Nebraska Brewing Fathead Barley Wine (Whiskey Barrel Aged)

This is a 12.1% ABV and 33 IBU barleywine that is aged for six months in fresh whiskey barrels. It is from the Nebraska Brewing Company of La Vista, Nebraska. They are also a sponsor of the large Great Nebraska Beer Fest each August, a fest definitely worth attending.

The beer pours a somewhat cloudy medium to dark brown and burnt orange. There is a short and relatively thin head of light tan foam. The aroma is woody, oak, spicy, fruity, berries, cherries, whiskey, pine, and sweet malts. The taste is an amalgam of all the aroma notes, but less hot and spicy, more smooth, and rounded.  There are plenty of sweet notes, but the finish is mostly dry. The pine notes and the oak combine to give a retsina note to this beer. The beer drinks with warming alcohol, but no hot booziness. This is an interesting barrel-aged barleywine, and it makes a worthwhile sipper.