Lo Rez Fernet Barrel-Aged Beer
by Jim Vondracek on 12/13/17I like Bourbon County Stout as much as the next person - its a wonderful beer. But this current season of frenzied BCS hunting - waiting in lines, whispered sharing of the latest news of who has what variety now, stocking up to trade with others later - has me thinking about the really fantastic beers that our many local breweries make. These beers are unique, experimental, challenging and, because they are small batch beers, rare. I'll always appreciate the opportunity to enjoy a BCS, but I'm more interested in unique beers handcrafted at our small breweries.
For example, Dave Dahl and Kevin Lilly at Lo Rez Brewing released a Fernet barrel-aged beer recently. If you're like me, maybe you're not familiar with Fernet - I've learned that its a type of Amaro, an after-dinner Italian digestif, a bitter and herbaceous liqour. In my never-ending commitment to research, I tracked down some Fernet at Skylark, a local Pilsen pub where my friend Bob Brown served it up. Dark, bitter, minty and piney all come to mind.
Lo Rez makes a Scottish-style ale called Memory Fault, its a moderately strong ale, malty and clean. They took this beer and aged it in two different types of barrels - a Rye Whiskey barrel and a Fernet barrel. The Fernet barrel came from a local distillery, CH Distillery which recently opened a production distillery in Pilsen and runs a bar-and-table open to the public on Randolph Street.
Lo Rez first served Memory Fernet at the Festival of Barrel and Wood Aged Beers and then put it on at their taproom at 21st and Carpenter. It is unique and delicious. A beer to be sipped from a snifter on a cold winter's evening. Half of my enjoyment of this beer comes from the aroma - it is terrifically aromatic, the herbs, wood and malt fill the nose.
I know the brewers, so I bring biases to this review, but I am intrigued by how unique this beer is, I can't recall tasting a barrel-aged beer like this, and I find it delightful to drink. Here are my tasting notes:
Aroma
Powerfully aromatic, layered and complex. A strong herbal aroma, reminding me of peppermint, hits first, followed by a somewhat lower spicy aroma, like cinnamon. Underneath, the aroma of coffee and caramel maltiness mix together pleasantly, both at a low, modest level.
Appearance
Dark brown with red highlights, with a medium off-white head that dissipates quickly
Flavor
Spicy herbaceous notes are high and predominate up front, with a strong bitterness that reminds me of anise and licorice and that lasts all the way through to the aftertaste. I enjoy campari before Italian meals and this beer triggers my taste memory of pleasant evenings with my family at an Italian restaurant. A malty backbone emerges, medium strength, that holds the center of this beer together - it provides the background against which the wood and herbs shine. The malt has both caramel and toffee qualities. Oakiness comes through also, at a medium low level, not the typical vanilla and charred flavors of bourbon barrels, but a woodsy oak. The wood imparts an impression of dryness, mildy tannic. There is an impression of modest alcohol, pleasant and warming.
Mouthfeel
Medium body, medium low carbonation, a slight puckering quality in the finish
Overall
A winter sipping beer. The Fernet barrel comes through strongly, which makes it layered and complex. I've never had a beer like it, a unique beer. A dry finish increases the drinkability but the complex herbs make it interesting; The bitter quality of the Fernet works well against the malty background of the Scottish ale. Slanting the balance a little more towards maltiness, decreasing the barrel-quality a bit, might be an interesting experiment. I could drink this all winter long.
When we evaluate a beer at a BJCP competition, we provide a score on a 0 - 50 scale. I would score this beer a 41 or 42 - it is an excellent beer. Its also rare - small breweries, by definition, make small batches and this one won't be around long, I suspect. In my opinion, its well worth a visit to their taproom before the kegs are gone.
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