balanced bitterness with faint hop character. A nice balanced beer with a lot of malt complexity.
On tap at CBC 2014. Dark amber with no head. Aroma and taste with lots of bourbon, toffee, burnt sugar, alcohol, barrel, vanilla. Powerful and vinous
2013. Rusty red almost putplish pour, tan head that disappears fast. Nose is citrus, caramel, vanilla, big candy apple. Taste is candy apple, vanilla, barrel. Sticky mouthfeel.
Draught @ CBC2014. Pours clear dark auburn with a tiny tan head. Aroma is bourbon, fudge, oak, candy, dried fruit, raisin, vanilla, plenty of booze and coconut. Taste is heavy sweet and moderate bitter. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is moderate. Finishes dry, boozy and warming.
On tap @ Copenhagen Beer Celebration 2014. A deep and really dark amber looking one. It actually has a small sidesticking and lightly lacing beige head. On the nose it’s really nice. Nutty caramel, lots of sweet vanilla and clear bourbon. You can almost sense it by the aroma how sticky this will be in the mouth. A little bit of chocolate also found in the aroma. Really nice. Lots and lots of sweet vanilla and bourbon in the taste also. Warming the throat in a great way. It’s not as super sticky in the mouth as I thought really, some though, and it’s soft and prickling on the bubbles. Quite flavorful indeed this one! One of those who deserves a whole evening just to be enjoyed at home. 03.05.2014
2012 bottle, caramel brown pour, with virtually no head, lots of sediment in the latter half of the bottle. Aroma, oak, vanilla, brown sugar and caramel. Taste, sweet up front, sticky mouthfeel, that morphs into liquid caramel, with no hint from the booze. Overall, a damn tasty barley wine.
12oz brown bottle, 2012 vintage. Bottleshare at Ferris’. Brown and murky in the glass, headless. Nose has toffee and bourbon. Taste has caramel, wood. Finishes with more caramel and light hops. Medium body and mild carbonation. Good stuff.
Bottle - Vintage 2012 - Nutty, caramel and a butter finish. Cloudy brown with no head. Nice sweet caramel and a light caramel finish. Really nice mellow and sweet with long great finish.
Draft @ CBC 2014. Pours an amber color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty spicy bourbon aroma with hints of caramel. Sweetish malty woody bourbon and caramel flavor. Has a sweetish malty woody bourbon and caramel finish.
Tap sample at CBC 2014. Deep cognac-hued mahogany brown body, small off-white head. Nose is peanuts, wood, caramel, bourbon, brown sugar and hints of toffee, cream and booze. Taste is deep caramel, creamy toffee tones, wood, peanuts, bourbon, alcohol, hints of brown sugar and grains. Full, smooth body, medium to soft carbonation. Lovely bourbonized barley wine from the so-often-splendid Kuhnhenn.