There are a number of breweries doing this: fermenting beer in wooden whisky casks to extract those smoky whisky flavours. Cracking stand-alone beers such as the reassuringly expensive Harviestoun’s Ola Dubh and Innes & Gunn’s Oak Aged Original can count the Whisky Barrel Aged Premium Bitter from Wadworth Beer Kitchen to their number.
It’s aged in a whisky barrel for between two-three months to absorb the flavours from the oak casks. The whisky flavour is very subtle, I must say. The taste is more sweet caramel with an orange peel twist. It’s a deep copper colour with a bitter shandy nose, frisky head and medium bodied feel to it.
Pleasant enough but whisky barrel beers are quite hardcore. You need to be in the right mood for them. I’m not sure this effort from Wadworth Beer Kitchen quite pushed my buttons.
The essentials:
ABV: 5.8%
Colour: Deep copper
Nose: Bitter shandy
Taste: Sweet caramel, distant wood and whisky
Our verdict: It’s OK. I wasn’t blown away to be honest but that may be a taste thing.
Website: http://www.wadworthbeerkitchen.co.uk/whisky_barrel_aged_premium_bitter.php
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