A Bastard in the Back of the Woods

Opened up a bottle of one of my all-time favorites tonight, Founders Backwoods Bastard. I also got a new camera recently (Canon s95) and it would only make sense to put up a post in my mind's blog.

Backwoods Bastard is a bourbon-barrel-aged scotch ale weighing in at 10.2% ABV. Basically the brewery takes the scotch ale, lets it sit in old oak barrels that were previously used for aging whiskey. The residual whiskey diffuses into the beer and adds some nice flavor. Prominent flavors from the barrel include oak (from the actual wood), bourbon (which has its own set of flavors) and vanilla (which comes from oak molecules breaking down into solution). This beer has all of those blended almost perfectly into a rich caramel scotch ale base. In the end product you can see the individual parts but just sitting back and taking a sip allows it all to become one.

It pours out with a nice brown body and a small light tan head. The head is not big but that is pretty much expected from most barrel-aged beers. Instead it is more of a ring and random clouds on the beer, suitable and beautiful in a snifter. The aroma is divine. The oak, whiskey/bourbon, vanilla and caramel blend to something that I wish I could in dessert form. It is basically a great bourbon without the alcohol sting for the most part and a bit of beer (caramel, dark fruit, very slight roast) underneath. The flavor is pretty much the same, I would say the oak comes through very nicely in this 2011 batch. Then comes the bourbon flavors and everything else. It is smooth and nicely carbonated, allowing all of the flavors to shine. The high alcohol also gives a slight warming sensation on the palate. This beer is mostly barrel but the base beer gives just enough to make it a world class effort. It is hard for me to think of another beer that allows barrel-aging to truly shine like this.

Get some Backwoods Bastard if you ever see it or come drink some with me. I will be doing a 3 year (2009-2011) vertical soon.