When I was working in Fort St. John in northern British Columbia, my co-workers and I would commonly head to a pub that served upwards of a hundred different beers. Even though most of the beer on the menu was the similar-tasting flagship lager of various nations, there were definitely some interesting craft beers from B.C. available, plus one beer in particular that always stood out on the menu, presenting itself as a challenge that any self-respecting, yet hopelessly naïve, twenty-something year old couldn’t possibly back down from.
This most notable beer was from Stone Brewing Co. out of California and it was fittingly called Arrogant Bastard Ale, an American “Strong Ale” with an incendiary commentary on the bottle informing you that you’re not even worthy enough to drink the damn thing – selling for a cool $20 a bottle (it might have even been $40 . . . my memory’s a little hazy).
Because of its novelty, we all had to get together once or twice throughout the work season to partake in a round of good ol’ Arrogant Bastard. It would leave me feeling that I had risen to the challenge and that I had proven my worthiness, contrary to the claims on the bottle. Naturally, after a day or two, I’d wonder why I had shelled out so much for a beer I didn’t even like at the time.
The worst part is that I would eventually go on to find the same beer for sale in the U.S. for around $5.00 a bottle, making it painfully clear that I had been victimized by clever marketing (in fairness Arrogant Bastard Ale is a decent beer, but certainly not worth what I had paid for it).
To help ensure you don’t make a significant outlay on a beer you end up watering the plants with, I’m going to start taking it upon myself to sample the most expensive beers at the LCBO and letting you know what I think. If someone is going to charge upwards of $15 for a bottle of beer, it had better be unique, well-balanced, and thoughtfully crafted – at this price-point, I have nothing but the highest expectations for a brew.
To kick things off, I’ve selected Missouri-based Boulevard Brewing Co.’s 2015 Bourbon Barrel Quad – a “Special Limited Release Ale” aged in bourbon barrels with cherries. The beer is part of Boulevard’s “Smokestack Series”, a bit of homage to an old brick smoke stack that came with the turn-of-the century brick building the brewery is housed in, somewhat reminiscent of the stack on the grounds of the old Soo Falls Brewing Co. here in Sault Ste. Marie.
A Bourbon Barrel Quad — a “Special Limited Release Ale” aged in bourbon barrels with cherries. The style of this beer is based on a strong, dark Belgian quadrupel (a strength indicator). The reverse label romanticizes about fermentation on cherries and barrel-aging in bourbon casks for varying lengths of time, upwards to a year, with the finished product being a carefully constructed blend with optimum flavour.
I haven’t seen it all, but a Belgian quad aged in bourbon barrels definitely seems unique, particularly with fermentation on cherries. Provided tasting notes suggest “toffee and vanilla notes at the fore,” with cherry playing only a subtle finishing role.
From my own tasting experience, the brew was a lot more complex than simple toffee and vanilla notes at the fore. Dark Belgian beers can be quite complex to begin with, often tasting quite obviously of dark fruit, such as raisins and plums. Brew a dark Belgian quad at 11.8 per cent ABV and age it in bourbon casks like the folks at Boulevard Brewing Co. and you’ve got a rollercoaster of flavour that, for me, tended to shift and evolve as I worked my way through the bottle.
My first smell of the beer made me think of dark red wine, clear as day. Initial tasting had dark, bitter chocolate resonating in my mind. The booziness was more than apparent and after a few sips it was like I had really moved on to a dram of bourbon, with the dry, peppery flavour of charred-oak barrels biting through, but always pleasantly smoothed out at the finish with the aforementioned (very) subtle notes of cherry. Notes of toffee and vanilla were in there somewhere, but they weren’t the most prominent tastes to me.
All in all, I think this brew lives up to what it claims to be, albeit it’s far more complicated than what’s advertised on the label. Is it worth $14.30? The answer is maybe. For me, this beer wasn’t to my tastes – which isn’t to criticize it; but, the base of this beer isn’t among my favourite styles. I found that many of the oak flavours imparted in bourbon and Scotch were quite prevalent. Combine this with the classic dark sweetness of a strong Belgian beer and you’ve got something that’s definitely unique, but not suitable for every palate.
I was talking to a faithful Beer Up North reader not too long ago and they told me about their taste for Chimay Blue Cap, as well as the beers of Innis and Gunn – I think this beer would be right up their alley as it kind of marries those two concepts, although in a more fortified manner.
Whiskey drinkers might be intrigued by this one, and maybe even brandy drinkers. One review I read online suggested a faint comparison to port, so if you know any port drinkers, they might enjoy this brew. I also made the note that this beer would complement the smell of a cigar, so perhaps there’s something to be discovered there.
Just be forewarned that it’s a hefty beer with a lot of flavour. Consider splitting it with a friend or two if you’re not feeling 100 per cent confident you’ll like it.
If you decide to pick up a bottle of Boulevard Brewing Co.’s 2015 Bourbon Barrel Quad, drop a comment below and let me know what you think!
P.S. I’m taking another week off from Beer Up North, so see you in two weeks’ time.
Cheers!
Jason McLellan is a self-professed beer geek. He wants the world to know he's damn proud of his Northern Ontario roots, even though he couldn't catch a fish if one jumped in the boat. His columns run Wednesdays at 12:00 p.m. Find him on Facebook: Jason McLellan with the Beer Up North banner.
