Review: Paddock Wood Oaky Loki DIPA (Barrel aged)

Review: Paddock Wood Oaky Loki DIPA (Barrel aged) by Cody La Bière
Rye whisky rye whisky.. I can still vividly remember being 4-5 years old and seeing a small tumbler of rye whisky, thinking it was iced tea, I drank it even though my dad warned me that it didn't taste anything like iced tea and I wouldn't like it, I quickly chugged it and that was the end of that. What does this have to do with this review? Absolutely nothing! Except that I am about to review a beer aged in whisky barrels!

The awesome guys over at Paddock Wood got ahold of a batch of some sweet whisky barrels (assuming from the just-as-awesome folks at Lucky Bastard) and decided to use them in their Loki Double IPA and 606 IPA beers, mostly to be served on tap at their new & raved after Woods Alehouse. I received a mysterious bottle at my place this past week and low and behold.. it was a bottle of Oaky Loki DIPA! Considering I don't believe this beer is likely not to be distributed, I feel honoured to get to try it, being a beer geek, and being a farm boy who appreciates a good whisky flavour.

Appearance: Near identical to Loki, Oaky Loki is an orange-amber ale with a bit of a whisky look to it. Beige-cream head, nice amount of carbonation to it.

Aroma: First impression of Oaky Loki has me thinking that it's a standard Loki, great balance of hops, bitterness, caramel sweetness. As I pay more attention to this, I notice subtle hints of whisky barrel.. hint of vanilla, caramel, rye whisky and what I consider - the aroma of the prairies!

Taste: It's the Corb Lund! - The Corb Lund is my take on a boilermaker - a Canadian pilsner with a shot of prairie whisky, but in this case, it's a Double IPA. First off I get a whisky, bitter, oak, slightly caramel taste to it, followed by bitter hops. It's quite interesting as the combination of hops and oak isn't something I'm used to. I really like it.

Overall Thoughts: The combination of hops + whisky (oak barrel) is something I'm not generally used to, in a sense the bitterness of both the oak and hops slightly combat each other but it has a truly prairie aspect to it. I like it. I like it a lot. Whisky. Hops. This needs to be a new seasonal.. in bottles!

Thanks Rob at Paddock Wood! I'm incredibly honoured to get to try this!

Check out my October review of Loki DIPA: HERE

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