7.9

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Brewery draught, 4/8/22. Maroon-to-black-cherry, good clarity with a rich butter-tinted, beige head showing moderate-to-low retention. Big cascara-like fruitiness in the nose gives cherry, zesty spice and its telltale almost earthy smoke character. Big maltiness adds tons of honey while the finish transitions to a balanced lactic and acetic acidity. Soft and malty in the mouth with a big cascara fruitiness replete with zesty, clove-like spiciness, funky, earthy notes and an almost cacao-like character, as the malt picks up, adding honey and easily balancing. An undercurrent of acetic-lactic acidity helps restore balance on the finish without itself going overboard. Lovely. Very impressive abv, as well!