Bourbon Barrel Bock

The Beer: Bourbon Barrel Bock
The Brewery: New Glarus Brewing Company of New Glarus, Wisconsin
The Style: Doppelbock (wood-aged)

ABV: N/A (I'm guessing around 9%)

Brewer's Description: Sublimely elegant this toffee toned bock is rich with a blend of Wisconsin and German barley malts. Over four months of resting in oak bourbon barrels gives this beer a wonderfully smooth body that will improve and mellow with age. Should you choose to enjoy this classic today, you can expect a treasure of vanilla, oak and carmel notes to be bolstered by hops from France, Slovenia and Germany. Wild Brett yeast sings in harmony to the tune of Bock. 20 degrees Plato OG makes this bourbon barrel a masterwork to remember.
Color: Poured into Ayinger Celebrator glass. Brilliant, clear, rich copper with a very minimal white head.
Aroma: Ethanol, bourbon, sweet malt.
Taste/Mouthfeel: Lots of oak and bourbon up front. Gives way to subtle, warming toffee and some suggestions of vanilla. No hop presence to be found. Body is very thin for this style.
Finish: Some warming alcohol in the finish with a touch of oatmeal cookie. No hop bitterness. Also some sweaty tang in the finish, likely caused by the Brett. If you can taste this it's something you will either enjoy or despise.
Notes: This beer was purchased in New Glarus, Wisconsin. Unfortunately this brewery's beers can only be found in the badger state, although they are expanding the brewery in the coming months. This was surprisingly thin for a doppelbock. I usually expect this style to be robust and malty, but the emphasis here was more on the bourbon notes augmenting a thin body. The alcohol definitely makes you aware of its presence, this is certainly a sipping beer. As I find myself saying with many wood-aged beers, I'd be curious to try this beer sans the barrel aging. I made an excellent marinade with this beer, more on that tomorrow!