A Barrel of Fun

Innis & Gunn have been brewing their oak aged barrel beers for a while now and I have commented previously that I am not really a fan. In an effort to help me change my mind, Nicky one of their marketing types sent me their range of bottles hoping that I would say nice things about the brand. While I am not going to be nice, I am not going to be bad either. It seems the range has been bolstered by the addition of two new products; a Rum barrel aged and a blond which is a the original that has aged for a shorter period in the whisky barrel. The original brand still tastes rather boring as per my original post and could be confused with a light ale with a shot of whisky poured in. The blond ale is even more bland however, the rum aged on the other hand is a different beast. While it still tastes like a weak flavourless beer that has had some run poured in, it also inherits a big whack of vanilla and oak from the barrel. These flavours are present in the whisky barrel aged beer, but it's plain and boring. The rum barrel adds a higher level of complexity that really works. That saying I think darker styles of beer are better suited to oak aging and that in the scheme of things the practise of barrel aging beers is going to be more of a trend or fad than the next big thing. I say this, although I am willing to be proven wrong...