2-1

A few weeks ago I told you about my experience with beers in both original and barrel aged versions and about my conclusions on which I liked better. The result, so far, was a tie, with the barrel aged version of CCM +Malta coming on top of the original, and the barrel aged version of Nøgne-Ø Imperial Stout falling behind the unwooded.

I had in my cellar one more bottle of a barrel agend Nøgne-Ø, God Jul, their Christmas special, which had spent three months in Islay casks. The original version is, perhaps, one of my favourite winter beers ever and I was very curious about how the wood treatment had affected it.

Not very well, I must say. The first thing that hits the nose when it comes close to the glass is something that reminded me of acetone, not pleasant. Once that dissipates it leaves the stage to a lot of wood and booze (perhaps that is how Islay Whisky is supposed to smell, I don't know, I've never had any) that covers most of the beer, there's barely a whiff of coffee that can get out of that blanket. The taste is, fortunately, a bit more balanced, but still, those whisky notes are too intense and overwhelming and end up saturating all of those things that I loved from the original version.

I've already tasted several of the beers of Nøgne-Ø and this one is so far, the only one I didn't like one bit.

So, the score at the moment is 2-1 in favour of Original Versions. Let's see how this thing continues.

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