124. Foothills Bourbon Barrel Aged People's Porter

I have to admit, I've had a beer about every day this week, and it's not often for me to drink more than four days in any given week.  That said, that didn't stop me from getting something tonight, and probably won't stop me from drinking something tomorrow.  If anyone asks, I'm just working to reduce my inventory, and I'm sure the wife will appreciate that.  Anyway, I decided to enjoy this beer with dinner and was looking forward to trying the BBL aged porter..I kind of wished that I had a regular People's Porter for comparison, but I didn't have one on hand.  Maybe I'll use it as an experiment in the future.  

The beer poured a nice, healthy dark brown into a pilsner glass.  I gave it a pretty vigorous pour and was able to get two fingers of cappuccino colored head out of it.  Nice and fluffy, it's a good looking beer.  It had moderate retention and left sheets of uneven lacing on the sides of the glass.  Now I know I picked this beer up in November, and now that I'm enjoying it in April, some of the taste profile might have changed.  For instance, the aroma I get out of this is some caramel and toffee, but the two obvious aromas are vanilla and bourbon.  Lots and lots of bourbon.  That is not a bad thing, but I have a feeling that the balance of the beer might end up being skewed as a result.

Yup, it's a little unbalanced.  It goes down initially as a porter.  You can taste the malt and caramel.  Then you get tastes of dark fruit, oak, vanilla, and bourbon.  The bourbon also leaves a slight bitter and boozy aftertaste.  It finishes a little dry.  That said, I like bourbon.  I really like bourbon.  So having a beer that's unbalanced in bourbon's favor is a net-positive for me.  I'm not complaining one bit.  The carbonation was on the light side and wasn't overpowering.  Medium bodied brew.  I have to say, I found this one to be very good.  Nevertheless, the beer feels like it's missing just that little extra something.  I can't quite put my finger on it.  Either way, it's definitely an enjoyable brew and I'd be glad to have it again.  Bourbon fans agree?  Bourbon haters disagree?  Let me know!

Grade: B+

Price: $6.99 (22 oz bomber)