New barrel-aged brews
Saltfire and Level Crossing give new beers the barrel treatment
By Mike Riedel @utahbeer
Saltfire - Grievance: The crew at Saltfire are big fans of Festivus, the made-up holiday celebrated by Seinfeld's Frank Costanza. Grievance refers to the practice of the "airing of grievances" around the Festivus pole. You don't need a Festivus pole, now that Saltfire has made this Applejack brandy barrel-aged beer, but it doesn't hurt.
A deep amber walnut color appears in the glass with a simple tan collar, and some spotted lacing while drinking. The bouquet on this beer is nuts, a great example of making the barrel provide the spirit life. Huge notes of soft and warm apple brandy leap out, plus plenty of cinnamon, and can you believe there is even pie crust on this thing? Nutmeg and a hint of roasted coffee follow as well. Like a piece of fresh baked apple pie, it's warm and inviting. The only thing is that it tends to not remind me of? Beer.
The palate brings all the good hinted by the nose, bringing flavors of coffee and, of course, apple pie. Sweet nutmeg and cinnamon spices are all over this thing. It starts off with a milky, creamy texture, almost giving some vanilla sweetness on the finish, with crusty dough on the palate to match. Mouthfeel starts off impressive, but gets into much stronger sweetness and fizzy quality. An odd sense of a cola aftertaste comes out as the body gets much lighter.
Verdict: Adding this to a Lairds barrel was a brilliant move. I've got to hand it to Saltfire for producing some of the most solid apple characteristics that I've experienced in an 8.0 percent brew in some time.
Level Crossing - Barrel-Aged Timpanator: Doppelbocks were brewed by Bavarian monks to live on as sole nourishment in times of fasting, and hence came to be known as "liquid bread." This version is like liquid bread with a sidecar of whiskey.
It pours dark brown, with lots of garnet and ruby hues thrown in for good measure. A minimal off-white head receded quickly, leaving trace amounts of soapy residue at the top—fairly clear as well, but not perfectly so, with some opaqueness. Bourbon is definitely apparent in the aroma, with underlying notes of toasted walnut, buckwheat honey and dark toffee. Just as appreciable is the bourbon barrel, which lends nuances of charred oak and enough vanilla to give this bouquet an almost candy-like quality—something like an intoxicating Tootsie Roll baked into an alcoholic cupcake.
The flavor is not much different. It showcases a great deal of that pure, concentrated vanilla taste, as well as hints of wood spice, browned butter, dark honey and caramel-coated roasted nuts. Curiously absent (or at least overshadowed) are the dried fruit and toasted brown bread crust notes traditional of doppelbocks. Unsurprisingly, the bourbon comes out on top. Carbonation is medium-high, but it just doesn't quite pop in the mouth; being a lager, this has a lighter mouthfeel than a barleywine might. Some spiciness tickles the back of the throat from the 10.2 percent alcohol.
Verdict: If you like barrel-aged barleywines, you'll find this to have a lighter overall feel, with all of the toffee and whiskey that you've come to expect.
If you have not already committed to a lifestyle change to start the new year, these malty beers and their respective barrel enhancements will provide a transformative experience for your palate (and possibly your waistline). Both come in 16-ounce cans, and are cold from their respective breweries. Buy an extra can or two for cellar-aging. These should be extra brilliant in about a year. As always, cheers!
About The Author
Mike Riedel
Local boy and pilot of City Weekly’s best gig, The Beer Nerd column since 2017. Current photojournalist at KSTU TV (Fox 13) and host of the Utah Beer Blog and Beer Nerd Radio on KUAA 99.9 FM radio.
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