Sooke Brewing Company- Barrel Aged Foreign Stout

Sooke Brewing Company- Barrel Aged Foreign Stout Review

The island town of Sooke is having a mini craft beer revolution with no less than three breweries opening in the last few years. If you’re on your way to Mystic Beach or Port Renfrew than you must stop off at Sooke Brewing Company (not to be confused with Sooke Oceanside Brewery, which is down the road and Beer Me BC plans to review ASAP). After filling up your growler with the reworked Saison or the clean, sessionable German Pilsner grab a bottle of the Bourbon Barrel Aged Foreign Stout from the fridge.

The BC Beer awards Rookie of the Year show off their skill with this foreign stout, aged four months in Woodford Reserve bourbon barrels. This beer shows great restraint with both the bourbon sweetness and oak tannins that sometimes mar barrel aged beers. It is black with a moderate tan head that dissipates quickly. It also has lots of carbonation and is full bodied. On the nose it has the vanilla bourbon aroma you would expect with notes of cherry and oak. There is a properly attenuated maltiness as you taste with little to no cloying sweetness. It tastes like a well made bourbon barrel aged stout with vanilla, licorice and bourbon with hints of cola, cherry, figs and anise. Finishes with a moderate boozy bite and a slight bit more tannins. A liquorice note lingers well into the night.