I have no clue what beards have to do with Red Brick Beard Envy Barleywine Ale Aged in Bourbon Barrels. I suspect (strongly mind you) it has a lot to do with the current rage over beards. So if you see someone from Duck Dynasty or ZZ Top walking around with a bottle of Red Brick Beard Envy, you’ll know I was right. Anyway, aging beer in bourbon barrels is also all the rage these days, and Red Brick has done that to very good effect here.

Red Brick Beard Envy was first released in January of 2014 as part of the brewery’s Brick Mason series of special release brews. I'm drinking a bottle in November, so it has a bit of age on it, but this is certainly a style suited to aging. It looks like Red Brick has given up on numbering the entries in the series, and some of them that have been particularly popular seem to reappear (like the Vanilla Gorilla). Here’s what Red Brick says about the beer:

Some of us have it and some of us don’t. You know what we’re talking about. That quintessential mark of a true man of beer legend, the very badge of the great brew masters the world over. Around here, we call it beard envy. And like this robust beer, it speaks volumes with words like “Put that razor down and take a drink.” With flavors of toffee, raisins and dark fruit accentuated by vanilla and a hint of bourbon balanced by the resinous pine notes of Chinook hops, this barrel-aged barley wine masterwork is as bold and hearty as the beards we salute.

Red Brick Beard Envy has a formidable alcohol content of 9.3% by volume and 80 IBUs. My main quibble with this beer is the price, at $11.99 for a 4-pack that is just too high. Maybe for 6 bottles I might understand given the gravity of the beer, but not for 4.

Red Brick Beard Envy pours to a tawny amber color with an almost nonexistent head formation and a big boozy nose of rich bourbon. Taking a sip I get a big rich and bready, chewy caramel maltiness up front followed by, of all things, coconut, then plenty of toasted oak, vanilla and as the beer approaches the finish big notes of raisin and bourbon really come out. The finish is balanced by the booze and warming, not at all sweet.

Very nicely done, complex and delicious, a tasty American barleywine sans the hops with a big boozy character. I’d give it four and a half stars minus a half star for the high price, but I would certainly buy this one again.  

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