Review: 10 Barrel Brewing Beers and Cocktails, 2024 Releases
Oregon’s 10 Barrel Brewing doesn’t just make beer. It also cranks out quite a few canned cocktails — big ones, in 12 oz. cans, made with real booze. Some of them pack quite a wallop. Today we look at a trio of them, along with a trio of new brews. Let’s get busy!
10 Barrel Brewing Apocalypse IPA – A burst indeed of Bravo, Northern Brewer, Chinook, Cascade, Centennial, and Amarillo hops informs this lively year-round expression of IPA. It’s a “west coast” expression of IPA partly in name only. While piney and bright, it lacks the broodingly dank bitterness you’ll find in many beers of the style, showcasing a bit of fruit to sweeten up the experience just enough to ensure you’ll have no trouble finishing off a glass without feeling like you’ve been gnawing on bitter tree bark. I get a solid punch of mango and a drop of honey on the finish. 6.8% abv. A- / $11 per six-pack
10 Barrel Brewing Juicy Drama Imperial IPA – A malty Imperial IPA that’s light on bitterness (Bravo and Simcoe hops only) and heavy with a creamy, orchard fruit — think apples (well-sauced), layered with notes of Meyer lemon and tangerine. There’s something of an apricot quality on the finish, along with a lacing of vanilla and lemony custard. An oxidized quality gives the experience something of a barleywine character. Heavy-duty stuff, but worthwhile — even if you only drink half the can. 9% abv. B+ / $11 per six-pack
10 Barrel Brewing Cloud Mentality Hazy IPA – A classic hazy — though not too hazy — made with Strata, El Dorado, and Simcoe hops. On point with its fruit, it’s a chewy, apple-heavy experience that sees late-breaking notes of lemon and vanilla, teetering into notes that evoke lemony sugar cookie dough. Gentle florals and a mild, hoppy bitterness work in tandem with the creamy body, almost evoking a marshmallow fluff quality. Citrusy on the finish — more tangerine than orange. Lots going on, but I enjoyed it — and the abv isn’t too stratospheric, either. 7% abv. A- / $11 per six-pack
10 Barrel Brewing AMF – 10 Barrel’s rendition of the Adios, Motherfucker cocktail, a classy mix of vodka, rum, gin, tequila, and natural flavors — and electric blue in color (thanks to blue curacao in the original recipe). This tastes like you think it’s going to — which is to say like something you’d drink in college or shortly thereafter, though 10 Barrel’s version is less boozy than you may expect. Flavors run to artificial lime, cheap gin, cheaper tequila, and blue Gatorade. There’s a certain pleasant nostalgia to the concoction — though not to the point that I would dream of finishing 12 ounces of the stuff — complete with a gritty, ethanol-laced finish. Imagine the aftermath of a six-pack. 13.9% abv. B- / $12 per four-pack
10 Barrel Brewing Golf Tea – It doesn’t take a genius to figure out from the name of the product that this is a spin on an Arnold Palmer, and sure enough it’s a blend of lemonade, tea, and vodka. One of the milder canned cocktails I’ve encountered, it comes across with notes of fairly weak tea, fairly weak lemonade, and an innocuous but present booziness. It feels like it wants something else in the mix: mint is a great start, plus a little extra sweetener. As it stands, it’s at least palatable and perfect for a pool or beach day. 10% abv. B / $12 per four-pack
10 Barrel Brewing Disco Lemonade – Vodka and lemonade, plus huckleberry — so you know you’re in Oregon. I guess the huckleberry also brings the disco? Anyway, this is a big, fruity, flavorful experience, a big party drink that is summery and festive and… in the end, a little too packed with sweet-tart fruit for my tastes. But not too much. Imagine a Cosmopolitan, but with more Disco in it. This is one of those canned cocktails that works pretty well in measured proportions — which helps you pace yourself. I made it through one, but a second will have to wait for next summer. 13.9% abv. B / $12 per four-pack
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