Many people are aware of the relationship between brandy and wine: brandy, after all, is for the most part distilled wine. Far fewer, however, are aware that a similar relationship exists between beer and whisky (or whiskey as we Americans are wont to call it). Whisky is basically distilled beer, minus the hops and with a bit of aging in this oak barrel and that over a period of years, usually the longer the better.

Beer, on the other hand, is generally best when drunk young, though there are examples that will age out quite nicely if properly stored. But what if you took beer and aged it in oak barrels, much like those used to condition whisky? Better yet, imagine aging beer in barrels which at one time contained whisky within them? This is the premise behind Innis and Gunn Oak Aged Beer.

To be sure, this has been done before. But a tasty Scottish ale aged in oak for 77 days to impart an incredible whisky character (and then allowed to mellow for another 47) is a rare treat indeed. Said to be brewed under license by Belhaven (according to Ratebeer,.com), perhaps Scotland’s finest brewer, this is in my mind a perfect candidate to represent that country in my trip Around the World in Eighty Brews, a trip entirely made by bottle.

Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer pours to a golden coppery color with a light but creamy white head and a deliciously sweet smelling nose full of treacle and hints of Scotch whisky aroma. The palate is very smooth and creamy, delightfully so, with a slightly crackery, nutty malt character that serves as the backbone of the beer. This is quite a drinkable brew and the obvious component missing to any beer drinker will most assuredly be the hops, which are not detectable.

But that’s ok. Because this wonderfully unique, decidedly idiosyncratic and very much unusual beer is absolutely pearmeated with the flavor of fine Scotch whisky. You can’t help but pick it up in the nose at first but definitely in the palate, where the notes of vanilla and oak are unmistakable. The finish is dry, again not from hop character but from a genuine Scotch burn (if a more mellow one, since this beer is stronger than most at 6.6% alcohol by volume, but most assuredly more akin to beer than Scotch in strength).

Is it beer, or is it whisky? Why it’s beer, of course, but a very different kind of beer indeed. While some Americans might call this an instant boilermaker, I find it to be a true fusion of two of Scotland’s finest drinks. And thus, a fine example indeed of Scotland in a bottle.



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