Bonehead Brewing Elation (2022) & Distraction Ale (2021)

Step inside Bonehead Brewing’s Kensington taproom and it won’t just be stainless steel and a bar that greets you but a selection of barrels too. The brewery always has a few beers underway in that oak and among their more longstanding releases are these two barrel-aged beers. Elation 2022 gets released towards the start of each year in honour of Bonehead’s birthday and is a mixed culture sour that was initially fermented in stainless before being left to aged on French oak before being dry hopped. The results for this vintage of Elation means the beer has lifted notes of peach and nectarine which are joined by citrus, a slight funk and a grippingly tart finished.

Distraction Ale 2021 meanwhile is a Belgian strong ale that spent seven months in American oak barrels and is filled to the brim with bourbon, vanilla and burnt caramel flavours. There’s also a touch of warming heat from the booze and a raft of rich fig, blood plum and liquorice flavours that make for a beer that feels a little like Christmas in the glass.

Published February 14, 2022 2022-02-14 00:00:00