Blue Mountain Barrel House Local Species

Here's a really cool edition to our craft beer shelves. This brewery is very new on the craft scene. It started in 2011 out of Nelson County, Virginia by the Smack family (great name right?) as a sister brewery to the original Blue Mountain Brewery. Blue Mountain introduced the concept of the rural craft brewery and set the standard for great beer in Virginia. As the new production arm of the Blue Mountain family, the Barrel House focuses on the higher-end beers from Blue Mountain that require special processes, special ingredients, and a whole lot of patience (most being barrel aged).
The first beer we will be tasting from this brewery is the Local Species. This brew is a blend of "deep-drawn well water, special barley malts, American hops and Belgian yeast". This says Belgian Pale Ale to me, but then it's aged in heavily charred white oak barrels for a unique twist. It clocks in at 6.6% but with only 24 IBUs. When first cracked open, this beer has some mild hop aromas but mostly it has a classic Belgian spice nose. The Belgian spice is then backed up by some rich oak flavor and a slight coconut/vanilla aroma. On the first sip it floods your mouth with a subtle but seductive flavor of spicy Belgian pale ales with a balanced oak smoothness. This is a great example when breweries should spend the time to put their beers in barrel. It costs more, but the result is well worth it. This first beer from Blue Mountain's Barrel House is well worth the price. I hope the rest of their beers are as delicious as this one. I look forward to see what else they have in their line up! Enjoy!

Personal Rating: 9.5/10
Style Rating: 9/10

Wanna try it now? Order it online at:
www.whitehorsewine.com