Did you notice the drop off in productivity on the site? Face it, if you are reading this site you probably personally know the alphageek. There used to be some readers that stopped by from urbanspoon. Those were the days, the alphageek was actually ranked #1 in Virginia. However, urbanspoon was merged with some other web site that is just not that great. One of the new problems is that their content is simply worthless. The new site screwed the bloggers that were giving the site its original content, and now both sides have lost out. If you are running a big time web site, you should probably wait until you are really successful like twitter or facebook before screwing over the people that put you on the map.

The longtime reader of the site will know that the alphageek likes beer that is then dumped into a bourbon barrel and aged a little more to get some of the great bourbon flavor in there. Recently, the alphageek discovered that there are bourbons that have been aged in beer barrels! A couple were purchased and added to this massive roundup review. Does the symmetric property hold? Let's get started and see.

The alphageek invited some friends over to help with this review. We would like to thank them for making the sacrifice to try these products and provide some input. A complex algorithm was developed to join together these reviews into one coherent result. The result of this complex algorithm are simple results.

We will use the nose, pop, body and finish review. The results are from the complex algorithm.

New Holland Beer Barrel Bourbon: Mild nose, mild pop, thin body and slight burn for finish

Troegs Cask Finished Bourbon Whiskey:Nose is lightly musky, pop is mild and thin, the body is thin and the finish is mildly beer that mellows

1776 Ale: A dark, almost soy nose, a mild soy (yes again) pop, a brown ale bourbon body and a smooth dark finish

Allagash Curieux: a mild bitter nose, the pop is not very hoppy and mild, the body is smooth and the finish is mildly sour and smooth

Rock Art Imperial Stout: nose of coca, and soy, pop is chocolate with some bourbon, the body is thick and the finish was the best in the group with a dark, smooth and slightly sweet finish that all the reviewers liked.

So what have we learned? The bourbon in beer barrels is something new. If this is a new trend, this website says bring it on. While not the best bourbons out there, they make for a new variety on an old classic that is fun to sample.

As for the beers aged in bourbon barrels, we have yet to have one we did not like. This batch did nothing to change the love of beer in bourbon barrels. The Rock Art Imperial Stout was the biggest hit among all of the reviewers.

You can follow our twitter feed to stay up to date with the alphageek, and also on facebook. As always, you can leave a comment here. If you want to subscribe, use the RSS feed below.

Things used to be simple on this web site. Bourbon on one tab and food on the other. Now, we just put them all in one place. After all, such chaos will only confuse one or two people anyway.

To add to the confusion, this is not even a bourbon review. This site has expanded to include rye as well. This shocking change came about after having a rye Manhattan. Needless to say, we were hooked and went out and purchased some rye. You will be seeing the results in upcoming reviews on our site. Next up, a short review of Knob Creek Straight Rye Whiskey.

Nose: As usual the nose is simply great. Hey, I could say stuff like shoe leather or cherries or stuff like that, but I get more of a strong herbal smell. This will clear those sinuses out in one or two sniffs. That is what any good whiskey should do.

Pop: Surprisingly, this up front pop is mild. Taking in a sip of the rye does not evoke nearly as much of a sensory response as many other rye whiskies or bourbons. This one goes in mildly.

Body: This is where this rye really shines. The body is silky smooth and ever so slightly thick for a whiskey.

Finish: Like any rye it goes down a little harsh. Anything this harsh does not really evoke thoughts of sitting and sipping leisurely while performing your favorite relaxing activity.

So, we don't recommend this one for enjoyment neat or with an ice cube because of the finish. How does it measure up in a Manhattan? As usual, two parts whiskey one part sweet vermouth and a couple drops or shakes of your favorite bitters gets things started. That great body and lack of pop translate into a smooth first sip that just goes "ahhh" as you take a sip. The vermouth helps the smooth out the harsh finish into an amazing balance of sweet and smooth. This is one of the best Manhattans out there and something you should try if you are a fan of the Manhattan.

Follow the twitter feed that gets everything at Follow @ageekfood , or you can try our facebook page.