Heritage Brewing Barrel Aged Battle of White Marsh
Heritage Brewing’ Battle of White Marsh is a heck of a beer — probably my favorite of all that I have sampled from them thus far. When I heard that they had decided to age some of it in retired rye whiskey barrels from Catoctin Creek Distillery, the drool response was damn near impossible to control.
I don’t recall just how long the brew sat in those barrels before being bottled, wax sealed and hand stamped with the brewery’s logo, but the beer inside is quite different than the original. The barrel had a huge influence on this spiced Belgian ale, not only in terms of taste, but also appearance. Heritage also decided not to bottle condition, leaving the liquid near flat as it pours into the glass — a trait I wasn’t totally prepared for, but one that Sean (founder and CEO) assured me was intentional.
The result is a beer that is big in flavor and alcohol (15% ABV) and one that was created with sipping slowly like a whiskey on a cold Winter’s night in mind.
Appearance
After removing the wax, the cap came off with a whimper — no audible indication of carbonation. The brew pours a rich burgundy in color with zero bubble activity. As noted above, this lack of carbonation was intentional on the brewer’s part. It looks a good deal like Unibroue’s Quelque Chose.
Aroma
Clean, smooth whisky notes accompany wood, vanilla, soft spiced and Belgian yeast as the aroma wafts from the still surface.
Taste
This brew tastes great. The aspects that I loved from the original Battle of White Marsh are just about all intact as they are joined by a smooth wash of vanilla, oak and whiskey. The flavors linger for a good long while after each sip. With the lack of carbonation, the beer has a syrupy, almost liquor-like, presence on the palate.
Overall
While I can see what Heritage Brewing was trying to do with the barrel-aged White Marsh, I would still like to have felt some carbonation on the tongue. As it stands, the experience is quite unique and, apparently well received on my part — I’ve since purchased a few more bottles of the beer for cellaring.
Rating: 4/5
