Beer Description

Founders has released a series of bourbon barrel aged beers in the last few years and 2017/18 has seen an explosion of new flavors to try. However, the Barrel Runner is an IPA that has been aged in a RUM BARREL. From what I have seen out of this area of the USA, this is the first rum barrel aged beer on the mass market. Some of the other barrel aged beers can be seen in the list below.

Froot Wood
KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)
Doom
DKML
Backwoods Bastard
CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout)
Dank Wood
Barrel Runner

The beer is best described by the brewer, so I won’t take his or her job.

Inspiration for our barrel-aged beers can come from the most unexpected places and our latest release is proof of that. Sweet and hoppy, rich and bright – this rum barrel-aged imperial IPA brewed with Mosaic hops will make you believe you’re in the tropics (Founder’s description)

ABV: 11.1%
IBU: 55
Best Served: Cold and in a standard ale or pilsner glass.

Beer Review

This is the type of IPA that I can get behind. It’s still a slight too hoppy for me but with an IBU rating of only 55 it’s very drinkable. However, it’s the rum that makes this beer what it is. In fact, I could handle having a little more rum flavor in it. Like a valued rug that really ties the room together, the rum is holding this beer together…. elevating it to a new level. That rug really really did tie the room together, didn’t it?

The tasting of the beer is similar to a dry hopped beer with a tropical hops addition. If there was bittering hops added in the boil it must have been a light dose. The scent is light and surprisingly similar to apricot. The hops are very present in the aroma also.

I have to assume that had Herod grabbed himself a 6 pack of Barrel Runner, he might have been in a much better mood when he decided that he was going to murder every male baby under the age of 2. Or perhaps he would not have murdered 3 of his sons and his best wife. I’m not saying that this beer will cure your paranoia psychosis but it might mitigate the effects. It’s hard to be violent while sipping (or chugging) this fine beer.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Super hoppy but not bitter. It’s a fruity smelling hops. The rum is hardly present in the aroma. It’s a tropical IPA scent without much distinction from other tropical dry hopped IPA’s.

Taste: The taste is typical of a quality dry hopped IPA but much more balanced in flavors. The rum barrel aging is absolutely brilliant for this type of beer. It makes the flavors dance around on the tongue a bit.

Texture: The texture is crisp and refreshing with plenty of carbonation.The head is very tall and sticks around a while after the pour.

Finish: The finish is refreshing and tropical. It’s in the finish that the fruity characteristics come out. There is no lingering hops or strange flavors… just a sense that you need another drink.

Comparisons: This reminded me a bit of the Space Dust IPA by Elysian.