A little extra time waiting for friends at the Muddy Pig led to a draft of Insanity to bide the time. No head on the beer, but light white bubbles around the beer/glass boundary. Blood red beer in singles lighting--more of a brown and ruby held up to the light. Nose is fairly light, but sourdough bread, dark cherries and chocolate on top of a light spice and assertive alcohol. Insanity is the barleywine Blithering Idiot aged in a oak bourbon barrel. Taste clearly shadows the ghost of barleywine past and has a very familiar blend of dark fruit, oily bitterness and fig. Departing from Blithering Idiot is the strong oak and harsh alcohol. Warming while reading a book, the bourbon shows up full force with an alcohol sting--somehow more balance now. Drink this one slow.
Good, but I prefer Blithering Idiot. The idea of bourbon barrel aging being added to an already fine barleywine sounds like a great idea, in theory, but this one doesn't add up to more than the sum of it's part. Well worth a try for a night but I will look elsewhere for my next barleywine.
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