8.4

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

500mL bottled 9/8/16, acquired from the brewery, drunk 2/3/17.
Light tan head showing moderate to moderately-strong retention tops a clear, caramel-tinted mahogany body with some deep magenta hues and a good clarity.
Caramel, chocolate and vanilla all boast a complex, rich maltiness with delightfully well-expressed bourbon right beside it. It’s a good mix of rich oak and spicy bourbon character that is almost perfectly balanced by the malt. Only a touch of heat, with no sharp booze or any heavy tannin/coconut/pineapple. It’s very clean and polished and you can’t deny the malt richness here. Fruitiness is minimal, with mostly some moderate raisin and fig character, but the dark fruit-like vinousness here is very minimal.
Malty, as expected, in the mouth with a soft, chewy, comforting, malty texture that allows caramel, light milk chocolate, vanilla, nougat and raisin plenty of room to roam on the palate. Bourbon is classy and restrained, but excellently expressed nonetheless, showing spice and wood and no harsh ester/alcohol sharpness. Definitely rich and sumptuous and obviously tending towards the sweet side, but I can respect that and the beer is so well-executed and polished that, as usual with Hill Farmstead, I find myself giving a high rating to a style I generally hate.

10

The blend of caramel/toffee malts, dried dark fruits & bourbon barrel is insane. Lovely just as the 2014.